rmm 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/brethrenofmountaOOstut 
 
THE BRETHREN 
 
 OF 
 
 MOUNT ATLAS 
 
 BEING THE FIRST PART OF 
 
 AN AFRICAN THEOSOPHICAL STORY 
 
 BY 
 
 HUGH E. M. STUTFIELD, F.R.G.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 "el MAGHREB : I200 MILES* RIDE THROUGH MAROCCO " 
 
 " A Lady-Witch there lived on Atlas Mountain " 
 
 Shelley's IViich of Atlas 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 
 
 AND NEW YORK : 15 EAST l6th STREET 
 
 1891 
 
 {All rights reserved) 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAC.B 
 
 I. Concerning Divers Occult Matters .... i 
 
 II. The Story of Ali the Persian 13 
 
 III. The City of Marocco 29 
 
 IV. Across the Atlas Mountains 42 
 
 v. The Robber Attack 54 
 
 VI. Through the Sus Valley 63 
 
 VII. The Lion Hunt 72 
 
 VIII. A Moorish Dinner-party 92 
 
 IX. The Fair at Sok el Area 100 
 
 X. The Sheikh Abd el Kreem in 
 
 XI. The Executions 12S 
 
 XII. Across the Great Desert 141 
 
 XIII. The Simoom 156 
 
 XIV. Mount Atlas at Last 166 
 
 XV. The Oasis and its Inhabitants 181 
 
 XVI. Concerning the Mahatmas 188 
 
 XVII. Leila 198 
 
 XVIII. Concerning Certain of the Deeper Occult 
 
 Mysteries 211 
 
 XiX. On Sympneumatic Love 221 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XX. Of the Cave of the Elementals 232 
 
 XXI. I DISMISS MY GOOROO 237 
 
 XXII. The End of Singmya Songo 244 
 
 XXIII. We ascend Mount Atlas 249 
 
 XXIV. Victory! 267 
 
 XXV. The Avalanche 276 
 
 XXVI. Within the Cave of the Elementals . . . 289 
 
 XXVII. The Re-union of the Sympneumata .... 303 
 
THE 
 
 BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CONCERNING DIVERS OCCULT MATTERS. 
 
 "Here's a spring, so let's stop and have lunch and 
 count the bag. Twenty-three and a half brace of 
 grouse, nine hares, and a couple of snipe, I make it." 
 
 The scene was a moor in Inverness-shire, the 
 speaker a fair-haired young man about twenty-five 
 years of age, his audience two fellow grouse-shooters. 
 It was piping hot, and the proposal seemed to find 
 favour with the other two sportsmen, as they promptly 
 threw themselves at full length on the heather and 
 called loudly for drinks. 
 
 " Gerald walks us off our legs all the morning, but 
 I notice he's always the first to call a halt for lunch," 
 remarked one of them, a man some fifteen years the 
 senior of the first speaker. 
 
 " Yes ; and I notice you are remarkably prompt in 
 responding to the call," retorted Gerald ; " and you 
 always begin by saying you're not a bit hungry, and 
 then play the best knife and fork of any of us." 
 
 The business of unpacking the luncheon-basket 
 and spreading out its contents put an end to further 
 
 B 
 
2 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 banter, and conversation flagged until the viands 
 were disposed of and pipes had been filled for a few 
 minutes' quiet smoke. 
 
 " Do you know," said Gerald, the young man who 
 spoke first, " that, fond as I am of shooting over these 
 hills, I often feel a longing to go further afield for 
 wilder and bigger game. I had a few days' chamois- 
 hunting in Switzerland last year, and I must say that 
 this bird-slaughter has seemed to me rather tame 
 sport ever since." 
 
 " What a discontented chap you are, to be sure," 
 said the second speaker ; " tired of grousing already 
 before the evening of the Twelfth ! " 
 
 " On the contrary," returned Gerald, " I'm not tired 
 of it at all. There's nothing I enjoy more ; but that 
 doesn't prevent my wanting to travel a bit. I've 
 never been out of Europe yet. Will you fellows join 
 me in a trip to South Africa ? I should like to go 
 up into the Kalahari Desert and get some lions. Or 
 stay, let's all go to Cashmere. We should get some 
 first-class shooting, and we might pass over into the 
 unexplored parts of Thibet. The trip would suit 
 Urquhart, as an occultist, down to the ground, as we 
 should be sure to come across some of his friends the 
 Mahatmas (that's the right word, isn't it ?), trotting 
 round in their astral bodies, and we might even reach 
 the abode of the Thibetan Brothers themselves. 
 What do you say to it, David ? " 
 
 The individual addressed as David made no reply, 
 but kept puffing away mechanically at his pipe, with 
 his eyes fixed on the ground, as though absorbed in 
 thought. 
 
 " Why don't you answer ? " continued the younger 
 
CONCERNING DIVERS OCCULT MATTERS. 3 
 
 man, " Don't you approve of the idea, or have you 
 something better of your own to suggest ? " 
 
 " Well, perhaps I have, and perhaps I have not," 
 was the enigmatical reply. " I may say that earlier 
 in the year I had some idea of making a long journey 
 this coming winter, but not to Thibet or Cashmere, 
 where, by the way, one can only go in the summer. 
 But I vote that we postpone further discussion of the 
 subject till this evening. It's half-past two already, 
 and time we were on the move again." 
 
 " Dear me, David, you are very mysterious to-day," 
 said Gerald. " I shall look forward to the adjourned 
 debate on this important topic with much interest. 
 Meanwhile, let's be off. I want to make the bag up 
 to fifty brace this afternoon." 
 
 So saying, he shouldered his gun, and, his com- 
 panions following suit, the trio spread out in a line 
 over the moor, and were soon blazing away merrily. 
 Never does time pass more quickly than when one 
 is enjoying good sport, and the afternoon wore on 
 until the sun sank in golden glory to the rim of the 
 purple hills which bounded the western landscape. 
 Then as the light failed, and Nature became wrapped 
 in the soft shades of twilight, they turned their foot- 
 steps homewards. The hour and the fatigues of the 
 day were not conducive to conversation, and the 
 three sportsmen strode on in silence till they reached 
 the shooting-lodge of Inverfechan, which lay half 
 hidden by a clump of pines in a wooded glen. 
 
 But it is time the reader was introduced to his new 
 company. In the first place, to begin at the wrong 
 end — by which I mean, in inverse order of importance 
 — I, James Browne (don't forget the e, please), stock- 
 
4 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 jobber of Capel Court, and the writer of this history, 
 make my bow to the company, and beg to be excused 
 the delicate task of describing myself. 
 
 " Well, but we must at least hear what sort of 
 looking man he is, you know." 
 
 Then, Madam, if it so please you, to the best of my 
 belief I am not very much to look at. Not that I 
 mean to emulate the excessive modesty of some 
 autobiographical heroes of fiction, and describe myself 
 as a sort of baboon, combining in my own person the 
 ugliness and the muscular power of that anthropoid. 
 But if not exactly a Caliban, neither am I an Adonis. 
 I am slightly above the middle height, not particularly 
 fair nor yet excessively dark. My age — well, I don't 
 think that is quite a fair question, but it is within a 
 decade of forty. My hair used to be black. I am a 
 bachelor. My talents, like my means, are moderate ; 
 my disposition and temper even. My ideas, like my 
 profession, are of the commonplace order. In fact, 
 as the intelligent reader will have already discerned, 
 there runs through me and my surroundings a current 
 of mediocrity, unrelieved either by genius or even by 
 its cheap modern substitute, eccentricity. Therefore, 
 having said enough to satisfy all legitimate curiosity 
 on the subject of myself, we will pass on to other and 
 more interesting matters. 
 
 Gerald Somervell, on the contrary, is distinctly a 
 striking figure. Tall, broad-shouldered, athletic-look- 
 ing, with his fair hair, clear blue eyes and ruddy 
 complexion, his face full of frankness and beaming 
 with good humour, he looks the very beau-ideal of 
 a young Englishman. Not that he is altogether 
 English, either ; and the humour which plays about 
 
CONCERNING DIVERS OCCULT MATTERS. 5 
 
 the corners of his mouth and sparkles in his eyes 
 bespeaks, together with his name, the Irish blood 
 which runs in his veins. He would be decidedly 
 handsome (personally, I think he is) were it not that 
 his features are very strongly marked and somewhat 
 irregular. Rumour has it that the prominence of one 
 organ in particular secured him the appellation of 
 " Nosey " among his schoolfellows. Like most young 
 Englishmen of our own day, he could hardly be 
 described as intellectual ; but he is richly endowed 
 with that shrewd common sense which in all practical 
 affairs of life is a more valuable quality. 
 
 Last, but not least, of our trio of grouse-shooters 
 comes Urquhart — David Urquhart — who is in many 
 respects the counterpart of Somervell, yet his dearest 
 friend. Urquhart has just turned forty ; but he looks 
 older, partly owing to a certain gravity — I had almost 
 said austerity — of demeanour, and partly because of 
 the grey threads which here and there streak his 
 thick brown hair. His is distinctly a striking face. 
 Massively formed brows overshadow deep-set grey 
 eyes full of intellectuality. The forehead is broad 
 and moderately lofty. The square jaw and sharply 
 cut lips tell of resolution. Altogether the whole 
 appearance of the man indicating, as it does, will- 
 power and intellectual force, commands the respect 
 and interest of the beholder. 
 
 Though he has many friends, Urquhart could 
 hardly be called a popular man. He is too reserved 
 for that. Some people call him cynical, but his 
 cynicism is, at any rate, not of the kind which, having 
 an eye only for the bad side of human nature, is 
 wanting in sympathy with human weakness. It is 
 
6 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 rather that of a lofty nature disappointed at not find- 
 ing the world better than it is, and failing in some 
 degree to recognize the fact that average humanity is 
 actuated by lower motives than those with which it 
 had been credited. His friends have always written 
 Urquhart down a confirmed bachelor. If asked why 
 he did not marry, he would always turn the question 
 in some way or another. It was whispered that he 
 had odd ideas on the subject of matrimony — ideas of 
 a soul-union, in which passion should have no part 
 and love on the physical plane would be non-existent, 
 with some complementary being, or guardian-inspiring 
 angel, destined to form part of his nature. 
 
 " Somewhere beneath the sun — 
 
 These quivering heart-strings prove it — 
 Somewhere there must be one 
 Made for this heart to move it." 
 
 Be that as it may, certain it is that he had never 
 yet succeeded in coming across the person whose 
 being should blend, and whose heart-strings should 
 beat in unison, with his own ; and at the time of 
 which I am now speaking people thought it was 
 likely to be a long while before he found himself 
 " suited." 
 
 Urquhart had no profession. His means were suffi- 
 cient to enable him to devote himself to a life of 
 learned leisure, varied by travel and athletic sports. 
 He was a many-sided man ; a man with numerous 
 and diverse tastes and interests, who made it his 
 business to extract as much interest out of life as 
 possible, and, to do him justice, he succeeded admir- 
 ably in his efforts. He was the keenest of sportsmen, 
 a bold rider, and a first-class shot. In his younger 
 
CONCERNING DIVERS OCCULT MATTERS. 7 
 
 days he used to be a fair cricketer, and, like a good 
 Scotchman, he was devoted to golf. Mountaineering 
 was his favourite pastime, however, and his name was 
 well-known in Alpine circles as that of a daring and 
 successful climber. None the less was he essentially 
 a man of books. Student and sportsman, and withal 
 a shrewd, hard-headed man of the world, in him the 
 practical and contemplative faculties were curiously 
 blended. His imaginative temperament gave a meta- 
 physical turn to his studies, for metaphysics, particu- 
 larly of the Oriental type, were his chief delight. 
 From metaphysics to mysticism is not a far cry, and 
 during a visit to India he had come in contact with 
 the devotees of the Occult Fraternity of Thibet, and 
 had even been enrolled as a member of the Theo- 
 sophical Society. Yet was he no vulgar " spookist " — 
 of the type, I mean, of those who simply hanker after 
 " manifestations " or marvellous phenomena. His 
 occultism was rather the search after abstractions, 
 and the striving to get on a higher plane of spiritual 
 life. Moreover, though he disapproved of " manifes- 
 tations " as tending to trickery, he had none the less 
 a firm belief in certain forces of nature with which 
 mankind in its present stage of development is un- 
 acquainted, and also in the existence of persons 
 possessing a command over those forces. 
 
 It was only to be expected that Urquhart should 
 have to bear much chaff from unbelieving friends on 
 account of his theosophical proclivities. Gerald in 
 particular was never tired of rallying him on the 
 subject. 
 
 " How on earth," he would say, " a sensible chap 
 like David can believe in all that fantastic fiddle- 
 
8 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 faddle about Mahatmas and astral bodies, and the 
 rest of it, passes my comprehension." 
 
 Urquhart, however, was not the man to be deterred 
 from his purpose by any amount of chaff, and he con- 
 tinued to devote his very considerable energies to 
 the investigation of psychical problems and the hidden 
 laws of Nature. 
 
 My readers may recollect the genesis and growth 
 of that strange metaphysical medley of Hindoo and 
 Hebrew mysticism, Platonic and Pythagorean trans- 
 cendentalism, and modern spiritualism — variously 
 labelled as Theosophy, Occultism, or Esoteric 
 Buddhism — whose apostles in the West claim to have 
 received their inspiration direct from the fountain 
 head, pretty much as Mohammed received his Suras 
 from the angel Gabriel, or as Joe Smith the Mormon 
 was prompted by the angel of the Lord. The earlier 
 students of Theosophy, like the early Christians, were 
 seekers after a sign, and some strange signs were 
 given them. The wonders worked by Madame 
 Blavatsky were accepted by her faithful followers as 
 a proof of her mission. She did not encourage 
 " manifestations," for, like her Thibetan instructors, 
 she had "an unconquerable aversion to showing off," 
 but none the less did the " manifestations " persist in 
 asserting themselves. Tables and chairs waltzed 
 round the room in aggravating style, luminous balls 
 of fire played about the furniture, cigarette cases came 
 to hand of their own accord, and on one occasion a 
 large spoon which was required for the performance 
 flew out of the opposite wall into Madame's lap. All 
 this and much more — such as occult bells in the air, 
 the astral call of the distant Mahatma, the finding of 
 
CONCERNING DIVERS OCCULT MATTERS. 9 
 
 cups and saucers under trees — arc they not written 
 with artless simplicity in the book of the chronicles 
 of Mr. Sinnett ? An irreverent world, however — the 
 " laughing jackasses," as he aptly styles them, of 
 sceptical criticism — snorted and jeered at these 
 phenomena. Unkind people said the cups and 
 saucers were buried beforehand, and that the " astral 
 call-bell" was in reality concealed in Madame's 
 bustle. Hence subsequent occult publications have 
 dealt more with the philosophical aspect of the 
 subject, leaving aside the question of the miraculous 
 powers of the Brethren till a more favourable oppor- 
 tunity occurs for their vindication. Such an oppor- 
 tunity has now arrived, and I trust that this volume 
 will be accepted as a complete, if tardy, proof of the 
 accuracy of Mr. Sinnett and his brothers and sisters 
 in the field of hermetic research. 
 
 In the days of which I am now writing I was not 
 an occultist myself. For instance, I never used to 
 believe even in the existence of the occult Adepts. 
 Now, however, that I have myself had two or three 
 tame Mahatmas on hand for a considerable time (a 
 privilege few other men have enjoyed), I know what 
 wonderful people they are, and I can add my testimony 
 to that of the other authors who have written on the 
 subject. It is asserted,^ for example, that the Adept 
 can make himself "visible and invisible at will, fly 
 through the air, walk on water as other people would 
 on dry land, . . . dry up the sea, grasp the sun and 
 moon, hide the earth with the tip of his finger, shake 
 to their foundations earth and heaven." Most people 
 would refuse to credit such statements. I, on the 
 
 ' " The Mystery of the Ages," by the Countess of Caithness, p. 55. 
 
lo THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Other hand, know very well that these are only a few 
 of the minor feats of the Adepts, and nothing to what 
 they could do if they really tried. 
 
 It will be seen, therefore, by those who persevere 
 to the end of this volume, that circumstances over 
 which I had no control have made of me an occultist 
 of the first water. I have emerged from the slough 
 of ignorance in which the practical work-a-day world 
 is at present immersed. The City man that in the 
 darkness sat of the Eldorado Railway Share Market 
 has seen a great light ; and, illumined by the rays 
 flashed upon me from the Hidden Wisdom, I can 
 afford, along with my brother occultists, to look down 
 with sublime pity on those who yet grovel in 
 purblind ignorance of the higher teaching. True, 
 that with my study of the Great Arcanum I combine 
 the trade of a stock-jobber ; that to my struggle to 
 attain the ideal and the absolute I add the pursuit 
 of the nimble ninepence ; and that my literature is 
 a judicious blend of Esoteric Buddhism and Eldorado 
 Railway trafific returns. Yet can mundame pursuit 
 never wholly engross a soul once imbued with the 
 infinite mysteries of the unknowable, and the lessons 
 I learned in the course of my intimacy with the Adepts 
 remain with me as a precious heirloom, beside which 
 the things of this phenomenal world are but as dross. 
 
 At the same time, I must confess that my partici- 
 pation in the priceless wisdom distilled from the lips 
 of the initiates is a grave responsibility which weighs 
 heavily upon me. I feel that the world is not yet 
 fitted to share in the dazzling revelations of which 
 I have been the unworthy recipient — revelations 
 which, if published in their entirety, would take the 
 
CONCERNING DIVERS OCCULT MATTERS. il 
 
 shine out of " The Secret Doctrine " and " Isis Un- 
 veiled," and make Mr. Sinnett's disclosures appear 
 the smallest of small potatoes. Some modicum, how- 
 ever, of the secret knowledge I have, after due delibera- 
 tion, decided to make known to the world. It may 
 be said that I am profaning the mysteries of the 
 Great Arcanum ; that I am casting the precious 
 pearls of esoteric lore to be trampled under the 
 swine-hoofs of Western sceptics. I am, moreover, 
 aware that, as has recently been pointed out,^ to 
 impart to the profane multitude secrets of such vast 
 importance, involving cognizance of occult agencies 
 of tremendous power, is highly dangerous and like 
 giving a child a lighted candle in a powder magazine. 
 I fully accept the responsibility for my action in the 
 matter. Nay, more, I admit that if the world is blown 
 up, or if any other cosmical cataclysm occurs in con- 
 sequence of the publication of this book, the fault 
 will be mine. As, however, in that case I shall not 
 be here to be called to account, perhaps that does not 
 matter much. But this much I will say in my own 
 defence, that I was not the first to offend in this 
 matter of letting the occult cat out of the theosophical 
 bag. Had not Madame Blavatsky, Mr. Sinnett, Mr. 
 Laurence Oliphant, and their various disciples, 
 flooded the world with such scraps of the Hidden 
 Wisdom as they possess — " scraps," I say, compared 
 with the full measure of spiritual enlightenment which 
 has been vouchsafed to me — wild horses could not 
 have torn the dread secret from my bosom. As it is, 
 they were the first to begin, and on their heads be it 
 if evil ensues. 
 
 * "The Secret Doctrine," by Madame Blavatsky. 
 
12 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 But enough of this for the present. It is time I 
 got on with my story. I have only to add that this 
 book, like many other works of travel, is written to 
 " supply a long-felt want," viz. the want of the 
 narrator to publish his experiences and adventures 
 to the world. 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE STORY OF ALI THE PERSIAN. 
 
 " Now, David," said Gerald as we were enjoying our 
 pipes in the smoking-room after dinner, "we want to 
 hear what you have got to say on the matter of 
 our expedition to foreign parts. You looked so 
 mysterious this morning when I mentioned it, that I 
 am sure you must have some proposition to make. 
 Out with it now ; we are all ears." 
 
 " Don't be impatient, my dear boy," replied 
 Urquhart, puffing away in a leisurely manner at 
 his pipe, " and above all beware of jumping too 
 hastily to conclusions. How do you know I have 
 any suggestion to make ? The idea emanated 
 entirely from you. I have no objection to your going 
 to Cashmere, if you like ; only please don't ask me 
 to accompany you." 
 
 " What, not even for the chance of seeing your 
 friends the Thibetan Brothers ? I am dying to see 
 those remarkable people myself" 
 
 " Not even for the chance of seeing my friends 
 the Thibetan Brothers, as you call them, though, 
 as a matter of fact, I never had the privilege of 
 
14 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 their acquaintance ; and I can assure you that they 
 are not so prodigal of their society as to lavish it on 
 any wandering sportsman who may happen to be in 
 the neighbourhood of their retreats." 
 
 " Well, then, I must try and get Browne to come." 
 
 " Thanks," said I, " I fear my arduous duties in the 
 City would hardly permit of my being away for so 
 long a time. Besides, I fancy the shooting in Cash- 
 mere is getting rather played out. So many people 
 go there nowadays." 
 
 Gerald seemed rather mortified at not meeting 
 with more encouragement in his sporting plans, so, 
 putting his legs up on a chair, he took refuge in 
 silence and an extra stiff glass of whiskey toddy. 
 
 " Why don't you organize a shooting party for the 
 wilds of Central Africa ? " I suggested. "It would be 
 a far more novel and interesting trip than Cashmere, 
 and you would come across fifty times more game. 
 Only, if you are so anxious to see the occult brethren, 
 I don't suppose there are any Mahatmas in that part 
 of the world." 
 
 " How do you know that } " interposed Urquhart 
 somewhat sharply, laying down his pipe and looking 
 at me. 
 
 " I don't pretend to know anything about it. I 
 only said I supposed there were none." 
 
 "Hullo, David! "cried Gerald, observing his friend's 
 unusually animated manner. "What's up now? I'm 
 sure you've got some deep game on with your 
 mysterious airs and reticence." 
 
 But Urquhart had returned to his impassive de- 
 meanour and his pipe, at which he kept puffing away 
 in a deliberate fashion which somewhat irritated 
 
THE STORY OF A LI THE PERSIAN. 15 
 
 Gerald, whose curiosity was aroused by the air of 
 mystery which Urquhart, partly to tease him, had 
 assumed. 
 
 " I am not at all averse to going to Central Africa," 
 said Gerald, " only it would be a much bigger affair 
 than the trip to Cashmere, and would want a lot 
 more time and money. Besides, if neither of you 
 fellows will go with me, it's no use thinking any more 
 about it, as I wouldn't dream of starting on an 
 expedition of that sort with men I did not know 
 thoroughly well." 
 
 " I never said that I wouldn't go to Africa," 
 rejoined Urquhart ; " I am not aware that you ever 
 asked me to accompany you there. Look here," he 
 continued after a pause, " now that we are on the 
 subject of African travel, and as our friend Gerald 
 seems so curious about it, I don't mind unburdening 
 my mind to you of a project which has long been in 
 my thoughts, and, if either or both you will assist 
 me in carrying it out, I shall be very well pleased. 
 
 " Last winter, as you know, I was travelling with 
 three friends in the interior of Marocco. We did not 
 get as far up country as I had hoped, and I was 
 disappointed in my main desire to penetrate into the 
 heart of the Atlas mountains. Still we had an 
 excellent time, had lots of pig-sticking, shot innumer- 
 able snipe and partridges and bustards, and saw many 
 strange things. But to me neither the sport nor the 
 sight-seeing, much as I enjoyed both, compared in 
 point of interest with a certain discovery which I 
 accidentally made. I say ' discovery ' because, 
 although I have not yet had an opportunity of 
 verifying the information I received, I am satisfied in 
 
i6 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 my own mind of its substantial accuracy, and am 
 prepared to act on it without further inquiry. The 
 thing came about in this way. 
 
 " After wandering about for several months, our 
 party had settled down for a few days in the city of 
 Marocco, which, as you know, is the southern capital 
 of the Moorish empire. Desirous of seeing all the 
 sights of the place, even the most unpleasant, we 
 were making the round of the city prisons. Those 
 dark and horrible dens, reeking with every sort of 
 abomimation, were crowded with miserable beings in 
 every stage of disease and emaciation. In one I 
 remember seeing a raving lunatic chained by the 
 neck with a steel collar to a pillar in the midst of his 
 fellow-prisoners. His struggles to get free were 
 something awful to witness, and the place resounded 
 with his shrieks. Beside him, in the filth which lay 
 thick upon the floor, lay an unhappy wretch, with a 
 cannon-ball tied to his ankles, and heavy manacles on 
 both hands. As with difficulty, owing to the stench, 
 we put our heads through the aperture where the 
 prisoners receive their scanty pittance of bread, the 
 whole crowd rose and begged for food and succour, 
 but beyond thrusting in a few loaves, which were 
 greedily devoured, we could do nothing. 
 
 " Filled with horror at the sight of such cruel 
 suffering, I cast about me to see if I could not do 
 something towards securing the liberty of some of 
 the prisoners. An opportunity was not long in pre- 
 senting itself The cases which appeared to me the 
 saddest were those of certain unhappy debtors, who 
 were the victims of that abominable system of foreign 
 protection, which eats like a canker into the heart 
 
THE STORY OF A LI THE PERSIAN. 17 
 
 of the Moorish political system. I had heard much 
 of the iniquities perpetrated by Jews and Moors, 
 especially the former, who, having secured 'patents' 
 of foreign nationality, used them for the purpose of 
 extorting money out of the natives, and now I saw 
 with my own eyes the victims of their machinations. 
 From trustworthy sources of information I learned 
 that some of the dungeons were filled with people 
 against whom claims for imaginary debts had been 
 preferred. Unwilling or unable to pay, powerless to 
 obtain redress against men who sheltered themselves 
 beneath the eegis of a foreign flag, they had been 
 clapped in the debtors' prisons. It was in one of 
 these prisons that I happened to come across the 
 man to whom I owe the discovery of which I spoke 
 just now. 
 
 " Having bought a good supply of bread, I had 
 taken it to one of the foulest and most crowded of 
 the dungeons. As the first loaf was pushed through 
 the aperture, the mob of prisoners came crowding 
 round, jabbering and gesticulating like lunatics, and 
 fighting for their share of the food. Behind this mass 
 of squalid and despairing humanity,, but taking no 
 part in the struggle for the bread, I noticed one 
 prisoner of a type superior to the rest. He was a 
 man entering upon the evening of life, with a long 
 iron-grey beard, and there was a look of despair and 
 suffering, both physical and mental, on his face, which 
 was pitiful to behold. His features were distinctly 
 Oriental, but cast in a more refined and intellectual 
 mould than those of the barbarous natives of Marocco. 
 When I first observed him he was squatting on the 
 floor ; but presently he rose slowly and painfully to 
 
 C 
 
l8 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 his feet, and I could see that there were fetters round 
 both his legs which, from their size and weight, were 
 eating into the flesh. Struck with the appearance of 
 the man, and full of pity for his miserable plight, I 
 endeavoured to induce him to come and speak to me. 
 The gaoler, seeing what I wanted, and hoping to get 
 backsheesh out of the Nazarene, laid lustily about 
 him with his cowhide whip, and the famished crew of 
 prisoners soon fell back, jabbering and howling, from 
 the opening, leaving a passage clear for the man I 
 wanted. With a pitiable air of weariness and dejec- 
 tion, and hanging his head in shamefaced fashion, he 
 dragged himself to the aperture. He seemed un- 
 willing to speak at first, but at length, convinced 
 that he was dealing with a friend, and that his words 
 would not be used against him, he proceeded to 
 unfold a tale of cruelty and wrong which, unfor- 
 tunately, is only an instance of what is going on 
 every day throughout that beautiful but most un- 
 happy country. 
 
 " He said that his name was AH Abd el Ressool — 
 All the Slave of the Prophet, or, more correctly, the 
 Apostle. He was a Persian by birth, but had resided 
 for the last ten years in Marocco, During the greater 
 part of that time he had been engaged in trade as a 
 wool and hide merchant in one of the coast towns, 
 and had managed in that way to amass a tolerable 
 competence. Having the misfortune to become 
 embroiled in a quarrel with a rich Jew who enjoyed 
 American ' protection,' the latter cast about him for 
 the means of obtaining his revenge. Nor was oppor- 
 tunity long in presenting itself to the Jew's vindictive- 
 ness. An American merchant residing in the same 
 
THE STORY OF ALT THE PERSIAN. 19 
 
 town was returning one evening from a shooting 
 expedition when he was set upon by a band of 
 robbers, who, after brutally ill-using him, stripped 
 him of his effects, and left him dying by the roadside. 
 It happened that the outrage took place close to the 
 house which Ali occupied on the outskirts of the 
 town ; and the Jew, seizing his occasion, denounced 
 Ali as the real author and instigator of the crime. 
 Colour was further lent to the charge by the fact, 
 which Ali could not deny, that at the time of the 
 murder he was in the merchant's debt for a con- 
 siderable sum. Hoping to kill two birds with one 
 stone, and seeing his way to do a little business on 
 his own account, the Jew, besides accusing Ali of 
 murder and robbery, preferred against him a false 
 claim for several thousand dollars, which he said Ali 
 owed him in connection with some commercial 
 transactions in the interior. 
 
 " Shortly afterwards the unhappy Ali, who little 
 suspected the plot that was hatching against him, 
 was arrested on the double charge of murder and 
 debt, despoiled of all his possessions, and, after being 
 brutally flogged, was marched off in chains with a 
 gang of criminals to the city of Marocco. Here he 
 was cast into prison, and had remained for more 
 than a year in durance vile until I appeared on the 
 scene. 
 
 " To make a long story short, by dint of urgent 
 representations at the Moorish Court and a substantial 
 bribe to the Grand Vizier, we managed to secure the 
 unfortunate All's release. I can never forget the poor 
 fellow's surprise and joy on receiving the news that 
 he was a free man. He seemed literally overwhelmed 
 
20 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 by the shock, and it was not until we had brought 
 the gaoler in to knock the fetters from his feet that 
 he could realize the extent of his good fortune. With 
 tears and protestations of gratitude, and oft-repeated 
 promises to repay at the first opportunity the money 
 we had expended on his behalf, he staggered out of 
 the prison door into the light of day. Being too 
 weak and ill to walk, he was placed on a mule and 
 conveyed to our lodgings in the town, where, after a 
 {q.\n days' rest and careful treatment, he recovered 
 sufficiently to accompany us on our journey to the 
 sea-coast." 
 
 " A very interesting story indeed," remarked Gerald 
 during a short interval, in the course of which Urqu- 
 hart helped himself to some light refreshment in the 
 shape of a whiskey-and-soda ; " but what has it to do 
 with your discovery and our projected trip to Central 
 Africa ? " 
 
 "Don't be in a hurry," rejoined Urquhart. "You 
 are always so impatient. I am coming to all that 
 presently. Well, after the turn I had been able to 
 do him, it was only natural that Ali and I should 
 become pretty firm friends. Among other things he 
 told me his history previous to his arrival in Marocco, 
 and a very interesting story it was. He appears to 
 have left his native country, Persia, at an early age, 
 and to have entered the employ of a wool merchant 
 who was starting upon a trading tour through 
 Turkestan and Afghanistan. Near the borders of 
 the two countries their caravan was attacked by 
 robbers, his master the merchant slain, and himself 
 taken prisoner and sold into slavery. His captors, 
 who were hillmen of the Hindoo Koosh, conveyed 
 
THE STORY OF A LI THE PERSIAN. zi 
 
 him several days' march to their village in a remote 
 valley among- the mountains. Here he was kept a 
 close prisoner for several weeks, till at length, having 
 by his docility and industry won the confidence of 
 his new masters, he was allowed more liberty, and 
 finally employed by them as a shepherd. 
 
 " While engaged in this capacity, he was climbing 
 the hillside one day in search of a lamb which had 
 strayed from the flock, when he came upon a .tiny hut 
 built upon the banks of a brook which flowed through 
 a rocky glen. The hut proved to be the abode of 
 a hermit whose holiness and supernatural powers 
 were the frequent theme of conversation among the 
 simple peasantry of the district. This hermit was 
 in reality a mystic, who had retired to these mountain 
 fastnesses in order, by a life of austerity and solitary 
 contemplation, to attain to that lofty state of spiritual 
 exaltation so hard to achieve amid the turmoil and 
 bustle of the civilized world. He was a member of 
 one of the occult fraternities which are scattered 
 over all that part of Asia — not a Mahatma, or Adept, 
 but a devotee and student, of advanced grade, of the 
 esoteric sciences. To be brief, Ali entered into con- 
 versation with the hermit, and this was the beginning 
 of a more intimate and lasting acquaintance. During 
 an intercourse which extended over several months, 
 the mystic discerned in the youthful Persian the 
 germs of a spiritual nature far transcending those of 
 the barbarous tribesmen with whom he lived, and he 
 began gradually to plant in his new pupil's mind the 
 seeds of hermetic knowledge. For this purpose Ali 
 was compelled to absent himself a good deal from his 
 other duties, but the awe and veneration in which the 
 
22 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 hermit was held obviated any difficulties which might 
 otherwise have arisen on that account. As a Persian, 
 Ali had naturally been reared in the Shiite branch of 
 the Mohammedan creed, but the more liberal opinions 
 entertained by the sectaries of that Church enabled 
 him to prosecute his studies without doing violence 
 to his conscience as an orthodox follower of the 
 Prophet. Under the hermit's guidance he passed 
 rapidly through those earlier stages of occult develop- 
 ment which the novice in mysticism must surmount 
 before he even attains the subordinate rank of chela!' 
 
 For the benefit of those of my readers who are not 
 " esoteric," I will here explain that a chela is an occult 
 neophyte. Chelaship is the lowest grade in the 
 occult hierarchy, if I may so express it, yet its attain- 
 ment is so difficult, the necessary training so severe, 
 and success so precarious and uncertain, that many 
 people give up the attempt in despair. For instance, 
 if you abjure soap and nourishing food, wear a hair 
 shirt, and sit on the point of a nail for twenty or 
 thirty years, you may perhaps become a chela. On 
 the other hand, you may not. Whether the game is 
 worth the candle must be left to individual taste and 
 judgment to decide. 
 
 " I will not weary you," continued Urquhart, " with 
 the details of All's progress, as recounted by him to 
 me, in the study and practice of occult science. 
 Suffice it to say that, through the influence of the 
 hermit, he ultimately regained his liberty and made 
 his way down into India, where he continued with 
 ardour the studies he had commenced under the 
 tuition of the mystic of the Hindoo Koosh. And 
 now I approach that part of my story which is more 
 
THE STORY OF A LI THE PERSIAN. 23 
 
 immediately pertinent to the subject we were dis- 
 cussing a few minutes ago. Ali had taken up his 
 abode in Calcutta. In that town, through the good 
 offices of a theosophical Baboo, he secured the privilege 
 of the acquaintance of a certain Arhat, or Adept, of 
 great eminence, from whom he learned many of the 
 deeper truths of the Secret Doctrine. This Arhat 
 was a member of the occult Brotherhood of Thibet, 
 and he had studied esoteric science at the celebrated 
 lamasery of Sakia Djong, alluded to by Mr. Sinnett^ 
 as the Thibetan residence of Gong Sso Rimbo Chay, 
 the spiritual chief of the heretical sect of Dugpas, or 
 Red Caps. From Sakia Djong the Arhat made 
 frequent journeys in his astral body (in which, as you 
 know, the higher Adepts can flit about the world at 
 will), and in the course of one of these journeys he 
 found himself in the middle of Africa " 
 
 " Oh, I say, come now ! " murmured Gerald in a 
 sleepy tone. " I've a pretty good digestion, as you 
 are aware, but I can't quite swallow all that. When 
 are you coming to the point ? " 
 
 "Don't interrupt," said Urquhart. "I know I am 
 rather long-winded, but I am getting near the end of 
 my story. Besides, please remember that it was you 
 who insisted on dragging it all out of me. To 
 resume. The Arhat, in conjunction with two or 
 three brother Adepts, had conceived the idea of 
 planting, in the most remote and unexplored regions 
 of Africa, an occult community which should rival, or 
 even outshine, the famous Brotherhood of Thibet, 
 and the project once conceived was promptly put 
 into execution. As you are doubtless aware, the 
 
 ' "Esoteric Buddhism, " p. 191. 
 
24 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Mahatmas seek the most isolated spots on the world's 
 surface for their abodes, where all contact with 
 impure Western magnetism is rendered impossible. 
 As far as I can learn, the place selected by our Arhat 
 for his experiment was already tenanted by a small 
 band of mystics, and he proposed to engraft thereon 
 a colony of Initiates versed in the higher mysteries of 
 occult enlightenment. 
 
 " In the course of their long acquaintance and 
 intercourse the Arhat conceived a feeling of genuine 
 affection for his new chela, in whose rapidly expand- 
 ing spiritual understanding he saw reflected the 
 accumulated stores of his own ripe wisdom, and 
 regarded him as his most promising pupil. This 
 affection was amply reciprocated by Ali, who added 
 thereto a sentiment of reverential awe for his gcoroo, 
 or teacher. Hence it came about that on the Arhat's 
 return to Africa (this time in his full rupa, or material 
 body), he took Ali with him, though the latter did 
 not accompany his master on his journey into the far 
 interior. At the same time the Persian was entrusted 
 with the secret of the locality of the African Brother- 
 hood's retreat, and he has had full permission to 
 confide the same to me. Nevertheless, if I now 
 impart it to you it must be under a promise of the 
 strictest secrecy, at any rate for the present. Do 
 you understand ? " 
 
 " We swear it," I solemnly replied for myself and 
 Gerald, whose head was nodding over the side of his 
 arm-chair and emitting strange guttural sounds at 
 intervals. 
 
 " Well, the spot chosen as the earthly home of this 
 mysterious colony is a lofty and solitary mountain, 
 
THE STORY OF ALI THE PERSIAN. 25 
 
 rising among the sands in the middle of the Sahara, 
 which has never been visited or even seen by- 
 European explorers. During my travels in Marocco 
 I heard stories among the natives of a mighty peak 
 far in the interior, called the 'Djebel Tselj ' (the 
 Mountain of Snow), or simply, 'Djebel Kebeer' (the 
 Great Mountain), which was popularly supposed to 
 be tenanted by Marabouts, or holy men, gifted with 
 supernatural powers. I had, however, regarded all 
 these rumours as inventions of the natives until I 
 learned from AH the above-mentioned facts." 
 
 "Do you really think it possible," I asked, "that 
 such a mountain could exist without modern 
 geographers being aware of it ? " 
 
 " I certainly think it quite possible," replied 
 Urquhart, " as the peak in question lies far to the 
 east of the ordinary caravan routes to Timbuctoo 
 and the Soudan. Besides, the desert which has to 
 be crossed before you reach it is of immense extent 
 and very difficult to traverse, the wells being few in 
 number, and the water in them scanty and brackish. 
 
 " Let me tell you, further, that, however much our 
 modern geographers may be at fault in not having 
 discovered this mountain, it is plain to my mind that 
 it was known to the ancients. Herodotus, to begin 
 with, locates Mount Atlas and the Atlanteans in the 
 Sahara far to the south of Marocco, and he describes 
 the mountain as being ' taper and circular.' Who 
 was responsible for the information I know not, but 
 if you read your Pliny you will find that his description 
 of Atlas, fabled to be the supporter of the world, 
 tallies in almost every respect with that given to me 
 by Ali of the Djebel Kebeer. They both speak of it 
 
26 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 as a single solitary mountain in the African Desert, 
 surrounded on all sides by sandy wastes. Now, it is 
 absurd to suppose that when Pliny and Herodotus 
 allude to an isolated peak ^ rearing its majestic head 
 out of an expanse of surrounding desert, they can 
 have meant the Atlas Mountains near the city of 
 Marocco. In the first place, the latter form a chain 
 of great length and of singular uniformity as regards 
 height. The range does not contain a single peak 
 of conspicuous eminence throughout its extent. 
 Secondly, they do not rise out of the sand, as there is 
 no desert within a hundred miles of their base, and 
 their sides are not rugged but gently sloping. You 
 must remember, too, that ' Atlas ' is a widely used 
 term. It is applied to the Algerian highlands, to the 
 Beni Hassan range near Tetuan, as well as to the 
 main chain of Marocco. To my mind it is patent 
 that the Mount Atlas of the ancients is the Djebel 
 Kebeer, or Great Mountain, of which I heard rumours 
 in Marocco, and that it has no more connection 
 with the Atlas range near Marocco city than Ben 
 Nevis has with Kinchinjunga, Anyhow, be that as 
 it may, and laugh as you will at my credulity, I 
 believe in the accuracy of the stories I have heard, 
 and, what is more, I mean to go and test their truth 
 myself and to explore Mount Atlas. The question 
 is, will you fellows come with me } " 
 
 Gerald, who had just woke up and had heard 
 Urquhart's concluding sentence, expressed himself 
 as willing to go anywhere his friend liked, " if only 
 for the fun of the thing," though at that moment he 
 
 ■ "E mediis hunc (Atlantem) arenis attoUi prodiderunt." — Pliny, 
 De Rerum Nat., Book v., ch. i. 
 
THE STORY OF ALT THE PERSIAN. 27 
 
 had but the vaguest notion of what Urquhart had 
 been talking about. " Of course," he said to me after- 
 wards, " it's all humbug about this mountain and its 
 mysterious inhabitants ; but still, as old David seems 
 bent on going, I shall go with him. Only, as I am 
 not particularly keen about the Atlantean Brethren 
 myself, I hope we shall get a bit of shooting on the 
 way." 
 
 There was something rather touching about 
 Gerald's devotion to his friend and the readiness with 
 which he fell in with his views. I verily believe that 
 if Urquhart had suggested a trip to the moon Gerald 
 would have ordered a flying-machine on his own 
 account in order to keep him company. For my 
 own part, I could not acquiesce so readily in taking 
 part in an expedition which I knew would require an 
 absence from England of more than a year — I mean 
 on the most favourable supposition that we did not 
 leave our bones to bleach on the sands of the Sahara. 
 I therefore declined to give a definite answer until I 
 had had time to think the matter over carefully. 
 
 I heard little further on the subject for some 
 months after I had left Inverfechan and returned to 
 London, and I had begun to think that Urquhart had 
 abandoned his project. One day, however, early in 
 the following January, I chanced to run up against 
 him in Piccadilly, and he told me that he and 
 Somervell had almost made up their minds to leave 
 England for Africa in the course of the next month. 
 
 " Come and dine with me at the club," he said ; 
 " Gerald's coming, and I want to talk to you about 
 that matter we were discussing last summer at Inver- 
 fechan. It is pretty well settled that Gerald and I 
 
28 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 start in a month's time for Marocco city. Old Ali is 
 living there now, and he has promised to take us to 
 Mount Atlas. What we want to know is, whether 
 you will come with us. You've had lots of time to 
 think the matter over, and to come to a decision one 
 way or the other." 
 
 Well, to make a long story short, at that dinner we 
 discussed the matter fully, and, under the influence of 
 Urquhart's good cheer, and the pressure put upon me 
 by him and Somervell, I consented to join them on 
 their madcap enterprise. 
 
 " Come along, Jim, " cried Gerald, in his cheerily 
 persuasive way ; " life is short, and you've no ties at 
 home beyond your Eldorado Railway shares. What's 
 the use of making money if you can't enjoy your- 
 self ? " 
 
 So it was arranged that I should go with them. 
 An Englishman's ideas of enjoyment are different from 
 those of most other people, but I doubt whether if 
 we had known what the next year had in store for us 
 all, we should have set forth in this light-hearted 
 fashion ; and Gerald might have talked less glibly 
 about " enjoying " himself It is well, perhaps, for 
 human nature that it does not know all that the 
 future has in store for it. Our present troubles are 
 enough, in all conscience, and we should be thankful 
 that we have not to add to them the anticipation of 
 evil to come. 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 - THE CITY OF MAROCCO. 
 
 " FestiNARE in inedias res " is a golden rule of com- 
 position, and I fear that I have been an unconscion- 
 able time about beginning my story. However, it is 
 a fault that I share with many other tellers of tales. 
 Plow many a good and otherwise interesting book is 
 marred by the unutterable tediousness of its opening 
 chapters ! In our case the medics res would be some- 
 where in the middle of the Sahara, which, you will 
 agree with me, would be from Piccadilly too big and 
 sudden a jump. 
 
 Behold us, therefore, encamped, on this morning of 
 the 15th of May, in a diiar, or Arab tent village, on 
 the road to jMarakesh, the city of Marocco. We 
 started from the seaport town of Mazagan, and have 
 already been four days on the march. We ought to 
 be almost at Marakesh by now, but having come out 
 to enjoy ourselves we are taking things easy. The 
 sun has just risen, and the dew diamonds yet sparkle 
 on the tender grass-blades, and the air is keen and 
 fresh. Our Moorish servants are just striking the 
 tents and loading the mules, chattering, squabbling, 
 
30 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 gesticulating, as they always do whenever they have 
 any work on hand. What a noise and fuss they 
 make ! That tall Moor looks as if he is just going to 
 cut his fellow-servant's throat, but as a matter of fact 
 he is only asking him to give a hand with that big 
 box. Wasn't it Longfellow who wrote those pretty 
 lines — 
 
 " And shall fold their tents like the Arabs, 
 And as silently steal away " ? 
 
 Whoever it was, he can never have had much to do 
 with Arabs, as no member of that lively race was 
 ever known to behave as there described. When 
 folded, the tent has still to be put on the back of the 
 pack-animal, and he is sure to require much whacking 
 and objurgation. Then it is even betting that one of 
 the mules will start kicking. To stop him an extra 
 hundredweight of cargo is put on his back, and a 
 Moor jumps on the top to keep his heels down. The 
 mule resents this, and sends the whole bag of tricks 
 flying, and probably finishes by landing the Moor a 
 nasty one as he lies on the ground. All this engenders 
 a vast amount of heat and profanity, so that it will be 
 seen that the poet's picture of the breaking up of an 
 Eastern encampment is entirely a creation of fancy, 
 and has no foundation in fact. 
 
 While these preliminaries are being concluded we 
 mount our horses and enjoy a scamper over the plain. 
 Oh, the sense of exhilaration at being once more in 
 the Avilds amid a primitive people ; far from the busy 
 town with its petty cares and still pettier pleasures, 
 its Mammon-seeking and tuft-hunting, its muffin- 
 fights and money-grubbing ; the desert before you, 
 and the broad blue African sky above ! Look at 
 
THE CITY OF MAROCCO. 31 
 
 Urquhart galloping away on his handsome black 
 barb; isn't he just enjoying himself! And Gerald, 
 too, on his natty little chestnut, which I had an eye 
 on for myself, by the way, before he bought him. 
 For real, genuine pleasure give me foreign travel in 
 out-of-the-way places, where everything is new and 
 interesting — rich food for eye and brain for those who 
 can take in what they see. 
 
 " Fools wander, wise men travel," and though some 
 there be who, as Sterne says, may travel from Dan to 
 Beersheba, and find it all barren, yet to the man of 
 understanding a journey through this quaint land is 
 an education in itself It seems to quicken one's 
 perceptions, and to open up a whole vista of new 
 thoughts and ideas. It is to take a plunge two 
 thousand years back in the history of the world ; 
 to be reborn in Old Testament days ; to see our 
 ancestors, as it were, living before us in the flesh. 
 The country, too, is looking its best just now. The 
 prayers of the natives have been answered, and a 
 grateful rain has succeeded to a long and disastrous 
 drought. Inanimate Nature is radiant, but the 
 scarcity of animal life is somewhat depressing. A 
 few grey vultures of solemn aspect sit by the roadside, 
 seemingly taking deep thought concerning their mid- 
 day meal, and wondering where on earth they will 
 get it. Some miserable draggled peewits there are, 
 too, who have strayed further south than is their 
 wont. 
 
 " In the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest," 
 
 according to the poet. That is just what these birds 
 don't do, and they certainly look anything but 
 
32 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 wanton. I love plovers' eggs, so Gerald and I go out 
 hunting for them, but without success. If this were 
 England the birds would be feverishly occupied in 
 laying beautiful eggs at fourpence apiece, but there is 
 no market for such things out here, so I suppose they 
 don't think it worth while. 
 
 The third day we crossed a range of hills of 
 moderate height, and had our first view of the gleam- 
 ing snows of the giant Atlas range, and Marocco city, 
 with its groves of palm trees, its minarets and spires, 
 lying, as it were, at our feet. Below us a mighty 
 plain stretched away for hundreds of miles in one 
 unbroken level, bounded on the south by the Atlas. 
 A magnificent and, as far as my experience goes, a 
 unique panorama. Our caravan descends the barren, 
 treeless mountain side by an execrable path, and 
 defiles across the plain. We pass the night in a tiny 
 duar, the sheikh whereof looks askance at the dogs 
 of kafirs, or unbelievers, who ask for his hospitality, 
 and at first he seems disinclined to take us in. Greed 
 of gain, however, triumphs, as it generally does, over 
 sectarian animosity ; and, as there are said to be 
 bands of marauding Arabs of the Rhammena tribe 
 infesting the district, the tents are pitched in the 
 middle of the village, instead of outside, as we should 
 have preferred. We turn in early, but sleep is made 
 impossible owing to the odours and the noises — the 
 bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle, and the 
 melody of wakeful jackasses, themselves disturbed by 
 the watch-dogs baying at imaginary foes. 
 
 The afternoon of the next day sees us approaching 
 the crumbling walls, with their square towers and 
 bogus battlements, which encircle the southern 
 
THE CITY OF MAROCCO. 33 
 
 capital. What are those grisly objects nailed to that 
 whitewashed bit of wall, with the dark spots below 
 them ? 
 
 " Good heavens ! " cried Urquhart, " look at those 
 heads on the wall over there." 
 
 Heads they were — human ones too — and no mis- 
 take about it ; two rows of at least a dozen each, and 
 the blood dripping down had congealed in black 
 stains on the plaster. " Sidna, our Lord the Sultan 
 (may Allah prolong his life)," the Moors inform us, 
 had been engaged in the congenial occupation of 
 " eating up " a refractory tribe who showed a dis- 
 position to keep the tribute they owed his Majesty in 
 their own pockets, and these ghastly relicts of 
 humanity had a short time before stood on the 
 shoulders of the leaders of the revolt. Shocking as 
 such sights must be to every humane person, it is 
 strange how soon in the East one becomes ac- 
 climatized to horrors of every kind. Things which 
 in Europe would cause a shudder to run through you 
 out here attract little more than passing notice. 
 
 We had letters of introduction to the Bascha of the 
 city, and were graciously received by that functionary. 
 With many complimentary tropes and figures of 
 speech, he assured us how welcome we were, and 
 of the tremendous regard he had for us. All the 
 same, in his heart of hearts didn't he just wish us at 
 the bottom of the sea ! They lay the butter on a 
 little too thick for our English tastes; but then, we are 
 such a very plain-spoken people. The Bascha at the 
 time of our visit was a mulatto with more black than 
 white blood in his veins. He had started life as a 
 slave, and had earned a living by cleaning out the 
 
 D 
 
34 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 refuse from Moors' houses and by other menial 
 employments, till by a turn of fortune's wheel he had 
 managed to ingratiate himself in the Sultan's eyes 
 and had been raised to his present position. His 
 ambition was, however, not yet sated, and he now 
 aspired to the Grand Viziership, which office it was 
 said he had an excellent chance of obtaining. His 
 qualifications for the post were undeniable, as he was 
 a fanatical, pig-headed, and entirely bigoted despot. 
 
 A pretty specimen of fortune's favouritism truly ! 
 Yet such it seems to me is life, not only in the 
 East, but pretty much all the world over. Power 
 and place, success of every description, often fall to 
 the lot of the least worthy, and Dame Fortune awards 
 her prizes without regard to the merits of the 
 recipient. The unintelligent " accident of an accident " 
 is born to wealth and good things, while men of 
 talent struggle on unheeded and unrewarded. The 
 more one thinks about it the more one is impressed 
 by the part which sheer luck plays in all affairs of 
 life. For my own part, I believe the Mohammedan 
 theory of predestination is onh' a doctrinal method 
 of expressing this fact. Some one has wittily 
 observed that life in general is a " speculation for the 
 rise." "^ kitv cipKTriveiv is our motto, in the sense that 
 we are most of us trying to better ourselves. And 
 the factors of success are the same in this speculation 
 as in all others. Judgment, nerve, intelligence, 
 knowledge, and other qualities, go for something, but 
 luck is in every case the main arbiter of our destinies. 
 Take the case of the professions. Genius, I admit, 
 will probably force its way to the front, but for the 
 ordinary run of fairly instructed humanity (and the 
 
THE CITY OF MAROCCO. 35 
 
 bulk of US are now educated up to an even, if 
 tolerably high, standard of mediocrity) luck, and 
 trivial, or even contemptible, qualities usually deter- 
 mine the issue. An engaging smile and a talent for 
 tittle-tattle may do more for a medical man than the 
 profoundest knowledge of the healing art. As a 
 barrister friend of mine once remarked, " the disheart- 
 ening thing about the Bar is, not so much the number 
 of good men who fail to get on, as the unutterable 
 duffers who do." And so it is in nearly every walk 
 of life. You may think, gentle reader, that it is some 
 cynic soured by misfortune who addresses you in this 
 fashion, but it is not so. The world has treated me 
 not unkindly, and I find it very pleasant on the 
 whole. Fortune has reserved her heaviest blows for 
 other, and perhaps worthier, shoulders than mine. 
 Though not rich, I have sufficient for my wants, good 
 health, friends who are more than kind ; and what 
 can reasonable mortal wish for more in this vale of 
 tears ? Yet it does seem to me that to the man who 
 has brains to think, eyes to see, and a heart to feel, 
 the mass of hopeless and undeserved suffering in the 
 world, and the still more undeserved good fortune, 
 cannot but suggest saddening reflections. In another 
 sphere of existence, let us hope, the balance will be 
 struck and each man's account made even. Mean- 
 while we must be content to do our best, to work and 
 wait, and leave to Providence the issue. 
 
 But to resume. The practical result of our inter- 
 view with the Bascha was the placing at our disposal 
 a very tolerable house with a good-sized garden. As 
 soon as we had settled down comfortably in our new 
 quarters we set out on what had been the main 
 
36 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 object of our journey hither, to find AH Abd el 
 Ressool. Urquhart had been in correspondence with 
 the Persian on the subject of our expedition for some 
 time prior to our departure from England, so that 
 our arrival did not take him altogether by surprise. 
 After diligent search, we found the old man in a small 
 house down one of the tortuous alleys which pass 
 for streets in Moorish towns. Passing through the 
 narrow door, we found ourselves in a tesselated court 
 surrounded with a portico, and having a tiny fountain 
 playing in the centre. Our arrival was made known 
 to the master of the house by a buxom Jewish maid- 
 of-all-work, and in a few minutes there appeared a 
 tall well-built man with an iron-grey beard, who 
 proved to be Ali. I spoke of him just now as an old 
 man, but from his looks he should be little more than 
 fifty. He wore the ordinary dress of the country — 
 jellahia, or burnoos, yellow leathern slippers, fez, and 
 turban ; but a glance at his intelligent face, with its 
 chiselled features and transparent olive complexion, 
 told you he was not of Moorish extraction. He 
 received Urquhart with transports, but his method of 
 greeting Gerald and myself, though not uncourteous, 
 was, to say the least of it, peculiar. He commenced 
 by shaking hands, making a semi-circular sweep with 
 his arm pretty much in the idiotic style now in vogue 
 among fashionable ladies (why is it that one always 
 has to do or to wear something idiotic in order to be 
 in the fashion ?) which suggests a dislocated shoulder 
 or malformation of the elbow joint. Only, instead of 
 grasping my hand by the palm, as any ordinary 
 mortal would, he seized my thumb, and, waggling it 
 violently for some seconds, inquired in tolerable 
 
THE CITY OF MAROCCO. 37 
 
 English if my brains were in good order, and trusted 
 that I was feeling tolerably sane. Being new to this 
 latter form of salutation, I at first felt inclined to 
 resent it, not knowing that it is a common Persian 
 form of speech. Old All's conversation was, indeed, 
 generally a curiosity, being an odd mixture of Persian 
 and Maroquin figures of speech, interlarded now and 
 again with fragments of colloquial English. Urquhart 
 and he soon fell to talking together, so Gerald and 
 I left them and mounted to the flat roof of the house 
 (a most improper proceeding out here, as it gives you 
 a view of your neighbour's harems) and had a look 
 round. It was getting on towards seven o'clock, and 
 the fiery orb of the sun was just burying itself in the 
 distant plain, suffusing the sky with a flood of red, 
 green, and gold light. Then, as the tide of crimson 
 glory ebbed in the western heavens, a rosy flush 
 overspread the Atlas snows. The great red mosque 
 tower of the Kutubia glowed like some mighty obelisk 
 of flame as the solemn viagrcb, the evening inueddin, 
 or call to prayer, pealed forth from the belfry. A 
 truly impressive scene. We gazed on it awhile in 
 silence, neither of us caring to talk, and then as the 
 evening shades sprang rapidly up the leaden eastern 
 sky we went down into the house. There we found 
 the other two still engaged in conversation, and 
 making plans for our expedition into the interior. 
 Urquhart had little difficulty in persuading Ali to 
 accompany us. Indeed, I believe the old man would 
 have been ready to go anywhere or to do anything 
 that his benefactor asked him, such were the depths 
 of his gratitude and affection. He said he had been 
 debating the matter in his mind for some time past. 
 
38 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 and went so far as to assert that he had received 
 communications from two of his occult masters who 
 were now in Mount Atlas, namely, those very eminent 
 Thibetan Mahatmas, Messrs. Singmya Songo and 
 Kikkuppa Row, who had expressed themselves as 
 being much in favour of his making the journey. In 
 fact, he believed those gentlemen had been actually 
 present in their lingas shariras, or astral bodies, in 
 the city of Marocco during the past week, but they 
 had whisked themselves in the twinkling of an eye 
 over the summits of the Atlas range before he could 
 even get a sight of them. I should mention here 
 that the first named of these Mahatmas, Mr. Singmya 
 Songo, was none other than the Arhat alluded to by 
 Urquhart as having been All's gooroo, or instructor 
 in esoteric science, in India. 
 
 The details of our journey and the outline of the 
 route we were to take were mainly left to Ali. Con- 
 cerning the latter, he continued to profess to have 
 received information from occult sources, but Gerald 
 and I were naturally sceptical on the point, and 
 thought that if he knew anything about it (which we 
 rather doubted) he had learned it from the natives. 
 On our asking him if he thought we should ever 
 arrive at Mount Atlas, " Inshallah," he replied with 
 a shrug, " please God. Shkoon araf, who knows ? 
 May your footsteps be fortunate and may your end 
 be happy. Who can forecast the lot of man or say 
 what a day may bring forth ? Behold ! our comings 
 and our groings are written in the book of Fate. The 
 issue is with Allah, and on His'will all things depend, 
 for there is no power or strength except in God." 
 
 The reader may imagine that neither of us believed 
 
THE CITY OF MAROCCO. 39 
 
 in the existence of Mount Atlas or its mystic in- 
 habitants, though Urquhart's faith in both remained 
 unshaken. We recognized the fact that we were 
 starting on a dangerous expedition involving great 
 toil and danger, and if any one had asked us what 
 induced us to go it would have been difficult to give 
 a satisfactory answer. Primarily, Gerald went because 
 Urquhart was bent on going, and I went — well, 
 because both of them were going. Add to this an 
 inborn love of adventure, and vague ideas of big 
 game shooting in the heart of the Dark Continent, 
 and you have the sum total of the motives that 
 influenced us. At the same time, on calmly thinking 
 the matter over, after the Hghthearted consent I had 
 given in Urquhart's club, I could not help having 
 grave misgivings as to the result. I knew that we 
 should have to cross the Atlas range by passes eleven 
 or twelve thousand feet high, whereon civilized men 
 had never yet set foot, through tribes of wild and 
 dangerous Schlohs ; that in the oasis of the Draa and 
 in Southern Marocco we should encounter a popula- 
 tion among the most bloodthirsty and fanatical in 
 Africa ; and that the journey across the Great Desert, 
 if we ever reached its borders alive, by a way far 
 removed from the ordinary caravan routes to the 
 interior, would be environed by the greatest peril. 
 And all this to gratify a fantastic idea of Urquhart's, 
 which probably had not the slightest basis in fact. 
 However, in for a penny in for a pound ; I had put 
 my hand to the plough and must not now draw back. 
 It was ten o'clock before we left Ali's house and 
 began to thread our way back to our own quarters. 
 How strange and weird are our surroundings ! Beneath 
 
40 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the sable canopy of night the great city sleeps — 
 sleeps, too, with a stillness that strikes with wonder us 
 Europeans accustomed to the never-ceasing hum and 
 roar of London streets. We have brought a lantern 
 with us, and it is well that we have done so. The 
 moon is not yet risen, and the faint starlight scarcely 
 penetrates these narrow alleys where the eaves of the 
 tumble-down houses almost meet overhead, leaving 
 only a thin line of steel-blue sky visible between. We 
 grope our way slowly along, stumbling over the cobble- 
 stones and refuse heaps that choke the streets ; down 
 main thoroughfares which sometimes attain the 
 majestic width of ten or twelve feet ; through quaint 
 gateways and wynds where three men could scarcely 
 walk abreast, till at length we find ourselves in the 
 great square of the city. Here it is barely three 
 minutes' walk to our house, so we pause awhile to 
 await the rising of the moon. It is growing less dark 
 every moment, and she cannot delay us long. And 
 now the stars begin to flicker feebly in the augmenting 
 light, and the snowy counterpane of Atlas gleams 
 with a ghostly brilliancy, as, trailing behind her a 
 gauzy robe of silvery vapour, the pale goddess climbs 
 the heavens. 
 
 How different from the scene a few hours ago ! 
 In the daytime all is heat and dust and bustle, while 
 dirt, misery, and decay are everywhere painfully 
 apparent. Now not a living thing is to be seen. 
 Merchants and stall-keepers are snoring in their beds ; 
 the beggars, the halt, the lame, and the blind, have 
 betaken themselves Heaven knows where, and their 
 places are filled by long phantom-like shadows. Not 
 a sound is to be heard save the breeze whispering 
 
THE CITY OF MAROCCO. i,\ 
 
 through the feathery palm-tops. The pale witchery 
 of night casts a mysterious glamour over everything, 
 causing these tumbledown buildings of tabbia to 
 appear like ruined castles. Even yon Alpine heights, 
 whose snows at noontime seem to shine so strangely 
 in the blaze of the African sun, now appear quite 
 natural and appropriate in the cold shimmer of the 
 moonbeams. It is a scene to dream of and to linger 
 over ; and as we silently watch the light fleecy clouds 
 drifting lazily, like opalescent snowflakes along the 
 glistening sides of the mountains, our thoughts are 
 transported by its weird beauty to other worlds, and 
 fancy runs riot even in the prosaic brain of Gerald 
 Somervell. 
 
 Suddenly our reveries are disturbed by the shrill 
 tones of a rhectah (pipe) and its inevitable accom- 
 paniment, the tom-tom. What midnight orgie thus 
 breaks so rudely on our ears ? Only a i&w rioters 
 keeping late carouse after the wedding of a relation. 
 They do not keep it up for long, but the spell is 
 broken, and as we wend our way homewards all is 
 once more calm and still as in a city of the dead. 
 
42 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ACROSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Circumstances compelled us to make a long stay 
 in Marakesh, the last fortnight of which was spent in 
 the purchasing of tents and animals, the hiring of 
 servants, and in otherwise preparing for our departure. 
 Urquhart's thorough knowledge of Arabic was of 
 great use to us at this time. For myself, I already 
 possessed a smattering of the language, and after a 
 few months' practice could talk it pretty fluently, 
 while Gerald showed a surprising facility in picking 
 it up. 
 
 Our destination was kept a profound secret even 
 from the servants. Had they known where we were 
 going they would never have entered our employ, and 
 Ali assured us that if the matter came to the ears of 
 the Moorish authorities they would dispatch a troop 
 of cavalry after us and bring us back before even we 
 reached the foot of the mountains. The Sultan of 
 Marocco has a rooted aversion to strangers travelling 
 about his " happy dominions " otherwise than along 
 certain beaten tracks. Accordingly, as soon as our 
 preparations were completed, we sallied forth by the 
 
ACIiOSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 43 
 
 Bab el Debagh, or eastern gate of the city, and took 
 the road which leads through the beautiful palm 
 forests, as if en route for the coast. We passed the 
 night in the village of Tamilelt, not far from the foot 
 of the Atlas, and leaving it early next morning, we 
 struck off in a south-easterly direction straight towards 
 the mountains. And now our difficulties began. Our 
 servants on learning whither we were bound began to 
 mutiny, raising a tremendous hubbub and crying out 
 that we should all be murdered. For awhile threats, 
 bribes, and entreaties were alike of no avail, so that 
 in the end we had to discharge the greater number of 
 them. Fortunately we managed to retain one of the 
 best, a muleteer named Almarakshi, a big strapping 
 mulatto, who did a power of work and was very 
 willing. Our cook also consented to remain with us, 
 a worthy but very corpulent native of Marakesh, and 
 a master of his art. Needless to say that his name 
 was Mohammed. To distinguish him from his 
 numerous namesakes we called him " Staferallah 
 Mohammed " (Allah-forgive-me Mohammed), because 
 of his frequent use of that expression. Moorish 
 speech is always interlarded with pious ejaculations, 
 such as " Bismillah," " Hamdoollah," etc., pitchforked 
 in without any relevance or connection to the subject- 
 matter of the conversation, like our English "you 
 know" and "don't you know;" and "Staferallah" 
 was Mohammed's favourite phrase. 
 
 Two or three of the smartest of the muleteers were 
 also induced by offers of increased pay not to desert. 
 With these, and such additional hands as we hoped 
 to be able to pick up on the way, we thought we 
 should get on pretty well. As we expected to have 
 
44 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 a lot of mountain work, we had sold our horses in the 
 Soko, or, as the Scotch would say, " by public roup," 
 in the city of Marocco, and had procured some fine 
 big mules in their stead. Personally I detest mules, 
 but they have this advantage, that, as the Moors 
 say, they have no disease but what a stick will 
 cure. None the less, they are most unpleasant 
 beasts to ride. They have no shoulder to speak of, 
 and their action is as irritating as their tempers are 
 uncertain. 
 
 We took up our quarters the next night in a Schloh 
 village amid the foot-hills of the main chain. The 
 inhabitants regarded us with great curiosity, but 
 made no signs of open hostility. All this part of 
 Marocco is inhabited by wild and semi-independent 
 tribes of Schlohs, who form one of the largest branches 
 of the great Berber race. Driven from the plains by 
 the early Arab invaders, they withdrew to these 
 mountain fastnesses, where even now the troops of 
 their nominal ruler, the Sultan, dare not follow them. 
 Ali happened to be acquainted with the head man of 
 the village, and through his good offices we secured 
 the services of a native who for a moderate sum 
 volunteered to guide us over the mountains. I 
 cannot give you this individual's name, for the simple 
 reason that, like so many of these jaw-breaking 
 Arabic words, it is simply untranscribable. Suffice 
 it to say that it commenced with a hiccough, the 
 middle was an expectoration, and the termination a 
 sneeze. He was a truculent-looking ruffian, sallow 
 and lantern-jawed, with high cheek-bones like most 
 of his race ; and his generally sinister aspect was 
 further heightened by a most tremendous squint. 
 
ACROSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 45 
 
 He wore a dark jellabia, tricked out with parti- 
 coloured fringes, yellow top boots, and a pair of 
 voluminous breeches of dirty red cloth. On his head 
 was a greasy tarboosJi, or fez cap, from under which 
 descended oily, black, curly elf-locks. An armament 
 of antique weapons completed his equipment — por- 
 tentous pistols that would not go off, and would blow 
 your hand off if they did ; a curved scimitar in a pink 
 leathern sheath, ghastly-looking Sus knives stuck in 
 his belt and slung by red cords over his shoulder. 
 He was for ever boasting of his prowess in battle, 
 having once, I believe, lain in ambush and shot an 
 enemy in the back and then chopped the head and 
 hands off the dead body. He also prided himself on 
 his horsemanship, giving himself out as a sort of 
 centaur, though Mohammed, who took a great dislike 
 to him, had a different tale to tell. He assured us 
 that his chief equestrian feat was performed on a 
 certain memorable occasion in Marakesh, when, 
 having been detected in some act of petty theft, he 
 was mounted on an ass with his face to its tail, and, 
 holding that appendage of the animal in his hand, 
 was whacked through the streets for three hours by 
 the citizens. Besides his other weapons he carried 
 a matchlock of portentous length, so that Gerald, who 
 was getting on very fast with his Arabic, nicknamed 
 him " Beni M'cohhella," which, being interpreted, 
 signifies the " Son of a Gun," and this appellation 
 stuck to him to the day of his death. 
 
 Talking of nicknames, the Arabs are past masters 
 in the art of inventing them, and they were not long 
 in spotting our individual peculiarities and labelling 
 us accordingly. It was not likely that Gerald's 
 
46 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 proboscis would escape their observant eyes, and he 
 was promptly dubbed " Aboo Nokhra," or " The 
 Father of the Nose." Urquhart, whose whiskers in 
 their untrained luxuriance had almost attained the 
 dignity of those appendages once known as " Piccadilly 
 Weepers," went by the name of " The Father of 
 Whiskers." My physiognomy not having any features 
 worthy of a nickname I was styled plain Tajjer, or 
 merchant, the title usually given in the interior to 
 Christians who do not bear any official rank. 
 
 Our bivouac was amid the most enchanting scenery. 
 Before us a broad and fertile valley stretched away 
 seemingly up into the heart of the mountains. A 
 small stream, its banks clothed in with oleanders in 
 full bloom, flowed down through meadows of a 
 brilliant green such as is never to be found in the 
 plains. About the hillsides occasional houses and 
 villages lay embosomed in groves of olive, fig, and 
 orange trees, and tiny corn-fields dotted about made 
 a singular patchwork of gold and green landscape. 
 
 Our progress at first, after leaving the village, was 
 easy and tolerably rapid. Higher up, the valley 
 narrowed to a gorge, with precipitous sides fringed 
 with forests of lentisk and evergreen oak. The 
 mountains on either hand grew steeper and loftier, 
 and the road — well, there wasn't much road. The 
 Son of a Gun led the way on foot, chattering of his 
 deeds of valour and the foes he had slain, hopping 
 over the boulders and other obstacles in the path 
 with marvellous agility. Urquhart came next, with 
 Ali close at his heels on a big brindled bgJmll, or he- 
 mule (pray do not try and pronounce this word, fair 
 reader, or you will dislocate your pretty jaw), with 
 
ACROSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 47 
 
 Stripes like a hyaena. Then followed Gerald and 
 myself and the pack-mules and the Moors of our train. 
 For the first two days we had met with nothing 
 but civility from the natives, who, while they naturally 
 regarded our advent with much wonder, abstained 
 from all hostile action ; but further on we heard 
 rumours of marauding tribes inhabiting the southern 
 slopes of the Atlas, who lay in ambush for and 
 plundered passing caravans. In particular, a certain 
 tribe, rejoicing in the name of the Beniboogoozgoo, 
 seemed to be notorious for their cruelty and ferocity, 
 and they were now, we were informed, on the war- 
 path. Some merchants from the Draa oasis, journey- 
 ing northwards, had been waylaid and murdered by 
 these ruffians not many days previously. 
 
 The danger not being near or immediate, Beni 
 M'cohhela assumed a lofty air of protection towards 
 all the rest of the party, assuring us that we had no 
 need to fear as long as he was with us. To poor old 
 Ali especially, who was visibly getting very nervous 
 and uncomfortable,hewas beyond measure patronizing, 
 taking him under his wing in a manner that was 
 excessively galling to that sensitive old gentleman. 
 
 " Verily, O Ali," he cried, " there is no need for 
 fear. Blessings on your beard, you old ass, am I not 
 with you .'' Oollah ! by Allah, ere now this right 
 arm hath put a score of stout warriors to flight ; and 
 if those sons of unmentionable mothers, the Beniboo- 
 goozgoo (may their fathers' graves be eternally defiled), 
 dare to attack the Oolad Ingleez (sons of the English), 
 woe betide them." 
 
 " Loor kebar ! God is great," rejoined the Persian ; 
 " what dirt is this we are eating ? My trust is in 
 
48 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Allah ; but I should indeed be afraid if we had to rely 
 on you and your rusty old blunderbuss for protection. 
 Do you laugh at our beards ? " 
 
 " Ya lateef ! Merciful Allah," exclaimed the Son 
 of a Gun, executing a sort of war-dance, and spinning 
 his gun round and catching it after the fashion of the 
 jugglers at Moorish fairs. " Ya lateef! Do you 
 question my valour? Have I not eaten of the lion's 
 heart ? " ^ 
 
 " Staferallah ! if he only fights as well as he talks, 
 we can all lay down our arms and look on," remarked 
 Mohammed in his most sarcastic tones ; and he went 
 on to suggest that our guide had probably eaten less 
 of the lion's heart than of the ras ed diibbaJi^ or 
 hyaina's brain, and that, however much he might be 
 the Son of a Gun, he was, at any rate, the father of 
 all asses. There was no love lost between these two, 
 and they were perpetually squabbling in this fashion. 
 " Of a verity, O Father of Whiskers," said Mo- 
 hammed to Urquhart, " there will be no peace in the 
 goffla (caravan) so long as this kilb ibn kilb (dog and 
 son of a dog) remains with us. Lai sti shimlek, may 
 God scatter your relations," he continued, apostro- 
 phizing Beni M'cohhela ; " the wind has got into your 
 brain, you jackanapes. Inshallah ! Please Allah, I 
 will yet live to defile your grave, or my name is not 
 Mohammed." 
 
 The Son of a Gun was too much pumped with his 
 antics and chatter, and the increasing steepness of 
 
 * According to Moorish belief a person who has eaten of the heart of 
 a lion, becomes endowed with great bravery in battle. 
 
 - To say that a person has tasted the hyaena's brain is equivalent to 
 calling him a fool, the hyaena being considered the stupidest of beasts. 
 
ACROSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 49 
 
 the road, to make a suitable reply to the sallies of 
 our cook, so he relapsed into silence. For awhile 
 nothing broke the stillness of the mountain air except 
 the roar of the torrent, the " click-click " of our mules' 
 hoofs against the stones, and the occasional, " Arrah, 
 arrah ny mek " ("Go on ; go along to your mother "), 
 of a muleteer to his lagging beast. Our route led up 
 the left or western side of the stream, which foamed 
 and brawled on its impetuous course several hundred 
 feet below. The path in places lay along the edge of 
 an almost sheer cliff, and of course our mules, in 
 their usual pig-headed fashion, insisted on walking as 
 close to the brink as possible. It is never any sort of 
 use remonstrating with the brutes. You must try 
 and fancy yourself far safer with one foot dangling 
 over the abyss, and remember that the maxim, 
 " Medio tutissimus ibis," was not meant to apply to 
 jackasses. 
 
 I shall not attempt to describe in detail our journey 
 over this magnificent chain of mountains, though I 
 could say a good deal about it. We journeyed by 
 easy stages for two or three days, resting one Sunday 
 in a small grass-plot by the edge of the stream. The 
 track grew worse as we advanced higher up the 
 valley. In places it had been swept entirely away by 
 avalanches, and it was necessary for us to cut it 
 afresh out of steep slopes of slippery shale. Deep 
 rifts and gorges, too, cleft by rushing torrents, with 
 fantastically shaped rocks about their sides, con- 
 tinually impeded our progress. The valley grew 
 narrower and narrower, and the mountains on either 
 side higher and more rugged, till at last we were 
 forced to quit the line of the stream, and climbed up 
 
 E 
 
50 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 a small zig-zag path to the right. In a few hours we 
 reached a sort of plateau, which, like a Swiss Alp, lay- 
 along the summit of the lower precipitous face of the 
 mountain. My aneroid here gave the height as 
 9500 feet. We followed this plateau for a consider- 
 able distance. The slope was very moderate, and 
 the going altogether much better. At this elevation 
 patches of snow began to show themselves, and the 
 white slope, which stretched above us in billowy 
 undulations to the summit of the range, caused me 
 some misgivings as to our being able to get the 
 beasts over. 
 
 However, as so often happens in worldly affairs, 
 our difficulties were greater in the prospect than in 
 the reality, and a laborious trudge of a few hours at 
 length brought us to the summit of the pass. A 
 glorious view here burst upon us. Northwards the 
 city of Marocco lay, as it were, at our feet, though in 
 reality many miles distant, its red towers and spires 
 and battlements being plainly visible. Westwards 
 the great plain stretched away to where, in the far 
 distance, we fancied we could discern the blue 
 Atlantic. Several miniature rivers, including the Wad 
 Tensift and the Wad N'fys, glinted like silvery 
 threads in the sunlight. Near us were no Alpine 
 cliffs or jagged peaks, only huge, white, rounded 
 mountain masses, about whose sides fleecy clouds 
 floated like pieces of cotton wool. On the southern 
 slopes the mists were gathered more thickly. Now 
 and again, as they dispersed, glimpses were afforded 
 us of the fertile valley of the Sus, down which the 
 river flowed in serpentine windings. Beyond the 
 valley, to the south-east, the blue outlines of the Anti- 
 
ACROSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 51 
 
 Atlas peaks were plainly visible whenever the curtain 
 of vapour parted asunder, and far to the south the 
 desert floated in a yellow haze. 
 
 We did not stay long on the summit, as, although 
 the sun was shining brightly, a keen wind blowing 
 from the east made the Moors' teeth chatter and 
 their bodies shiver with cold. Not far below the top 
 of the pass we met some ragged-looking natives, 
 toiling painfully up the steep incline. After burning 
 our grandparents sotto voce in orthodox fashion, and 
 expressing a pious hope that all N'sara, or Nazarenes, 
 might frizzle in Jehannum, they bestowed a salaam 
 alikuin, or " peace be with you," on the Son of a Gun, 
 and informed us that they had travelled all the way 
 from Tafilet on foot, and were now bound for Marocco 
 City. They pointed us out our route, concerning 
 which the Son of a Gun evidently had not the 
 foggiest notion, and gave us some useful information 
 concerning the movements of the Beniboogoozgoo. 
 They said we might expect to encounter that truculent 
 tribe at some place not far from the foot of the 
 mountains. They had themselves been apprehensive 
 of an attack, and attributed their escape solely to 
 their poverty-stricken appearance. A caravan like 
 our own, however, which consisted' partly of Chris- 
 tians, could hardly hope for similar good fortune, as 
 in our case the motive of plunder would be supple- 
 mented by that of religious fanaticism. 
 
 After bestowing some small backsheesh on our new 
 friends, which they pocketed without any outward 
 sign of gratitude, whatever their innermost feelings 
 may have been, we resumed our downward journey. 
 There was little that was remarkable in the way of 
 
SSt' THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 scenery ; but we noticed a decided change for the 
 warmer in the temperature, and the vegetation 
 climbed at least a thousand feet higher up the moun- 
 tain side. We selected an open spot for our encamp- 
 ment that evening in order to be more secure against 
 surprises, and we had a watch set all night. The 
 Son of a Gun redoubled his maledictions against 
 those sons of Sheitan, the Beniboogoozgoo, whose 
 fathers he hoped to burn, and for whose reception he 
 was persuaded the fires of Jehannum were already 
 kindled ; but his boastings of his personal prowess 
 had grown much fainter of late. On the march next 
 day he resigned his position in the van on the plea of 
 a sore foot, and located himself in the centre of the 
 caravan alongside of Mohammed. We had not gone 
 far when shrill voices raised in anger told us that 
 fresh ructions had broken out between the two. 
 
 " Lai harak abook, may God burn your father ! " 
 screamed Mohammed, in a passion, and a volley of 
 other imprecations followed. 
 
 It appeared that the Son of a Gun was carrying his 
 matchlock on his shoulder and the muzzle had caught 
 our cook a pretty hard knock on the head, which gave 
 him an opportunity of picking a quarrel with his 
 enemy. But the approach of danger had made Beni 
 M'cohhela humble and submissive. 
 
 "Aywa, rajjel " ("Well, man"), he rejoined in that 
 curious, sing-song, deprecatory tone affected by the 
 Moors, " do not be angry. Bismillah ! in the name 
 of Allah, it was but an accident." 
 
 " Staferallah ! I'll 'accident' you, you greasy son 
 of Jehannum ! Don't you dare to come near me, or 
 I'll pull your beard ! May your sister have an old 
 
ACROSS THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS. 53 
 
 jackass for a sweetheart, and may the dogs defile 
 your father's grave ! " 
 
 This last affront was more than the Son of a Gun 
 could endure. He did not mind personal insults ; 
 he could even put up with imputations on the moral 
 character of his living female relations, but the 
 tombs of his ancestors were sacred. Abandoning his 
 submissive attitude, he broke out in wrath — 
 
 " Lai sti shimlek ; ma andish book ! May God 
 scatter your relations, you man without a father ! " he 
 cried. " Where was your mother married, you tun- 
 bellied old father of a cooking-pot ? Don't speak to 
 me like that, or I'll put a bullet through you ; " and 
 he raised his matchlock threateningly. 
 
 " Holy Prophet ! but I'll punch your head, you ill- 
 conditioned dog's son ! " howled Mohammed, making 
 a dive for his antagonist, whom he grabbed by his 
 long greasy love-locks, tearing them out by handfuls. 
 The pair rolled over on the ground, and it was with 
 difficulty that they could be separated. 
 
 We gave them both, especially Mohammed, a good 
 rating for their unseemly behaviour at a crisis when 
 it was beyond all things necessary that we should 
 present a united front to our expected foes. 
 
54 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ROBBER ATTACK. 
 
 As we neared the foothills, which here, as on the 
 northern side, extended for some distance from the 
 base of the main chain, the road entered a narrow 
 defile, through which a stream, fed by the melting of 
 the mountain snows, flowed down into the Sus valley. 
 It was necessary to keep a sharp look-out here, as 
 the locality was favourable for an ambush. We three 
 Englishmen carried double-barrelled Express rifles, 
 and, with our revolvers in our belts, we felt we ought 
 to be a match for any reasonable number of the 
 Beniboogoozgoo. Our servants all carried swords, 
 and some of them were armed in addition with 
 matchlocks and Moorish pistols. Gerald offered AH 
 one of our spare revolvers ; but the poor old fellow, 
 who was trembling all over like an aspen leaf, would 
 not take it. 
 
 " May I be your sacrifice, O Father of the Nose ! " 
 he cried. " Allow me to explain, for the good of 
 your service, that I am a man of peace, not of war. 
 Staferallah ! may God forgive me, but fear hath 
 already gat hold of my loins. My knees are loosened ; 
 
THE ROBBER ATTACK'. 55 
 
 my liver is become water ; my bowels are much 
 moved ; and my heart is as wax. Wherefore, by your 
 favour, if an enemy should attack us (which may 
 Allah in His mercy avert), I will extinguish the fires 
 of audacity with the waters of prudence, and conceal 
 my person beneath the veil of obscurity ; " by which 
 figure of speech I imagine he intended to convey that 
 he would hide in a ditch till the fight was over. 
 
 " In that case," rejoined the heartless Gerald, " I 
 shall feel constrained to prick the flanks of timidity 
 with the goad of coercion ; or, to vary the metaphor 
 slightly, to plant the boot of contumely upon the 
 rump of pusillanimity. Come, take the pistol, you 
 old funk." 
 
 " God be gracious to my brother ! " cried the 
 Persian in great distress ; "ashes are fallen upon my 
 head, and I devour much grief. My trust is in Allah, 
 but I fear lest our faces be made black in the sight of 
 our enemies " (poor old All's was white enough in all 
 conscience), " and we be covered with a mantle of 
 shame." 
 
 " It's not a bit of good, Gerald," said Urquhart ; 
 " he would never hit anything if he had the pistol, 
 unless it was a mule or one of ourselves." 
 
 Thus admonished, Gerald left our faint-hearted 
 retainer to his own devices. It was just past midday, 
 and the sun was beating fiercely down on our heads. 
 Not a breath stirred. We carefully scanned the 
 ground in our neighbourhood, hut could see no sign 
 of the enemy. The hillsides were rocky and covered 
 with thick bush, and anything like effective scouting 
 was out of the question. We were approaching a 
 spot where a high rock rose almost perpendicularly 
 
56 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 from the bed of the stream, and the road narrowed 
 to a sort of ledge cut out of the face of the precipice, 
 where mules with burdens could not pass. Accord- 
 ingly, the caravan was halted, the animals were 
 •unloaded, and the luggage carried past the obstacle 
 on the backs of the Moors. We had all got safely 
 by, and the last muleteer with his beast had regained 
 the path which here turned sharply to the right. A 
 halt was again called and the process of reloading the 
 mules commenced. Suddenly a white puff of smoke 
 issued from behind a rock thirty yards on our right ; 
 there was a report, followed by the scream of a bullet 
 and a dull thud. One of the finest of the mules, 
 which carried our sleeping tent, staggered and rolled 
 over the precipice with his burden. In a moment 
 all was dire confusion. The Moors screamed and 
 jabbered and swore. The muleteers in the rear 
 whacked their beasts to make them go on, while 
 those in front backed into those behind. Two or 
 three of the more vicious mules started kicking, and 
 everything in a few moments got hopelessly mixed. 
 The first discharge was followed by six or eight 
 dropping shots, which, however, did little damage. 
 Simultaneously there swarmed out of the bush a band 
 of Berbers, tall, lithe, active-looking fellows, with 
 comparatively light hair and complexions. They 
 wore short dark-coloured y>//«Z'/^i' and red gun-covers 
 twisted as turbans round their heads, and long plaited 
 scalplocks falling down over their shoulders. At the 
 second discharge the Son of a Gun, calling out, 
 "Allah! Allah! the Beniboogoozgoo are upon us!" 
 flung aside his matchlock and fled precipitately up 
 the path. IMohammed, who had drawn his sword, 
 
THE ROBBER ATTACK. 57 
 
 made a furious cut at him as he passed ; but, making 
 a bad shot, he only chopped off a mule's tail, and the 
 Son of a Gun continued his way unhurt. Not for 
 long, however. As he neared the precipitous rock 
 the tall form of a Beniboogoozgoo warrior rose from 
 behind a stone and covered him with his matchlock. 
 The unhappy man, seeing his retreat cut off, turned, 
 screaming with terror, and endeavoured to rejoin the 
 caravan. But it was too late. A well-directed shot 
 sent a bullet crashing through his spine, and with a 
 cry of agony he fell prone to the earth. 
 
 Meanwhile Urquhart, Gerald, and myself had 
 plunged into the bush, and, taking advantage of the 
 cover offered by a small watercourse, whose sides 
 were overgrown with ferns and flowering shrubs, we 
 advanced to the attack. We were not long in picking 
 off three or four of the Beniboogoozgoo, who, fancying 
 that they had met with an easy prey, were rushing to 
 the loot of the caravan. An ill-aimed volley in reply 
 emptied the matchlocks of the remainder of our 
 assailants ; so, laying aside our rifles, we rushed upon 
 them with revolver in hand. Our foes evidently did 
 not understand what six-shooters were ; but, drawing 
 their swords, they prepared to make short work of 
 the presumptuous and, as they thought, unarmed 
 infidels. Their boldness, however, gave way to panic 
 when a hailstorm of bullets rained upon them, 
 dropping five or six of their number in less than half 
 as many minutes. The survivors took to their heels 
 and bolted into the bush. Gerald, who had emptied 
 his revolver, snatched a sword from the hand of one 
 of the dead robbers and started in pursuit of a big, 
 strapping Beniboogoozgoo, who, from his bearing and 
 
58 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 commanding presence, seemed to be the leader of the 
 gang. 
 
 Urquhart and myself returned to the mules. A 
 pitched battle was being waged around them with 
 sabre and knife between several of the enemy and 
 our servants. The latter were outnumbered in the 
 proportion of at least three to two ; but they were, 
 nevertheless, defending themselves valiantly. In the 
 midst of the melee I could see the portly form of 
 Mohammed hacking and hewing away with a ven- 
 geance, but, as far as we could see, doing surprisingly 
 little execution for such a large expenditure of labour 
 and breath. In fact, the hitting was altogether too 
 wild, and the scrimmage too confused, for much 
 serious damage to be done. A few shots from our 
 revolvers made matters more even, and the attacking 
 force, seeing reinforcements arriving on the scene of 
 action, scampered off like rabbits into the thicket. 
 Two or three of our Moors had received more or less 
 severe sword-cuts, but none of them were of a par- 
 ticularly serious nature. Almarakshi, who, by the 
 way, had shown great pluck throughout, had sus- 
 tained the worst injuries, and he required a good deal 
 of bandaging in the evening. 
 
 This over, and the enemy being now routed at all 
 points, Urquhart and I went back into the bush in 
 search of Gerald. I felt anxious lest his impetuosity 
 should lead him into a trap, and he should be over- 
 powered by numbers. Hearing a clatter of falling 
 stones above us, we looked up in the direction whence 
 the sound come, and saw the Berber bounding up the 
 hillside like a deer, with Gerald pressing hotly in his 
 rear. Gerald was a good stayer, and had won his 
 
THE ROBBER ATTACK. 59 
 
 college mile race at Cambridge ; but the native, lithe 
 and active as a cat, was having the best of him in the 
 race, till he suddenly found his upward progress barred 
 by a band of perpendicular rock which ran for a 
 considerable distance along the mountain-side. Here 
 he paused a moment, uncertain whether to turn to 
 the right or left, and Gerald lessened the gap between 
 them by several yards. 
 
 Seeing little hope of escape in flight, the African 
 turned to bay, and, springing from his vantage ground 
 on his pursuer, aimed a furious stroke at Gerald's 
 head. The latter seemed to be taken by surprise, 
 but raised his sword to parry the blow. Whether it 
 was that Gerald was pumped by his long run, or 
 merely that the force of the blow broke down his 
 guard, I cannot say, but we were horrified to see his 
 pith helmet fly from his head, and from the way he 
 staggered it was plain he was wounded. Happily, 
 he managed to recover himself sufficiently before his 
 antagonist could repeat the blow, and, hitting out 
 wildly, he wounded the Berber on the shoulder. 
 With a howl of pain and rage, the latter sprang upon 
 him like a wild beast ; but Gerald evaded his onset, 
 and, getting on even terms with his assailant, the two 
 went at it hammer and tongs, blow following blow 
 with astonishing rapidity. 
 
 Meanwhile Urquhart and myself were straining 
 every nerve to get to Gerald's assistance ; but the 
 fight was over before we came up. Blood was flowing 
 freely from both combatants. Gerald had received 
 an ugly gash on the left side of his head, from which 
 a red stream trickled down his checks. The Berber, 
 too, was evidently weakened by his wound, and 
 
6o THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 began to show signs of tiring. Gerald saw his 
 advantage, and, pressing hotly on the enemy, delivered 
 a succession of blows, which were but feebly returned. 
 One final stroke ended the fight, and the Berber, 
 letting his weapon drop from his nerveless hand, fell 
 flat on the earth, with his head cleft almost in two. 
 
 "Well done, old chap ! " cried Urquhart, coming up 
 just as it was all over ; " that last knock was a 
 splendid one. Hullo ! hold up, though," he ex- 
 claimed, as Gerald, turning ashy pale, reeled and 
 would have fallen had we not supported him. 
 
 We carried him down to the caravan and tried to 
 bring him back to consciousness by rubbing his 
 temples and dashing water in his face. Some time 
 elapsed, however, before our efforts were successful, 
 and we began to grow alarmed lest he should be 
 more seriously injured than we had supposed. I 
 think it must have been nearly a quarter of an hour 
 before a faint flush returned to his cheeks and his 
 eyes opened and he tried to sit up. 
 
 " Where am I ? what has happened ? " were his 
 first questions. 
 
 " Never mind, old fellow," said Urquhart, " lie still. 
 You've had a nasty knock, but you will soon be all 
 right. By the way," he continued, turning to me, 
 "what has become of old AH } I hope he hasn't got 
 knocked on the head. We can't get along without 
 him." 
 
 At this moment we heard loud cries of " Allah ! 
 Allah ! " and other exclamations of woe accompanied 
 by appeals for help. Looking in the direction of the 
 sounds I saw the turbaned form of Mohammed de- 
 scending the hillside, and a little lower down a white 
 
THE ROBBER ATTACK. 6 1 
 
 figure lying huddled up under a big stone. This last 
 proved to be Ali, who in the extremity of his fear 
 imagined Mohammed to be one of the Beniboo- 
 goozgoo who had discovered his hiding-place and 
 was coming to kill him. Thinking he might have 
 been wounded, I left Gerald in charge of Urquhart 
 and went down to see what was the matter. It 
 appeared that Ali, following the example of the Son of 
 a Gun, had taken to his heels at the first appearance 
 of the enemy, but, more fortunate than that luckless 
 son of Araby, he had managed to gain the friendly 
 shelter of a rock. From this coign of vantage he had 
 witnessed the fight between Gerald and the Beniboo- 
 goozgoo, though a hillock had prevented his seeing 
 the rout of the main body of the enemy. 
 
 "La bas, Hamdoollah! Hamdoollah la bas! Praise 
 be to Allah, you have escaped injury. Allah is the 
 only conqueror ; but the Father of the Nose is a very 
 hon in the fight. How he vanquished that big son of 
 Sheitan, the chief of the Beniboogoozgoo ! With my 
 eyes I saw it." 
 
 "Well, you wouldn't be likely to have seen it with 
 your ears, eh, stupid ! " I remarked. 
 
 " Oollah ! his bowels are immovable ; he has 
 eaten of the lion's heart. As he pursued the enemy 
 up the hill curiosity overcame timidity, and, stretch- 
 ing my head above the stone, with these eyes I beheld 
 his prowess. But tell me, for the love of Allah, where 
 is the Son of a Gun ? " 
 
 " Dead," I replied ; " he fled at the first shock of 
 battle, and met with the fate M'hich Allah in His 
 justice sooner or later metes out to all cowards," I 
 added severely. 
 
62 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 "Holy Prophet! "he exclaimed, in no whit abashed; 
 "dead? then is his soul even now in Jehannum." 
 
 This last reflection seemed to afford him unspeak- 
 able comfort, so that, having assured us that his 
 brains were dried up (with astonishment), and having 
 once more minutely described the state of his heart 
 and liver and other internal organs, as he always did 
 when under the influence of strong emotion, he was 
 induced to get up and accompany us back to the 
 caravan. 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THROUGH THE SUS VALLEY. 
 
 The events of the day rendered a halt of a week 
 absolutely necessary. After searching about some 
 time for a suitable spot we pitched the camp in a 
 grassy glen watered by a limpid stream. Gerald 
 was not in a fit state to travel, and several of the 
 Moors had wounds which required care and rest. 
 Urquhart was a very fair amateur surgeon, and for a 
 while he was fully occupied in plastering and bandag- 
 ing the sufferers, who under his treatment made rapid 
 progress towards recovery. 
 
 The evening of the day of the fight was spent in 
 burying the slain. We interred the unfortunate Son 
 of a Gun at sundown in orthodox Mohammedan 
 fashion. The corpse was placed in the grave in a 
 sitting posture ; the face turned towards Mecca, ready 
 to spring up at the sound of the last trumpet. The 
 Moors combed and plaited the oily scalplocks by 
 which, according to Moorish belief, Azrael, the Angel 
 of Death, would haul him up into paradise ; and they 
 chanted in unison the plaintive Moorish funeral dirge 
 as they filled in the grave. 
 
64 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Urquhart and I spent a couple of days wandering 
 over the mountains in search of aoudad, or wild 
 mountain sheep, of which we were told a few were to 
 be found in the more inaccessible places. Our first 
 day was a blank ; but returning in the evening, we 
 descried with the telescope a ram and his mate 
 browsing on the patches of grass which grew at the 
 foot of the precipices, and we arranged to go after 
 them the following morning. Starting some hours 
 before daybreak, we cautiously approached the place 
 where the game had last been seen, and, hiding 
 ourselves behind the rocks, we awaited the dawn. 
 Gradually the silver moonbeams waned, and the 
 stars paled before the conquering light of day. The 
 eastern sky became of a pale saffron hue, flecked with 
 streaks of pink ; while the west still retained the 
 steely blue of night. As the light grew stronger and 
 the golden sunbeams tipped the loftier peaks, and fell 
 at length on the distant summits of Anti-Atlas, we 
 took out our telescopes and carefully scanned the 
 mountain-side. We had not long to look. Standing 
 on a pinnacle of rock in sharp relief against the sky, 
 with his forefeet gathered close together under him, 
 was a splendid aoudad. There he stood, his massive 
 horns curving gracefully backwards, and a white 
 fringe of hair lining his throat and chest — a most 
 dignified object — sniffing the morning breeze, and 
 taking a look round before he began his breakfast. 
 It was no use trying to stalk him while he remained 
 up there ; we should have to wait until he came 
 down. Presently, having thoroughly satisfied him- 
 self that the coast was clear, he made a couple 
 of tremendous bounds forward, and, landing easily 
 
THROUGH THE SUS VALLEY. 65 
 
 at the foot of the rock, he commenced to browse 
 quietly. 
 
 Now is our time. Having first ascertained the 
 direction of the wind, we make a long detour higher 
 up the mountain, so as to approach him from above. 
 Some long slopes of shale and detritus render our 
 progress very slow, as we must as far as possible 
 avoid making any noise. A scramble down some 
 nasty rocks brings us to a low band of cliff, below 
 which we hope to find our game. Creeping quietly 
 to the edge, we look over. Yes, he is still there, and 
 not fifteen yards apart is his consort, whom we have 
 not seen this morning, both of them browsing without 
 suspicion of danger. 
 
 Urquhart, being by far the better marksman, 
 generously gives me the first shot. The animals are 
 not more than a hundred yards off; but my hand is 
 shaking like a leaf, and I feel sure that I shall miss. 
 Those who know what " stag-fever " is will be able to 
 sympathize with the feelings of a comparative tyro 
 on the occasion of his first shot at big game. 
 
 Bang ! The aoudad does not move, but stands still 
 in the same spot. I must have missed him. Urqu- 
 hart, however, who has more experience, knows 
 better. He sees the beast straddle his legs apart — a 
 ture sign that he is hit. Meanwhile the female makes 
 oft* at full speed up the rocks. When about two 
 hundred yards distant, she stops to look round for 
 one moment after her mate. Urquhart, seizing his 
 opportunity, lets drive a splendid shot, which takes 
 effect behind the shoulder, and she tumbles head- 
 long down a precipice nearly a hundred feet in 
 height. 
 
 F 
 
66 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 I then fired the second barrel of my Express at the 
 ram, and missed him clean ; but it made no difference, 
 as, sinking slowly to the ground, he rolled over on 
 his side dead. They were a splendid pair, and it was 
 with difficulty that we managed to carry the ram 
 down to the encampment, leaving the female for the 
 Moors to fetch the next day. 
 
 The following afternoon we continued our journey 
 towards the Wad Sus. Our wounded had all made 
 great progress, though Gerald complained occasionally 
 of a severe pain in his head. As we got lower down, 
 the country became more thickly, or perhaps I should 
 say somewhat less sparsely, populated. The river 
 Sus flowed through the broad smiling valley of the 
 same name, enclosed on either side by lofty mountain 
 ranges. Narrow lanes between high banks led us 
 among gardens of acacia, fig, peach, and pomegranate 
 trees, and the rose and honeysuckle bloomed in the 
 hedges. The Sus was in flood, owing to the melting 
 of the snows on the Atlas ; but we managed to cross 
 without mishap, and made our way to a village close 
 to the southern bank. 
 
 The inhabitants were naturally much surprised to 
 see Christians ; but they were very friendly, and the 
 sheikh of the village was almost demonstrative in his 
 greeting. 
 
 "Salaam alikum, peace be with you. Mahhaba 
 bik, you are welcome, O father of England," said he 
 to Urquhart, touching the latter's hands and kissing 
 his finger-tips, according to the graceful fashion of 
 the Moors. He then assured us that we were his 
 brothers, and that all that he possessed was ours. 
 Arab hospitality is proverbial, and we very soon 
 
THROUGH THE SUS VALLEY. 67 
 
 mooted the question of provisions. A long consul- 
 tation followed among the villagers, resulting in the 
 son of the sheikh being sent off by his father. In a 
 few minutes he returned, bringing with him a very 
 elderly-looking, long-bearded he-goat, who was intro- 
 duced with all the ceremony his great age and dignity 
 demanded. His appearance elicited a universal grunt 
 of approbation from our retainers, who saw in him 
 the prospect of savoury meat at our expense. Ex- 
 clamations of " OoUah ! " " Barikallah ! " etc., were 
 raised, mingled with the customary asseverations of 
 the unity and greatness of Allah and the apostolic 
 mission of Mohammed, though what on earth these 
 things had to do with the bringing in of an old billy- 
 goat I don't know. And then they all fell to praising 
 the goat. 
 
 " Mashallah ! isn't he a beauty ? " said one. 
 
 "By the beard of the Prophet," cried another, "it 
 makes my mouth water to look at him ! Thanks be 
 to Allah for His numerous mercies." 
 
 " Loor kebar, God is great ! He will indeed make 
 an excellent stew," remarked the third. 
 
 It was evident that our entertainers thought it a 
 good opportunity to dispose of some of their stock on 
 favourable terms ; but we represented to our host 
 that we could not on any account consent to rob him 
 of such a venerable adjunct to his premises, especially 
 as it would be impossible to do justice to him during 
 our short stay. 
 
 "Allah kreem, God is bountiful," said our host. 
 " If you do not like him, in the name of the blessed 
 Moulai Idrees, have we not others ? Ah-h Moham- 
 med ! " and he called his son, who promptly obeyed 
 
68 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the paternal summons, and whispered a few words in 
 his ear. 
 
 The boy again went out with the goat, and returned 
 shortly with a small kid, the son or more remote 
 descendant, we presumed, of the reverend animal we 
 had just seen. A bargain was struck, and, simply ex- 
 claiming " Bismillah ! " a Moor cut the poor little 
 creature's throat, and we supped heartily off " bifteks " 
 of kid, and very good they were. 
 
 Bidding adieu next morning to our courteous host, 
 we continued our journey in a southerly direction. 
 It is not my intention to describe the daily details of 
 this part of our journey. Suffice it to say that after 
 leaving the fertile, cultivated plains of the Sus valley, 
 we entered a mountainous region of surpassing 
 sterility and desolation. Here and there an occa- 
 sional oasis, formed by the few and scanty streams 
 which flowed down from the hills, broke the monotony 
 of the scenery. We were now in the heart of the 
 Anti-Atlas mountains, which we had hitherto sup- 
 posed to be a chain running parallel to the main 
 Atlas range, whereas, as a matter of fact, they 
 constitute a hilly district of wide area. Now and 
 again we passed over flat plains covered with a 
 species of thorny scrub, and then once more found 
 ourselves among the mountains. This part of the 
 country appeared to be almost entirely uninhabited, 
 and for days we never passed a soul upon the road, 
 or saw a single human dwelling. 
 
 One evening, however, while sitting in the tents, 
 we were surprised by the arrival of a visitor. He 
 was a strange-looking creature, very ragged and 
 unkempt, and his personal luggage consisted of a 
 
THROUGH THE SUS VALLEY. 69 
 
 large leathern wallet which he carried on his back. 
 He told us that he was a hakim, or physician, on his 
 way to the Draa oasis, and he begged to be allowed 
 to avail himself of the company and protection of our 
 goffla, or caravan. Accordingly we had the pleasure 
 of the fellow's society for the next two weeks, and he 
 proved to be not unentertaining. In reality, he was 
 an itinerant pedlar, a zveld el terek, or son of the 
 road, as the Moors phrased it. He was, withal, a 
 terrible rogue, a quack and charlatan who lived on 
 his wits. He knew no more about medicine than my 
 mule, but traded on the superstition and ignorance 
 of the people, to whom he dispensed charms and 
 amulets, charging them extortionate fees for his 
 services. He had not been long with us before he 
 tried to palm off some of the contents of his wallet 
 on our servants. To Almarakshi, who suffered from 
 indigestion, he sold pills which, if all he said was true, 
 must have outrivalled Beecham's. To others of the 
 Moors who came to be doctored, he gave talismans 
 of various sorts — charms to v/ard off the evil eye, 
 hyaena's brains, and white powders, which he said 
 were pounded dead men's bones, and which, if 
 administered to an enemy, would bring him evil 
 fortune. He also had for sale owls' eyes, frogs' hearts, 
 lizards' tails, and verses of the Koran on bits of paper 
 to be worn round the neck. His speciality, however, 
 was some pieces of rag, which he swore were frag- 
 ments of the nether garments of the Prophet. These 
 he retailed at the rate of two viitkal (about three 
 shillings) apiece, saying that they were a sure 
 preventive against dysentery. The result of it all 
 was that Almarakshi came to us with a wry face one 
 
70 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 morning, and said that that son of a burnt father, the 
 hakim, had poisoned him. Personally, I did not believe 
 that the pills contained any ingredient more injurious 
 than camel-dung, which, indeed, formed the basis of 
 most of the rascal's materia incdica ; but he was, 
 nevertheless, summoned before us, and warned not to 
 play any more of his tricks on us. 
 
 •' Have a care, have a care, Mr. Hakim," said AH 
 severely. " Eat your abominations yourself, or by the 
 hairs of the Prophet's beard, and by your death, you 
 shall finish your journey alone and with sore feet." 
 
 This dark threat of the bastinado, which of course 
 we had not the least idea of carrying out, had its 
 effect upon the hakim, and he did not try to palm off 
 upon us any more of his wares. During the re- 
 mainder of the time he journeyed with us he became 
 exceedingly communicative and gave us an account 
 of his past experiences, which were somewhat amus- 
 ing. He was strongly of opinion that life was a game 
 of see-saw, and he certainly seemed to have had a full 
 measure of its ups and downs. Sometimes, he said, 
 he was well off; but prosperity made him careless, and 
 he generally ended by being detected in some piece 
 of roguery which resulted in his being flogged and his 
 ill-gotten gains being taken from him. However, he 
 never grew discouraged. His latest speculation had 
 been in what he was pleased to call tobacco, a taste 
 for which he had been endeavouring to instil among 
 the natives of North Marocco. 
 
 " Let's see some of your best smoking mixture," said 
 Gerald, and the rogue pulled out of his wallet a vile 
 compound, smelling abominably. It was a fine blend 
 of camel-dung, dried leaves, and straw, and he doled 
 
THROUGH THE SUS VALLEY. 71 
 
 out this concoction to the natives at the rate of 
 three mitkal the pound. 
 
 "Allah!" he said, "I should have made a fine 
 thing out of it had not the kaid (may the dogs defile 
 his grave) found me out one day and, after giving me 
 one hundred stripes, burned my whole stock." 
 
 A {&V4 days afterwards he told us he was about to 
 leave us. We asked him where he was going, and he 
 replied, " May your kindness never be less. May 
 Allah prolong your life, and may your end be happy. 
 Whither I go, or what I shall do, I know not. 
 Iftshallah ! God will show. One thing only I know, 
 that as long as there are fools in the world and I 
 have a moderate supply of camel-dung, I shall never 
 want for a livelihood. There is but one God, and 
 Mohammed is His Prophet." 
 
 With these words the hakim took his leave. 
 
72 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE LION HUNT. 
 
 Lying awake that evening in my camp-bed, I was 
 meditating on these parting remarks of the hakim 
 and his strange career. " As long as there are fools 
 in the world ! " Verily, O hakim, thou needest have 
 no fear on the score of the supply diminishing. 
 And then, as I deplored the dark ignorance and 
 superstition which made him find these poor Moors 
 so easy a prey, I fell to debating in my own mind 
 whether, after all, we civilized inhabitants of northern 
 climes are very much wiser. Have we not, too, our 
 sleek charlatans with their social, religious, or 
 aesthetic crazes ; our seemingly cracked-brained, 
 but in reality calculating eccentrics, and do not 
 they prey upon society even as the hakim preyed 
 upon the Moors ? Do not our spiritualists and 
 magic-mongers trade upon the credulity of civilized 
 mankind (and I take it that the superstitions of the 
 West differ from those of the East in kind rather 
 than degree) in precisely the same way as our hakim 
 friend traded upon the ignorance of the Arabs ? 
 Impudence it is, impudence, that wins the day all the 
 
THE LION HUNT. 12, 
 
 world over, whether it be in a London drawing-room 
 or in the wilds of Africa, and the man who has un- 
 limited faith in himself and in the boundless gulli- 
 bility of his fellow-men may achieve great things, 
 whatever or wherever may be his sphere of action. 
 
 The place where the hakim left us was at the 
 commencement of an oasis near the outskirts of the 
 Anti-Atlas. Crossing a range of barren rugged 
 mountains by a pass called Onkh el Jimmel, or 
 Camel's Neck, we came in sight of the oasis, which 
 was formed by a streamlet that issued from a narrow 
 cleft in the mountains. Small groves of palm-trees 
 were dotted about here and there, presenting a most 
 inviting appearance after the sterile regions we had 
 passed through. The sides of the mountains, too, 
 became less barren, being clothed in places with 
 dense scrub, the bushes of which attained in places 
 a height of several feet. The meadows were inter- 
 sected by numerous water-conduits, and tiny patches 
 of cultivation were scattered about among collections 
 of mud huts, which could hardly be dignified with the 
 title of villages. 
 
 Our servants were fagged with the continuous long 
 marches, and some of the pack-animals were begin- 
 ning to develop sore backs, so we arranged to rest a 
 few days in the oasis before continuing our journey 
 southwards. Moreover, Gerald, whose wound had not 
 yet completely healed, felt a return of the pains in his 
 head, doubtless the result of over-exertion following 
 upon a considerable loss of blood. Another induce- 
 ment to remain lay in the fact that game was 
 reported to abound in the neighbourhood. The 
 natives assured us that there were halloof bezzuf (any 
 
74 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 number of wild boar), and that the surrounding hills 
 were infested with lions, who were the terror of the 
 villagers and committed great depredations on their 
 flocks. They had lately been so bold in their attacks 
 that the cattle at night had to be enclosed in a pound, 
 surrounded by a ditch and rampart surmounted by a 
 formidable cheveux de frise of thornbushes, but the 
 lions had actually leaped inside and killed some of 
 the animals in the enclosure. Moreover, the boars 
 destroyed their crops, and the Moors could do little 
 or nothing to stop their inroads. Accordingly, a few 
 days after our arrival we arranged a great hunt, to 
 the delight of the natives, who, besides being the 
 keenest of sportsmen, were only too pleased to have 
 an opportunity of taking vengeance on their four- 
 footed foes. 
 
 " May God preserve you, Nazarenes," said an old 
 white-haired sheikh. "We are well-nigh ruined by the 
 inroads of the swine, and our hearts are faint with 
 terror by reason of the lions." 
 
 Urquhart told Ali to make inquiries as to the best 
 way of going to work. " Ala rasi, on my head be it," 
 said he, " to perform your bidding ; " and he set forth 
 to interview some of the Arabs in the neighbourhood. 
 On his return in the evening he told us that he had 
 made the acquaintance of the sheikh of a neighbour- 
 ing village, one Hadj Mohammed Abd el Kader, a 
 gentleman, he assured us, of immovable bowels, an 
 eater of the lion's heart, and possessing great ex- 
 perience in the chase. Ali advised us to entrust this 
 man with the principal arrangements for the hunt, 
 which was to take place the next day but one. 
 
 The following evening we left the oasis, and made 
 
THE LION HUNT. 75 
 
 our way up a narrow gorge to a small collection of 
 mud huts, which was said to be the village of Hadj 
 Mohammed. That worthy was at his prayers when 
 we arrived, but was not long in putting in an appear- 
 ance. After the customary greetings, and his usual 
 inquiries after the state of the sheikh's brain, and 
 trusting that the latter was feeling as sane as could 
 be expected, considering the unseasonable weather, 
 etc., etc., Ali introduced us. The sheikh received us 
 with great cordiality, touching our hands and placing 
 his own on his heart to show the depth of his good 
 will towards us. He exclaimed that we were not only 
 his brothers, but also his father and mother and all 
 the rest of his relations, including, no doubt, as Gerald 
 afterwards remarked, his grandmothers, aunts, and 
 female cousins to the third degree. He told us that 
 he had selected a spot for the hunt some three or 
 four miles further up the valley, and he suggested 
 that we should camp out there for the evening so as 
 to make an early start the following morning. 
 
 The next evening, accordingly, our tent was pitched 
 in a curious cup-like hollow — a sort of Devil's Punch- 
 bowl — surrounded by low hills. These hills were 
 covered with dense scrub, and were the chosen haunts 
 of the boars and lions, whence they issued to make their 
 nocturnal raids on the crops and flocks of the Moors. 
 As the evening wore on several natives who were to 
 act as our beaters on the morrow, put in an appear- 
 ance. A wild-looking lot they were, many of them 
 having singularly fair complexions, which are not an 
 uncommon feature among the mountain tribes of 
 Marocco. A roaring fire was lit, the flames whereof 
 blazed and crackled merrily, sending forth showers of 
 
76 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 sparks, which leaped high into the darkness. Over- 
 head the smoke hung like a grey pall, on which the 
 firelight shed lurid red reflections. The Moors 
 squatted round and warmed their stomachs at the 
 blaze, looking like so many bundles of old clothes. 
 The talk was chiefly of wild beasts and hunting, as 
 was only to be expected, and some splendid yarns 
 were soon in circulation. Legend was particularly 
 rife concerning the size and ferocity of a certain man- 
 eating lion who had devoured several of the natives 
 and was the terror of the entire neighbourhood. 
 
 " Allah kreem ! " said an old Moor, who was 
 nursing his long gun on his knee, " God is merciful ! 
 it was scarce two moons ago when I was returning 
 home late one evening, that I saw the sba (lion). 
 May I never see the houris of Paradise if he was not 
 as big as an ox, and his eyes glowed like coals of fire. 
 My heart was in my throat, my liver descended, and 
 my knees were loosened with fear ; but God was 
 merciful, and withheld the beast from attacking me. 
 How wonderful is Allah ! " 
 
 "Ya lateef, God have pity!" cried a youth on 
 whose chin the beard of manhood was just beginning 
 to sprout, determined not to be outdone ; " why, I saw 
 the lion myself only last night." 
 
 This assertion being received with grunts expressive 
 of incredulity, the youth proceeded to tell of a con- 
 versation he had heard the previous evening between 
 the lion in question and an enormous boar. The 
 Moors, I should mention, like the peasantry in some 
 of the more out-of-the-way parts of Europe, credit all 
 animals with powers of speech and understanding, 
 and maintain imaginary conversations with them at 
 
THE LION HUNT. 77 
 
 .q-reat length. " Mashallah ! " cried the youth, " it is 
 true every word of it. Ala rasi, on my head be it if 
 I lie." He then proceeded to deliver his narrative 
 with much volubility and emphatic gestures. He 
 was lying out, he said, by night beside a pool in the 
 forest on the look out for the game which came 
 thither to drink. Soon after midnight a huge boar 
 appeared, followed at a short interval by the man- 
 eating lion. He was sure it was the man-eater 
 because his skin was mangy and the hair had come 
 off in patches on his back. 
 
 "Salaam alikum, peace be with you," said the lion 
 politely, 
 
 "And with you peace," returned the boar. And 
 then they fell to talking together just as might two 
 human beings. 
 
 The youth could not catch all the rest of the con- 
 versation, as the animals were some distance off, but 
 he distinctly heard the lion say that some pigs of 
 Christians had arrived in the country and that, by 
 the camel of Mohammed, he meant to burn their 
 fathers — aiiglice, " do for them " — and scatter their 
 relations at the earliest opportunity. The Father of 
 Tusks approved the sentiments of the tawny-maned 
 sheikh of the forest, but he took exception to the 
 phrase " pigs of Christians." Not by any means 
 because it was an insult to the Christians, but because 
 he (the boar) objected to being named in such com- 
 pany. He was as good a Moslem, or a better, than 
 the lion, and would prove it to him in battle if the 
 latter wished. " La ilaha il Allah, there is but one 
 God," concluded the boar defiantly, glaring at the 
 lion and whetting his tusks significantly. 
 
7S THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 The Hon, terrified by the ferocious aspect of the 
 boar, whose ivories gleamed in the moonlight, and 
 whose bristles stood on end with rage, apologetically- 
 said that he meant no offence when speaking of 
 " pigs." He was alluding to the effeminate inmate 
 of the domestic sty, not to the free, powerful, and 
 noble creature he saw before him. The boar was 
 pacified, and commenced grubbing up the ground, and 
 the Arab, being too frightened to fire, crept away to 
 his home. 
 
 " Holy Prophet ! " said the old Arab who had 
 spoken first, and who was by no means pleased at 
 having his tale capped by another and more astound- 
 ing yarn, — " Holy Prophet ! did you ever hear such a 
 liar.'' In the name of Moulai Idrees, what dogs' sons 
 are we that we should each eat such dirt, and eat it 
 at the hands of a boy, too ? " 
 
 The youth sprang up with his hand on his dagger, 
 and would have made a hole in the old gentleman's 
 skin, had not his companions restrained him, " By 
 my beard " — the oath could hardly be considered a 
 binding one, for he swore by what did not exist — 
 " by my beard, but I will finish you off, you son of 
 a burnt father. Lai sti shimlek, may God scatter 
 your relations ! " 
 
 An end was put to the fracas by the sheikh rising 
 and announcing his intention of retiring to rest. 
 
 " Good evening to you, Nazarenes," he said. " May 
 your slumbers be light. Take your rest now. Ghadda, 
 inshallah, to-morrow, please Allah, we will prevail 
 against the Father of Tusks and defile the graves of 
 the marauding lions." 
 
 Not feeling incHned to turn in immediately, Gerald 
 
THE LION HUNT. 79 
 
 and I lit our pipes and strolled out a short distance 
 into the forest. The night was fine and warm, so, 
 seating ourselves on the top of a boulder of rock, we 
 puffed away in silence. It was a strangely weird 
 scene. One side of the hollow wherein we were 
 encamped was in deep shadow ; on the other, the 
 moonbeams glinted from the white rocks with a 
 peculiarly ghostly effect, and the stars flickered like 
 fire-flies in the steel-blue firmament. Below us the 
 flashes of light from the dying embers of the camp 
 fire fell fitfully on the wild forms of the recumbent 
 Moors. Now and again an owl would raise its 
 melancholy cry, as if presaging woe ; and the hyaena's 
 laugh and the hideously human cry of the jackal 
 jarred discordantly on our ears. Save for these 
 sounds and the shivering of the breeze in the thicket 
 all was still and silent as the grave. 
 
 We must have sat on the rock nearly half an hour, 
 until at length, our pipes being out, we prepared to 
 go in. 
 
 " Hist ! What is that .'"' whispered Gerald, clutch- 
 ing my arm and pointing towards a small gully 
 enveloped in shadow, which descended to our camp- 
 ing-ground. 
 
 Straining my eyes in the direction indicated, I 
 fancied I could discern the form of some large animal 
 creeping stealthily through the bushes, but before I 
 could form any conception as to what it was, a most 
 awful roar like a thunder-clap, followed by a succession 
 of piercing shrieks, broke the stillness of the night. 
 A huge lion, doubtless the man-eater spoken of by 
 the Moors, had sprung out of the bushes upon a man 
 who was lying curled up a little outside the circle 
 
8o THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 round the fire, and, with his victim in his jaws, made 
 off up the hill. In the camp all was shouting and 
 confusion. A few random shots were fired in the 
 direction where the lion had last been seen, and some 
 of the bolder spirits started in pursuit. Snatching up 
 our rifles, Gerald and I joined in the chase, though 
 our hopes of saving the man's life were but small. 
 We were forcing our way with difficulty through the 
 thicket, little more than a hundred yards from the 
 tents, when I stumbled over something soft. Looking 
 down, I saw that it was the body of the Moor, which 
 the lion, alarmed by the number of pursuers, had 
 been compelled to drop. Striking a match, I recog- 
 nized the features of the youth who had regaled us 
 with the story of the boar and the Hon. He little 
 thought, poor fellow, when he told us the tale, that 
 he was destined to make the man-eater's acquaintance 
 in so speedy and tragic a manner. He was quite 
 dead, having received terrible injuries. The back of 
 his head was smashed completely in, evidently by a 
 blow from the brute's paws, and his left shoulder was 
 bitten nearly through. 
 
 " Allah kreem, God be merciful to us ! " said the old 
 Arab with whom he had the quarrel. " Azrael hath 
 indeed taken him from us. He will never tell any 
 more stories. Ah welli, woe is me ! may his soul rest 
 in peace ! 'twas the will of Allah." 
 
 On our return to the tents with the body the fire 
 was rekindled and we set a watch of three Moors. 
 The latter were all terrified out of their lives, being 
 convinced that the lion was a djin, or evil spirit, if he 
 was not the Sheitan himself, and I don't think any 
 of them slept very much more that night. 
 
THE LION HUNT. 8i 
 
 Nothing further, however, occurred to alarm us, 
 and the following morning saw us afoot, eager to 
 avenge the death of the Moor. At the start we had 
 perhaps fifty beaters, but as the day wore on men 
 kept dropping in by twos and threes till there must 
 have been nearly a hundred of them. Every man 
 who had a selokee (greyhound) or a gun brought them 
 with him. The selokees were not exactly the sort of 
 animals one would see at a coursing meeting in 
 England. In fact, though they called them grey- 
 hounds, I should imagine the breed was as ambiguous 
 as that of the dog described by the station-master as 
 having been " got by a porter out of a third-class 
 carriage." The first beat was in that part of the 
 forest where boars principally abounded. The guns, 
 to the number of nearly twenty, were posted in line 
 half-way up the hillside. Some of them climbed up 
 into the branches of stunted olive trees ; others 
 perched themselves on rocks anywhere their fancy 
 took them, and all kept their long matchlocks ready 
 primed. Seeing the irregularity of the line, and 
 knowing the recklessness of the natives in their use 
 of firearms, I did not feel at all comfortable, and 
 secretly hoped that the Father of Tusks would not 
 break cover in my direction. The sequel proved my 
 fears to be not unfounded. 
 
 When everything was ready the line of beaters 
 advanced. The sheikh led off with the customary 
 adjuration, " Lain el Sheitan, may God curse the 
 devil ! " and spat on the ground as he said it. The 
 other Moors followed his example. Whenever any 
 game was started shouts of " How ! How !" " Deeb, 
 How ! How ! " when a jackal was seen ; " Thalcb, 
 
 G 
 
82 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 How ! How ! " when a fox broke cover,^ with much 
 jabbering and pantomime. At last louder howls of 
 " Halloof, How ! How ! " accompanied by the braying 
 of horns and the yapping of innumerable curs told 
 us that a boar was on foot. And then they all 
 started swearing with one accord. Heavens, how 
 those Arabs do swear ! None of your commonplace 
 monosyllabic oaths, but long-winded, elaborate male- 
 dictions which would cover half a page of writing. 
 The boar's father and grandfather were burnt. All 
 sorts of unpleasant scandals in his family history 
 were raked up. His mother and sister, it appeared, 
 each had an old jackass for a sweetheart ; his great- 
 grandfather, who was the miserable offspring of an 
 incestuous union between two other pigs higher up 
 the family tree, was now being consumed to a cinder 
 in Jehannum. The various improprieties of all the 
 other pigs and piglings were set forth at length, and 
 the graves of the whole lot were indiscriminately 
 defiled. 
 
 The sturdiest tusker could not weather such a storm 
 of imprecations, so I was not surprised to see a grand 
 old boar, a regular " forty-incher," as they say in 
 India, with gleaming tusks and bristles grizzled with 
 age, break cover. A pack of selokees yapped and 
 yelped at his heels as he came charging along like a 
 thousand of bricks up the hill. As he neared the line 
 of ambushed sportsmen he was received with a volley 
 
 ' This view-holloa of the Moors has suggested a derivation for a 
 phrase whose origin is enveloped in much obscurity. Is it not just 
 possible that " Tally Ho " may be an Anglicized version of " Thaleb 
 How?" In any case, if the similarity be but a coincidence, it must 
 be admitted that it is a very curious one. 
 
THE LION HUNT. 83 
 
 accompanied by more shouts and curses. Bullets 
 screamed through the air in all directions, and one 
 of the native hunters shouted out that the karauii 
 (accursed beast) had "devoured much lead." 
 
 "Nay," replied an old white-haired hunter, "your 
 words are wind. I know yon boar of old. He is a 
 djin. Many times have I fired at him (and ye know 
 my aim never misses), and the bullets have fallen 
 harmless from his side. May Allah curse the devil ! " 
 
 The result seemed to lend colour to the old fellow's 
 theory, for, with a defiant whisk of his tail, piggy 
 bounded up the hill and cantered into the thicket 
 apparently untouched. The firing, however, had not 
 been altogether without effect, for, hearing a pro- 
 longed howl of woe, I turned round in time to see 
 the gun next but one on my right leap up into the 
 air on one leg, and subside violently in a sitting 
 posture to the ground. Running up, I inquired what 
 was the matter. 
 
 "Walo! walo ! la bas ; nothing, nothing; it is all 
 right," said my next neighbour. He had only put 
 a slug through the calf of the unfortunate man's leg, 
 and that is a mere trifle in these parts. If he had 
 shot a favourite dog it would have been a very 
 different matter. " Mektoob Allah, 'twas written by 
 Allah. Who can resist the decrees of Fate ? " he 
 remarked sententiously. 
 
 His victim was in no wise comforted by these pious 
 reflections, but set to work to curse him with a will. 
 " Ah welli, welli, woe is me ! " he wailed piteously ; 
 and once more the air grew blue and thick with Arab 
 profanity levelled at the head of the clumsy marks- 
 man. With much inconsistency he called him a man 
 
84 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 without a father, expressing in the same breath the 
 wish that the said father might grill in the lower 
 regions. He insulted his female kinsfolk, and asked for 
 his mother's marriage certificate ; and he announced 
 his intention, as soon as the wound in his leg was 
 healed, of performing a pilgrimage for the express 
 purpose of defiling his grandfather's grave. 
 
 The object of all this bad language listened with 
 great calmness, made some sagacious and highly 
 original observations upon the unalterable laws of 
 destiny, and commenced reloading his gun, shovelling 
 in the powder by handfuls and ramming the lead 
 vigorously home. 
 
 The wounded man having been removed and his 
 hurts attended to, the hunt was proceeded with. At 
 midday a halt was called, and the Moors set to work 
 to call off the dogs. Some of the latter had been 
 killed by the boar, others had received rips, and the 
 grief of their owners testified to the affection with 
 which the Moors regard their four-footed friends. 
 We found that seven boars, besides smaller game, 
 such as foxes and jackals, had been bagged. The 
 beaters had worked hard and showed themselves well 
 up to their work. 
 
 "Smart, intelligent fellows, these hunters," remarked 
 Urquhart to me as we shouldered our rifles and 
 followed the beaters. " I have often noticed in un- 
 civilized countries that the best hunters are the most 
 intelligent men in general matters, while with us I 
 fear the reverse is the case. How is it that in 
 England hunting — perhaps the finest of all sports — 
 tends to make gruel of people's brains ? Your in- 
 veterate fox-hunter can so seldom be got to take a 
 
THE LION HUNT. 85 
 
 rational interest in anything beyond his horses and 
 hounds." 
 
 " Perhaps," I replied, " it is because with these 
 people hunting is business as well as pleasure. Any- 
 how, what you say about our country Nimrods at 
 home is perfectly true." 
 
 The more serious business of the day, the lion 
 hunt, had been reserved for the afternoon. Under 
 the guidance of the sheikh, we crossed a low range of 
 hills, from whose summit we had an extensive view 
 of the rugged mountain country we had passed 
 through. Peak beyond peak reared its head towards 
 the north, and over all could be seen the looming 
 white mass of the main Atlas chain. The scenery 
 was not in itself strictly beautiful, yet the mellow 
 light of the African autumn shed a peculiar glamour 
 over everything, and, veiling the landscape in a soft 
 delicate haze, robbed it of its sterner features. A 
 tramp of half an hour brought us to the hill where 
 the man-eater had last been seen on the previous 
 night ; and with a gravity befitting the occasion the 
 sheikh commenced his dispositions for the hunt. 
 Complete silence was enforced, and the Moors, re- 
 pressing for once their propensity to chatter, conversed 
 only in whispers. Indeed, dread of the man-eater 
 had so damped their ardour that I had some doubts 
 as to their beating the covert properly. However, 
 when once they had begun, their sporting instincts 
 got the better of their fears, and they stuck manfully 
 to the work. 
 
 At Urquhart's request some of the Moors armed 
 with guns were induced to join the ranks of the 
 beaters, instead of endangering our lives and their 
 
86 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 own by posting themselves near us. At the top of 
 the hill above our camping-ground was a plateau 
 nearly half a mile in width. In the centre of this 
 plateau there was a slight depression covered with 
 a dense jungle of thorny bushes. A low band of 
 precipitous rocks ran along the further side of the 
 depression, which would effectually prevent any game 
 from making its escape in that direction. Six or 
 eight of the best native marksmen were posted in a 
 line opposite these rocks, while Gerald, Urquhart, 
 and myself took up our position facing the beaters. 
 
 The hunt commenced with prayer to Allah and the 
 usual imprecations upon the lions, and then the 
 beaters, keeping close together and in good line, 
 entered the bush. As they neared the dense thicket 
 the dogs suddenly started barking furiously, and then 
 there was a hullabaloo, similar to, but louder than, 
 that caused by the finding of the boar. Cries of 
 "S'bal S'ba!" (the lion! the lion!), mingled with 
 curses both loud and deep, rent the air and put us 
 all on the alert. For awhile nothing could be seen, 
 but presently I caught sight of a very old lion, his 
 coat grey and mangy with age, making off slowly in 
 the direction of the line of native sportsmen. They, 
 perceiving he was not likely to prove a very formidable 
 foe, stood their ground and fired at him. Some of 
 the shots, strange to say, took effect, and, with a feeble 
 growl, the wretched beast rolled over dead. The 
 delight of the natives was unbounded. They yelled 
 with triumph and heaped insults on their prostrate 
 enemy. Emboldened by this success, ithe beaters 
 summoned up courage to enter the thicket. They 
 had not proceeded far when a most tremendous roar, 
 
THE LION HUNT. 87 
 
 which seemed to come from the centre of the jungle, 
 sent them flying pell-mell back. Louder and louder 
 grew the roars, and it became evident there were at 
 least two lions, probably the man-eater and his mate. 
 The dogs showed more pluck than their masters, who 
 contented themselves with standing outside and 
 throwing stones and mud into the bush. 
 
 Meanwhile the.selokees kept barking loudly and 
 and viciously, the Moors redoubled their yells, and 
 what with the roaring of the lions, there was an in- 
 describable hubbub. At length, finding her quarters 
 getting too hot for her, the lioness made a bolt of it, 
 but, catching sight of the hunters, she quickly went 
 back into the thicket. The dogs, however, pressing 
 close upon her, she burst once • more out of the bush 
 and charged down on the line of beaters, who broke 
 and scattered in all directions, and so made her 
 escape. 
 
 The place where I was stationed was about eighteen 
 yards' distance from the thicket, the intervening 
 space being covered with a sparse growth of under- 
 wood. Round knobs of rock here and there protruded 
 their bald crowns from out the hairy growth of scrub 
 and brushwood. I was looking at one of these knobs, 
 when I suddenly espied an enormous lion crouching, 
 with his head turned towards me and his body 
 partially hidden by the rock. The distance was not 
 much over fifty yards, so, though I am by no means 
 a good shot, I let drive at him with the right barrel 
 of my Express. I heard a savage growl, and when 
 the smoke cleared away there was the lion in the 
 same position on the rock, his shaggy head between 
 his paws. " I've done for him," thought I ; "he is 
 
88 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 disabled, and I'll finish him off with the left barrel." 
 Suddenly, just as I was drawing a bead on him, he 
 sprang up with a terrific roar, and bounded towards 
 me, making a curious grumbling noise something like 
 the barking of a dog. 1 took a snap shot at him, and 
 then he disappeared from my sight in some thick 
 underwood. One moment I fancied I could see the 
 bushes shaking about twenty yards off, as though 
 some large beast was moving through them, but I 
 could distinguish nothing. About a minute passed 
 in this way. I was peering in the direction where I 
 thought I had last seen the lion, when a roar, which 
 seemed to issue from the bowels of the earth, split 
 the drum of my ear. I was conscious of a large 
 body darkening the air as it flew towards me ; a 
 tremendous blow descended like a thunder-bolt on 
 my left shoulder, and the next moment I was lying 
 on my back on the ground in the grip of the man- 
 eater. 
 
 For awhile — I know not how long, but it was 
 probably only a few moments — the shock deprived me 
 of consciousness. When I came round my senses 
 were numbed, and I could not realize the awful nature 
 of the situation in which I was placed. The brute 
 was standing over me, making that fearful noise which 
 visitors to the " Zoo " may hear any day at feeding 
 time. In the bush the shouts and cries of the Arabs 
 who had seen me fall sounded confused and indistinct 
 in my ear. The lion's paw was resting heavily on my 
 chest, his eyes glared at me like two live coals, and 
 his filthy breath came full in my face. The teeth of 
 a man-eater are always decayed and rotten, owing to 
 his diet of human flesh, which disagrees with him and 
 
THE LION HUNT. 89 
 
 also makes his skin mangy. An age seemed to pass 
 as I lay in the brute's grip, but Urquhart told me 
 afterwards that the whole thing was over in little 
 more than a minute. Of course I thought it was all 
 up with me. Every moment I expected that my 
 head would be in his mouth, and that with one 
 crunch of those mighty jaws an end would be put to 
 my existence. Yet I do not remember feeling any 
 particular sensation of fear, no doubt owing to the 
 fact of my being in a state of partial stupor. Yet in 
 a way my faculties seemed awake, and, indeed, 
 abnormally active. A thousand things passed in 
 rapid review through my brain. Innumerable scenes 
 of my early youth, long-forgotten trivial incidents, 
 came before me, just as drowning men are said to 
 recall at the point of death all the events of their 
 past life. 
 
 Happily, the beast did not use his fangs upon me. 
 The instinct which causes all creatures of the cat 
 tribe to toy with their victims before destroying them 
 no doubt saved my life, as it gave my companions 
 time to come to my rescue. Presently there was 
 heard the crack of a rifle. Urquhart had fired. 
 There was a dull thud as the Express bullet crashed 
 into the man-eater's side, expanding within and 
 tearing his vitals to pieces. With a hideous noise, 
 half growl, half snarl, the beast fell right on me, 
 ripping my thigh badly with his hind paws in his 
 death-agony. Gerald and Urquhart came running 
 up and pulled me out from under the carcase ; then 
 the natural reaction set in, and I swooned away once 
 more. 
 
90 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 These stars are not put in for the sake of effect, 
 but in order to help me to convey to my readers my 
 sensations as I went off. Ten thousand constellations 
 danced before my eyes. The firmament waltzed 
 round me, the sun became as blood, and everything 
 seemed turned topsy-turvy. 
 
 When I regained consciousness Urquhart and 
 Gerald were bending over me, dashing water in my 
 face. I tried to move, but a terrible pain in my 
 shoulder caused me to cry out, and I was forced to lie 
 still. I thought my shoulder was dislocated, but on 
 examination it proved to be only terribly bruised, 
 while the claws of the man-eater had inflicted some 
 ugly scratches on my thighs. Otherwise I had got 
 off pretty well. The Moors skilfully improvised a 
 sort of litter out of a couple of poles and some 
 branches, on which I was carried down to the tent, 
 and on the following morning they took me down to 
 our main camp in the oasis. 
 
 The lion proved to be a very large one, but the 
 skin was in such bad condition that it was not worth 
 preserving. One of my shots, probably the first, had 
 struck him in the low^er part of the belly, inflicting a 
 slight wound, which only served to infuriate him. 
 There was great rejoicing among the Moors when the 
 result of our hunt became known. Bonfires were lit, 
 and there was much blowing of horns and rheetahs, 
 and beating of tom-toms, and feasting and merry- 
 making. True, we had only killed two lions, but we 
 were assured that this was all that was needed, as the 
 others would be scared out of the country and would 
 not venture to return for a long time. My injuries 
 necessitated our prolonging our stay in the oasis, and 
 
THE LION HUNT. 91 
 
 two or three days elapsed before I could get about at 
 all. My shoulder was very stiff and painful for a 
 long time, while the wounds in my thigh would not 
 heal readily and from time to time gave me trouble 
 long afterwards. 
 
92 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A MOORISH DINNER-PARTY. 
 
 In gratitude for our delivering them from the man- 
 eating pest, the sheikh of our village entertained us at 
 a great feast on the evening of the fourth day after 
 the hunt. Soon after sundown a deputation of Moors 
 arrived at our tents, bearing dishes with tall bee-hive 
 shaped wicker covers, and a variety of delicacies 
 were set down before us. The first course consisted 
 of the inevitable kuskussoo, the national dish of 
 Marocco, a mess of flour, sniin (rancid butter) and 
 shredded meat. Next followed sundry highly 
 flavoured stews reeking of oil and garlic, chickens, 
 and a kind of moist cake like half-baked muffins. 
 The repast was washed down with weak green tea as 
 sweet as syrup, and strongly flavoured with mint and 
 verbena. Altogether, as may be imagined, the meal 
 was a rather trying one, and I was not sorry when the 
 sheikh, who had come in to see how we were enjoying 
 ourselves, took his leave and gave us a chance of 
 sending the stuff" away. 
 
 As soon as our appetites were appeased (and we 
 found that a little of such viands went a long way) 
 
A MOORISH DINNER-PARTY. 93 
 
 the dishes and their wicker covers were removed, and 
 the servants' dinner was brought in. We were 
 anxious to see what a Moorish dinner-party was like, 
 and certainly we came in for a very comic entertain- 
 ment. Through the door of their tent we could see 
 Ali, Mohammed, Almarakshi, and the sheikh seated 
 in a circle round a veritable mountain of kuskussoo 
 which was steaming away like a volcano in their 
 midst. 
 
 "Barikallah! Praised be Allah!" exclaimed Ali. 
 "A sweet savour of kuskussoo assaileth my nostrils, 
 and my senses are gratified at the prospect of 
 repletion." 
 
 " Staferallah ! " chimed in Mohammed with his 
 favourite ejaculation. " The sight of yonder dishes is 
 grateful to mine eyes as the sound of bubbling 
 fountains to the ears of thirsty travellers ; for, verily, 
 hunger gnaweth like a wolf at my entrails, and in the 
 pit of my stomach a great gulf is fixed, and needs 
 must it be replenished." 
 
 A sheep had been killed for the occasion, and 
 roast mutton ad libitum was served up along with 
 the kuskussoo. The bread having been broken in 
 orthodox fashion, and the " Bismillah " pronounced, 
 they all fell to. The Moors eat with their hands, 
 everybody thrusting his fingers into the steaming 
 pile and gobbling away like mad so as not to come 
 short. For some time the whole party was too 
 busily engaged in stuffing to talk, the silence only 
 being broken by occasional eructations, which are 
 considered quite good form at meals in Marocco so 
 long as they are followed by some pious exclamation, 
 such as "Hamdoollah!" "Bismillah!" or "Staferallah!" 
 
94 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 I never saw such guzzling, but they showed no signs 
 of stopping, till each man had swallowed enough to 
 satisfy five hungry Christians, when Mohammed, who 
 seemed to play the best knife and fork (metaphorically 
 speaking) of the party, leaned back with a deep sigh 
 of satisfaction and commenced sucking his fingers. 
 This operation concluded, he tore a big piece of fat 
 meat from the joint and stuffed it into the sheikh's 
 mouth, a compliment quite cl la mode Marocaine, 
 which was seemingly much appreciated by the latter. 
 Our cook then commenced a little speech lauding 
 the generosity of his entertainer, but he had not 
 proceeded far before he was seized with a violent 
 attack of hiccoughs, which considerably marred the 
 effect of his after-dinner oratory. 
 
 " Holy Prophet ! friend Ali," he said, turning 
 towards the Persian, " but this is indeed an excellent 
 repast. Our worthy host here (hiccough) — may Allah 
 prolong his life — hath feasted us right royally. 
 Mashallah! (hiccough) Ya lateef ! What a pity! I 
 was about to say (hiccough) Bismillah ! — that (three 
 hiccoughs) — Staferallah ! " and he stopped for want 
 of breath. 
 
 " Hamdoollah ! God be praised," gravely returned 
 the sheikh, taking a handful of kuskussoo and 
 shovelling it into Mohammed's mouth, well nigh 
 choking him and causing more strange noises and 
 invocations to Allah and the Prophet, and finally 
 sending him off into a fit of coughing, which lasted 
 until he was black in the face. 
 
 The unfortunate Mohammed not being sufficiently 
 recovered to continue his speech, Ali presently took 
 up his parable and finished it for him. 
 
A MOORISH DINNER-PARTY. 95 
 
 " By my soul, Hadj Mohammed, and by your death," 
 he said, helping himself to a juicy morsel of mutton, 
 " of a verity, this is a most toothsome sheep. I trow 
 our father Mohammed (the peace and blessing of 
 Allah be upon him and his descendants !) never tasted 
 a better. Verily, our footsteps have been fortunate ; 
 our ways have been set in pleasant places. The sun 
 of contentment and prosperity hath shone upon our 
 faces. The cravings of appetite have been sated with 
 the bread of plenteousness, and the oil of gratitude 
 shall anoint the head of generosity. The blessing of 
 Allah and His holy Prophet be upon your beard, O 
 sheikh." 
 
 This oration was received with violent eructations 
 all round, expressive of their approbation of the 
 speaker's sentiments, accompanied by more exclama- 
 tions of " Mashallah ! " " Hamdoollah ! " and other 
 pious, but utterly irrelevant, expressions. Then the 
 hubble-bubble was lit, and after they had sat and 
 smoked for awhile the party broke up and we all 
 went to bed. 
 
 Next morning Mohammed came up to us and 
 complained of a severe stomach-ache. He assured us 
 that his digestion had never been right since he had 
 made the acquaintance of the Son of a Gun, and he 
 was convinced that he had been bewitched by that 
 squinting offspring of the powers of darkness. One 
 would have thought that a man who had disposed of 
 a cubit foot or so of kuskussoo and half a leg of 
 mutton, had fairly earned an attack of indigestion, 
 but human nature is never willing to allow its gastric 
 disorders to be the result of its own excesses. Mr. 
 Pickwick said it was all the salmon. Mohammed, 
 
96 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 who carried his animosity beyond the grave, laid the 
 blame on the evil eye of the Son of a Gun. He was, 
 further, particularly indignant because the dried leg 
 of a toad, which he had purchased from the hakim 
 to be worn next the pit of his stomach as a sure 
 preventive against indigestion, had completely failed 
 of its purpose. 
 
 Gerald promised to prepare him a charm which 
 would work far more quickly than his toad's leg, 
 and produced from his pocket a couple of Seltzer 
 powders. Putting the contents of the papers in a 
 glass, he poured in the water, and, as the mixture 
 bubbled and fizzed, Mohammed took to his heels, 
 exclaiming that the Sheitan was in the cup, and it 
 was with much difficulty that he was persuaded to 
 drink it off. 
 
 " May Allah preserve us from wicked spirits and 
 from the influence of the evil eye," he exclaimed, as 
 he tossed off the potion and nearly choked himself 
 
 The next morning he appeared a trifle paler than 
 usual. 
 
 " Well, my old great-grandfather of a brass-handled 
 stewpan," cried Gerald (in allusion to an article of 
 Mohammed's batterie de cuisine), slapping him on 
 the back, " how goes it this morning .-• Are not the 
 charms of the kaffirs in truth more efficacious than 
 those of the Moors ? " 
 
 " La bas, Hamdoollah ! Well, praise be to Allah, I 
 am very well, all things considered. But " — here he 
 placed his hand on his portly front, as he winced 
 visibly and big drops of perspiration stood out on his 
 forehead — " of a verity, O Father of the Nose, the 
 medicines of the Nazarenes be potent." 
 
A MOORISH DINNER-PARTY. 97 
 
 As soon as my wounds were sufficiently healed we 
 prepared to resume our journey. Our servants, 
 especially Mohammed, were by no means pleased to 
 leave the comfortable quarters and good living they 
 had been enjoying in the oasis, and, truth to tell, it 
 was not without regret that we ourselves bade adieu 
 to the simple, kindly peasant folk, among whom we 
 had passed so many pleasant days. With all their 
 faults, I cannot help loving the Arabs, There is some- 
 thing wonderfully taking about their quaint ways and 
 keen sense of humour, their earnestness, and wonder- 
 ful patience under misfortune, and I really believe 
 that though the whole tribe of them were always 
 burning our fathers and consigning us Christians to 
 everlasting perdition, they were all very sorry to see 
 us depart. Their hatred of the Nazarene is not 
 natural to them, but is simply the result of their 
 religious training. They have been taught to look 
 upon us as people whose throats are to be cut in this 
 world, and who are to be grilled eternally in the next, 
 and, to do them justice, many of them endeavour to 
 carry out their part of the programme to the letter. 
 After awhile, when you get to know them better, and 
 have penetrated this outer crust of barbarous 
 fanaticism, you come upon the true, kindly nature 
 beneath. You then discover that, far from being 
 demons actuated by a spirit of hideous malevolence 
 towards those who have the misfortune to disagree 
 with their religious convictions, they are ordinary 
 human beings endowed with a full share of the milk 
 of human kindness. 
 
 Truly, it is a curious thing to think what fiends to 
 all outward appearance the spirit of religious intoler- 
 
 H 
 
98 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 ance makes of men otherwise the most amiable and 
 inoffensive. 
 
 Take the case of our worthy friend the sheikh of 
 this village, a person whom we all like and esteem. 
 Mingled with his prayers for his own welfare and 
 deliverance from the wrath to come, are imprecations 
 on the heads of all unbelievers, and the expression of 
 his hope for their speedy destruction and eternal 
 torment. Yet I would not do him the injustice to 
 suppose that it would afford him the slightest satis- 
 faction — nay, I am sure his good heart would be much 
 distressed — if he knew that we were suffering the 
 horrible things he invoked upon us. But, after all, 
 are the members of our own faith much less merciless 
 in this respect than the followers of the Prophet ? 
 Do not we on certain solemn occasions consign to 
 everlasting anguish all who think differently from 
 ourselves on certain matters concerning which we 
 profess to have exclusive knowledge .'' Paterfamilias 
 solemnly mumbles his x-\thanasian Creed, then takes 
 his stroll at Church Parade in the Park, and eats 
 a hearty lunch in the serene consciousness of having 
 done his duty as a man and a Christian in consigning 
 three-fourths of the entire human race to perdition ; 
 and the matter doesn't distress him in the slightest. 
 
 But I am being drawn into a religious discussion, 
 and that will never do. The one fact I wish to bring 
 out is that the sheikh, in spite of his fanaticism, was 
 as Gerald phrased it, " a thundering good chap," and 
 we were all sorry to leave him. He had expressed 
 great admiration for Urquhart's mule, and before we 
 left he said he would be glad to buy it. Finding, 
 however, that the owner was unwilling to part with 
 
A MOORISH DINNER-PARTY. 99 
 
 the beast, he forbore from pressing him. " Suboork- 
 allah ! may God bless it," he politely remarked, and 
 with many expressions of good-will, invoking (in most 
 unorthodox fashion, by the way) the blessings of 
 Allah on our heads, he bade us God-speed upon our 
 journey. 
 
THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE FAIR AT SOK EL AREA. 
 
 After leaving the oasis, we soon got beyond the 
 mountains. The increasing scarcity of vegetation, 
 and the wide tracts of sand which had to be crossed, 
 showed that we were getting nearer the desert, though 
 as yet we were far from the Sahara proper. Wells, 
 too, were becoming less frequent, and the water of 
 worse quality, so it was with a feeling of relief that, 
 after several days' travelling in a south-easterly 
 direction, we caught sight of a few palm-trees in the 
 distance which we knew betokened the presence of 
 an oasis. Our pleasure was still greater when we 
 found that we had arrived at the valley of the Wad 
 Draa, the largest and most important river in this 
 part of Africa. For some days our course would be 
 along its banks, and all natural obstacles to our pro- 
 gress would cease for a time. The valley was far 
 less fertile than that of the Wad Sus, but it was 
 nevertheless fairly well populated. Negroes appeared 
 to form a large proportion- of the natives, and we 
 heard the Berber tongue more frequently spoken than 
 Arabic. The river flowed in a tortuous course 
 
THE FAIR AT SOK EL AREA. \o\ 
 
 between high mud-banks clothed here and there with 
 tamarisk and oleanders. The cultivable ground on 
 either side was not of great extent, and often the 
 road took us outside its borders and on to the barren, 
 treeless waste of the desert. On these occasions it 
 was always refreshing to get back to the palm-groves 
 and the comparatively fertile slopes of the Draa 
 valley. The country, as a glance at any map will 
 show, was studded with numerous saoicias, or 
 sanctuaries. These zaouias are generally the burial 
 places of Marabouts, or holy men, whose kubbe (white, 
 dome-shaped tombs) are a frequent and conspicuous 
 feature of the landscape, both here and in north 
 Marocco. Villages, small clusters of tabbia, or mud- 
 built huts, spring up round these sanctuaries. The 
 zaouia is generally presided over, and owned by a 
 sherecf, or descendant of the Prophet, who makes a 
 good thing out of the offerings of pilgrims at the 
 shrine of the departed saint. 
 
 We were passing one of these Marabouts' alcoves, 
 or kiibbe (the word " alcove " is simply al kiibba) one 
 day, when we saw a miserable half-starved look- 
 ing creature cowering inside. A few yards from the 
 entrance three truculent-looking natives sat keeping 
 guard. We asked Ali what was up, and he said that 
 the man had killed a relation of one of the three 
 watchers, and, fleeing from their vengeance, he had 
 gone upon the biist. 
 
 " ' Been upon the bust,' has he ">. " cried Gerald. 
 " Well, just tell him not to do it again. It's evident 
 dissipation don't agree with him. Just see how pale 
 and thin he looks." 
 
 Ali hastened to explain that " bust " was Persian 
 
102 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 for sanctuary, and that the unhappy criminal had 
 taken refuge in the zaouia, the sanctity of which he 
 knew his pursuers would not dare to violate. There 
 was nothing, however, to prevent them sitting down 
 and starving the poor wretch out ; and this was just 
 what they were doing. After some haggling we 
 managed to purchase the intended victim's liberty by 
 payment of a itw dollars' blood-money, though I for 
 one would not answer for his life as soon as our backs 
 were turned, in spite of the oaths and promises made 
 to us that not a hair of his head should be injured. 
 
 We stayed a few days in a place called Sok el 
 Arba, or Place of the Wednesday Market, the sheikh 
 of which was good enough to extend to us his friend- 
 ship and protection. He told us that the zaouia was 
 a rendezvous for the hadjis, or pilgrims, on their 
 journey from the shrine of the Prophet at Mecca, and 
 that a great yearly fair was about to be held, which 
 would be attended by a vast concourse of people. 
 Merchants had been daily arriving with caravans 
 from the south, trains of pilgrims eager to pray at 
 the shrine of a very high-class saint, one Moulai 
 Hamed Abd El Kader Gil Ali Ben Absalam, whose 
 bones reposed in a large kubba in the vicinity. 
 Already the place was full of tents, with their owners' 
 camels and horses picketed around, and cattle and 
 goats and sheep innumerable. Every one was on the 
 move, preparing for the great festival, which would 
 last over the three following days. Troops of 
 mounted men were practising the lab el baroud, or 
 powder-play on horseback, conspicuous in their mad 
 charges being the shereefs in their soulhams of sea- 
 green, the colour reserved for those who can boast 
 
THE FAIR A T SOK EL AREA. 103 
 
 that the blood of the Prophet runs in their veins. A 
 perpetual piping and tom-tomming was kept up, 
 which, combined with the rattle of musketry and the 
 shrill " lu, lu, lu," of the women encouraging their 
 lords, made a tremendous din. 
 
 On the morrow all the Moorish world and his wife 
 were early astir, and by the time we arrived on the 
 scene the dusty plain was covered by a buzzing 
 multitude, whose attention was concentrated upon 
 the various entertainments which had been provided 
 for their amusement. It was a curious, and, I must 
 say, a marvellously picturesque scene. From a 
 distance we looked down on what seemed like a sea 
 of turbans, and fezzes, and shaven scalps. All was 
 bustle and confusion. The sun beat fiercely down 
 upon the shadeless expanse, and a choking dust 
 enveloped everything. Knots of Moors were squatted 
 on the ground, listening open-mouthed to the story- 
 tellers, who, with much pantomime and vigorous 
 gesticulation, regaled them with yEsopian fables. 
 Others were gathered round the snake-charmers, 
 clowns, tumblers, fortune-tellers, single-stick players, 
 and jugglers, who, after performing their marvellous 
 feats, "sent round the hat" just as their co7if)'(:yes 
 would do in England. What a motley crew, to be 
 sure ! Rich and poor, robes and rags, the starved 
 and the overfed. And what a jabber of contending 
 jargons ! What a mixture of types and colours and 
 costumes ! from the white-faced Moorish merchant, 
 clad in his eight yards or more of cloth, to the big 
 Bambara nigger, whose raiment is a loin-cloth, a few 
 flies, and a never-ceasing grin. Nor is the ubiquitous 
 Jew absent. He wears a dark jcllabia, and his cap is 
 
I04 THE BRETHREX OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 black (the colour of Jehannum) and he is compelled 
 to walk sHpperless, having the cringing, dejected air 
 natural to a despised and persecuted race. 
 
 Above us, on that bank up yonder, are the muffled 
 women, in their white, flowing haiks, each squealing 
 away at the top of her voice, as her husband performs 
 some more than usually startling feat in the dance, o'r 
 nearly blows his neighbour's head off as he discharges 
 his matchlock in the air. Beggars — all sores and rags, 
 blind, lame, deformed — are all over the place, hoarsely 
 demanding backsheesh in the name of Allah and 
 Moulai Idrees. Itinerant hawkers perambulate the 
 mob, just as they would at a fair in England, only, 
 instead of oranges and gingerbeer, they sell syrups, 
 cakes, and lollypops in the name of Moulai Idrees. 
 This saint, who, as I have said, is a very great gun 
 out in these parts, seems to have a finger in every pie. 
 Yon nigger water-carrier, ringing his bell as he pours 
 the filthy liquid he has just collected from the nearest 
 puddle through the brass nozzle of his goatskin bag, 
 claims the patronage of the holy man, and charges an 
 extra mozuna per cup on that account. 
 
 " El ma, el ma ! Water, pure water, from the holy 
 Ain el Beida (white spring), dug by our father Moulai 
 Idrees. Balak ! balak ! make room, make room ! Ya 
 Mohammed ! Ya Moulai Idrees ! Come and drink, 
 come and drink. In the name of Allah and His holy 
 Prophet, who'll have a cooler, who'll have a cooler ? " 
 
 Yes ! change the costumes ; put a steam-organ or 
 hurdy-gurdy in place of those musicians with their 
 rheetahs and tom-toms, and alter one or two minor 
 details, and you might almost fancy yourself at some 
 country fair in the Midlands, or amongst our English 
 
THE FAIR AT SOK EL AREA. 105 
 
 bedouins on Epsom Downs. The same idea evidently 
 strikes Gerald, who enters thoroughly into the fun of 
 the fair, and he suggests that we should start Aunt 
 Sally, or, in lack of cocoa-nuts, play leap-frog. 
 
 "La ilaha ill' Allah! Three shies a penny! Ya 
 lateef. What a pity we have no cocoa-nuts. Bis- 
 millah ! tuck in your twopenny," he cried, " making a 
 back" for Urquhart, who was over him like a shot, I 
 following. The natives were highly diverted, think- 
 ing some new species of mountebank had arrived 
 from the land of the Roum (Europeans). 
 
 "Oollah!" exclaimed a young athletic-looking 
 Moor, gazing admiringly at Urquhart, "but he jumps 
 like a gazelle." 
 
 Ali, far from sharing in the delight of the Moors, 
 viewed these proceedings with grave concern, and 
 expostulated with Urquhart on his undignified 
 conduct. 
 
 " By the soul of your great-grandfather, and by 
 your beard," he said, " do not, I pray you, eat dirt 
 before the eyes of this people, or Allah only knows 
 what mischief may befall you, and I shall be power- 
 less to avert it. The robe of dignity is as steel 
 armour against the shafts of insult, but they who 
 clothe themselves in a garment of shame must be 
 prepared to chew the cud of mortification. There is 
 but one God, and Mohammed is the Prophet of God." 
 
 "Mohammed be blowed !" cried the irrepressible 
 Gerald. " Here's the only real sporting Prophet. 
 Allah akbar ! two to one, bar one ! May your 
 shadows never be less ! What price outsiders ? " 
 And he mounted on a stone, pencil and note-book 
 in hand, like any genuine " bookie," amid a throng of 
 
To5 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 gaping and astonished natives, who imagined him to 
 be a kaffir story-teller about to start upon a new and 
 original yarn. 
 
 Almarakshi, who shared Ali's opinion of our con- 
 duct, wagged his head gravely and said to our cook 
 that he feared the Father of the Nose was " hhamak " 
 (scotticc, "had a bee in his bonnet"). This presumption 
 on Almarakshi's part called forth a stern rebuke from 
 Mohammed, who asked him, in the name of Moulai 
 Idrees, what dog he could name as his father that he 
 should presume to criticize his betters, remarking 
 further that, "Hamdoollah! blessed be Allah!" if it 
 pleased the tajjers to play the giddy goat, it was no 
 business of his (Almarakshi's) to interfere. 
 
 Yielding to Ali's expostulations, we desisted from 
 larking, to the evident disappointment of the natives, 
 who were in hopes of witnessing some novel perform- 
 ance, and continued our way through the crowd, 
 which seemed to grow denser every moment. Pre- 
 sently a troop of gaily attired horsemen come 
 prancing and caracoling through the mob, and 
 following them is a shercef in turban and sea-green 
 soulham, mounted on a tall dromedary. His satel- 
 lites, crying " Balak ! Balak!" clear a passage for 
 him among the people, who meekly withdraw before 
 the holy man. Every step reveals something new 
 and picturesque. Lines of pious pilgrims are filing 
 wearily up a slight eminence to the tomb of the saint, 
 leading the sacrificial heifer by a cord. Troops of 
 gaudily-clad warriors perform military quadrilles 
 amid shouts and the din of musketry. A portly 
 merchant from some far-off town rides by on his 
 sleek mule, and a peasant on his humble ass drives 
 
THE FAIR AT SOK EL AREA. 107 
 
 his sheep and goats to the soko. Just look, too, at 
 that maniac yonder, naked to the waist, his long 
 matted hair streaming in the wind, jibbering away to 
 himself as he brandishes a rusty old spear with gaudy 
 rags and bits of ribbon tied on the head. The people 
 of course reverence him as a saint, saying that he has 
 been visited of Heaven, and that his reason is in the 
 keeping of Allah. If he hits you over the head with 
 his spear, or spits in your face, you will have to look 
 as though you liked it and render thanks to Allah 
 that the holy man has condescended to notice you. 
 
 "Look here, old man," said Gerald to Ali, "it's 
 evidently considered a high distinction out here to be 
 a drivelling idiot, so don't you go insulting people by 
 asking after their sanity, or making polite speeches 
 about their brains being in good order ; or you'll get 
 into hot water. They'll take it as a deadly insult, 
 they will. You must say, ' Good morning to you, sir ; 
 I trust you are feeling tolerably cracked to-day.' 
 ' Peace be with you,' he will reply. ' I had a slight 
 return of my lucid intervals yesterday, but the attack 
 has since left me, and I am now thoroughly insane, 
 thanks be to Allah ! ' Hullo ! what's all this noise 
 about .? " 
 
 As he spoke, a great shout was raised of " Aissaouie ! 
 Aissaouie ! " and a rush was made by the crowd to an 
 open space on the right. We allowed ourselves to 
 be carried along with the stream, and, descending a 
 sandy lane enclosed on either side by hedges of 
 cactus and aloe, we saw what looked like a mob of 
 lunatics in convulsions slowly approaching us. These 
 were the Aissaouie, the followers of the sect of Aissa, 
 a species of howling dervishes who are held in great 
 
lo8 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 repute throughout Barbary. There were nearly a 
 hundred of them altogether, men and women, half- 
 naked, save that a few were clad in panther-skins, of 
 which they were tremendously proud. On they came 
 in circles of two lines each, performing a sort of 
 hideous double shuffle to the music of pipes and 
 tom-toms and the clash of cymbals, which mingled 
 with the shouts and howls of the mob and the shrill 
 cries of the women. In their midst devotees carried 
 great embroidered banners of green and gold. Not 
 daring to approach too near, we planted ourselves on 
 a hillock hard by, whence we had a full view of the 
 Bacchantic orgies. 
 
 It was a strange and revolting spectacle on which 
 we gazed. Methinks I can see those horrible 
 faces now — some wearing an expression of agony, 
 others simply with the vacant grin of idiocy — faces 
 as of men possessed with a thousand devils, such 
 as are only to be seen in a madhouse or a night- 
 mare. In delirious transports, with convulsive gulps 
 and groans and howls, the fanatics called upon Allah 
 for aid, tossing their heads and shaking their long 
 black elf-locks, rocking their bodies to and fro in 
 contortions as they kept up the hideous dance. Some 
 grovelled about on the ground, pretending to be goats 
 and pigs and other animals ; others cut and bit and 
 scratched themselves till the blood flowed out upon 
 them. In the midst of them all, a huge black negress 
 clad in a long white chemise, who had been jumping 
 about with frantic vehemence, fell to the ground in a 
 fit, foaming at the mouth, and swallowing mud and 
 stones, and performing the most revolting antics. 
 Near her a tall emaciated Moor, a sort of walking 
 
THE FAIR AT SOK EL AREA. 109 
 
 skeleton in rags, held a piece of red-hot charcoal 
 between a pair of tongs, which he applied to his left 
 arm, keeping it there for fully a minute. He uttered 
 no cry, and the quivering muscles, which seemed 
 distended almost to breaking point as the steam 
 arose from the frizzling flesh, were the only indica- 
 tions that he suffered pain, while, with eyes half 
 starting from their sockets, he grinned idiotically, as 
 though he were enjoying it. 
 
 Then an aged fanatic with long, flowing, white 
 beard, who, from the superior quality of his con- 
 tortions and the howls which accompanied them, 
 seemed to be the mokaddein, or high priest, of the 
 band, called in a loud voice for the " father of wool." 
 Immediately half a dozen sturdy natives appeared, 
 dragging along between them a sheep and a goat. 
 The wretched creatures struggled and bleated 
 piteously, as though conscious of the fate that 
 awaited them, for, with a simultaneous howl, the 
 pack of dervishes rushed, like tigers lusting for blood, 
 upon their prey. Some seized the head, others the 
 legs, of their victims, and pulled and pulled till they 
 literally tore the animals asunder, and then there 
 was a general scramble for the pieces. Tossing them 
 in the air and smearing themselves with blood, the 
 fanatics swallowed bits of the raw flesh, shrieking out 
 "Allah I Allah ! " at the top of their voices. At last, 
 seemingly drunk with blood, and exhausted with 
 their superhuman exertions, some of them staggered 
 and fell to the ground, where they lay in a state of 
 stupor. 
 
 Meanwhile the crowd were hugely delighted. 
 Every one gave praise and thanks to Allah for 
 
no THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 vouchsafing to them so excellent a festival ; and 
 they seemed to think that being present at such a 
 loathsome spectacle was a cause for deep gratitude. 
 For ourselves, we had had more than enough of it, so, 
 as the afternoon was now wearing on, and the red ball 
 of the sun was sinking in the desert to the west, we 
 elbowed our way through the crowd and made our 
 way back to the tents, leaving the turbaned throng 
 of the faithful still hard at work at their festivities. 
 
( III ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 
 
 We did not stay in Sok el Arba beyond the fifth day, 
 being- anxious to make our way as soon as we con- 
 veniently could to the zaouia of one Sheikh Seedy 
 Mohammed Selim Alarby Barghash Abd cl Kreem, 
 who, we were told, was the independent chieftain of 
 a conglomeration of Arab tribes on the borders of the 
 Great Desert It was of the utmost importance for 
 us to obtain the good will of this potentate, as, other- 
 wise, we should hardly be able to continue our journey 
 into the interior. We had heard most alarming 
 reports concerning his tyranny, rapacity, and fiendish 
 cruelty, and the brutal way in which he oppressed his 
 unfortunate subjects. Ali was provided with a letter 
 of introduction to the sheikh from a Moorish merchant 
 residing in Marakesh, who had once befriended Abd 
 el Kreem while the latter was staying in that city 
 some years before. The sheikh's territory would be 
 the last inhabited country that we should pass 
 through before we commenced our journey across the 
 Sahara, and we reckoned on being able to purchase 
 from him camels, desert horses, and other necessary 
 
112 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 equipment. Should he prove hostile to our enterprise, 
 or, indeed, if he simply refused to give us his co-opera- 
 tion and aid, it would be almost impossible for us 
 even to make the attempt to reach Mount Atlas. 
 
 The following are a few notes I find in my diary of 
 a not very interesting part of our journe}^ 
 
 September i '^tli. — Up at dawn. Got quickly through 
 the business of breakfast and packing, and off before 
 seven, as it is getting too hot to travel in the middle 
 of the day, and we must cover as much ground as 
 possible in the cool. The country presents no new 
 features. We pass through alternate stretches of 
 desert and oasis, sometimes keeping along the river- 
 bank, sometimes leaving it far on our left. 
 
 \6tJi, 17th, a7id i2>th. — Crossed the river on the 
 1 6th, and travelled along the left bank for some 
 hours, recrossing it the next day. The population is 
 growing scantier, and we see very few zaouias. 
 Food, too, is getting short. We have tasted little or 
 no meat since leaving Sok el Arba, and live chiefly 
 on cakes of flour and dates. 
 
 19///. — Had a long march to-day, as we are cutting 
 off a big bend which the river makes to the east, and 
 there are fifty or sixty miles of desert to be crossed 
 before we strike it again. Camped by a muddy little 
 pool of tepid water called the Ain el Wad el Bared, 
 or Spring of the Cold River. There is no river, and 
 the water is anything but cold ; but that is a mere 
 trifle — these Arabs have such splendid imaginations. 
 
 On the 20th we rejoined the Wad Draa close to 
 where it makes its final turn to the west. From this 
 point it flows straight away to the Atlantic — at least 
 it does so when it has enough water. In the dry 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. II3 
 
 season its stream is swallowed up in the thirsty sands 
 of the desert long before it arrives at the ocean. We 
 were now within an easy day's march of Zaouia Seedy 
 Idrees, the dwelling-place of the Sheikh Abd el 
 Kreem, but instead of proceeding there at once we 
 struck off on a journey of half a day in a westerly 
 direction, to visit the great lake of Ed Debaia. This 
 lake becomes completely dry at certain seasons, and 
 the natives grow fine crops of corn on its bed. It is 
 only filled with water when the melting of the Atlas 
 snows brings the Draa down in flood. On the 
 occasion of our visit it was in an intermediate state, a 
 sort of shallow swamp formed of alternate patches of 
 dry ground and reedy lagoons. These lagoons were 
 covered with flocks of innumerable wild fowl. As we 
 approached they rose and circled round our heads, 
 forming thin, wavy lines like some huge aerial serpent. 
 Troops of herons and flamingoes lined the banks, like 
 regiments of grey and red-coated soldiers. We did 
 not camp near the marsh for fear of malaria, but 
 from our tents at nightfall we could distinctly hear 
 the booming of the wild swans, the squeaking of the 
 boouienkoosh, or " father of the pick," as the Moors in 
 their absurd fashion call the snipe, and the hoarse 
 murmur of cranes winging their way to the south. 
 
 We had a short day's shooting in the marsh — 
 simply for the pot, as we could not afford to waste our 
 ammunition on mere amusement — and bagged several 
 duck and widgeon. They tasted most delicious after 
 the tough mutton, goat, and camel that had died a 
 natural death, which had formed our staple fare till 
 the last few days. The next morning we made an 
 early start, intending to dispense with our usual 
 
 I 
 
114 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 noontide siesta and to travel all day so as to arrive 
 before nightfall at the Zaouia Seedy Idrees. The 
 heat and the roughness of the road, however, frustrated 
 our endeavours, and we were compelled to pass a 
 most uncomfortable night encamped in a stony waste, 
 without water for ourselves or herbage for our 
 animals. 
 
 Before noon next day a few stunted palms came 
 into view, and soon we saw the mud walls and battle- 
 ments, with square towers of the same material at 
 the angles and salient points, and two or three mosque 
 towers, of a Moorish town. This was the kasbah, or 
 fortress, of Seedy Idrees, the zaouia itself being a 
 short distance away. 
 
 Outside the gate of the kasbah we came on a knot 
 of Moors, in the midst of whom was seated a big, 
 burly mulatto of indescribably forbidding aspect. 
 This, Ali told us, was the Sheikh Abd el Kreem. He 
 was a man somewhat under the middle height, 
 enormously broad-chested and corpulent withal, with 
 a short thick neck like a bull's, set on between a pair 
 of high square shoulders. His face was deeply pitted 
 with smallpox, and wore an expression of ferocity, 
 gluttony, and brute voluptuousness. He had a leer 
 like a satyr, while a big scar over his left eye 
 heightened the general sinister effect. On one of the 
 Moors drawing his attention to us he rose and glared 
 at us for about a minute. Being anxious to create a 
 favourable impression on this truculent potentate, we 
 had smartened ourselves up a bit for the occasion. 
 We had donned our best riding:breeches, and, for the 
 first time since leaving England, had indulged in 
 the luxury of a shave. But our hopes of winning 
 
. THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 115 
 
 the sheikh's good-will by the charm of our appear- 
 ance were rudely dashed to the ground. 
 
 " Lain el Sheitan ! curses be upon the Sheitan ! " he 
 roared out with a voice like a bull of Bashan, at the same 
 time spitting on the ground in a most offensive fashion. 
 " Who are these, with bald, white chins like those of 
 old and mangy camels, and tightly fitting garments 
 about their legs ? In the name of Allah, let them 
 be provided with raiment that their limbs may be 
 suitably covered and that they put not the faces of 
 our women to shame. And then let their heads 
 be taken off, as a warning to all strangers who 
 may be tempted to commit a similar indecency. 
 There is but one God, and Mohammed is the Prophet 
 of God." 
 
 Urquhart, undismayed by his ferocious bluster, 
 boldly approached and spoke as follows. 
 
 " Peace be with you, O Sheikh. We are three 
 strangers from the Belad el Rouui (land of the 
 Europeans), journeying in search of a far-off country, 
 and we crave your protection and hospitality." 
 
 " That is no reason why ye should not cover your 
 legs with proper raiment," retorted the sheikh, re- 
 turning to the charge. "And what dog's son is this ? " 
 he continued, as Ali, trembling all over, came timidly 
 up behind Urquhart with the letter of introduction in 
 his hand. " May his father's grave be eternally 
 defiled ! " 
 
 Ali replied in a low tone, and with head bent 
 down submissively, " May your Highness's favour 
 never diminish, and may the condescension of your 
 Highness continue to shine upon his servant" (nice 
 sort of condescension, thought I, to call a man a dog 
 
Ii6 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 and defile his father's grave). " Behold, I am less than 
 dirt, but we are travellers from a distant country and 
 crave leave to bask for a few days in the sunshine of 
 your Highness's presence. These gentlemen" (point- 
 ing to us) "have journeyed thus far to repose in the 
 shadow of your protection. Good men are they, and 
 true, men of ripe understanding, Avhose hands have 
 gathered of the fruits of the tree of knowledge. Your 
 servant is further charged by the Tajjer Abd er 
 Rahman Sliman Embarek to deliver a letter into 
 the hands of your Highness, and, having endeavoured 
 faithfully to discharge his duty in the matter, your 
 servant now begs your Highness to deign to accept 
 the same." 
 
 " A letter ! " exclaimed the sheikh. " By the beard 
 of the Prophet, we do not often get letters in these 
 parts. Show it me; in the name of the blessejl 
 Moulai Idrees, let me see it." 
 
 I could well imagine that the postman's knock 
 sounded but rarely on the portals of the Zaouia Seedy 
 Idrees, and that the arrival of a messenger charged 
 with a missive from a distant country was regarded 
 as an event of some importance. The sheikh, whose 
 interest was now thoroughly aroused, took the precious 
 document from Ali's hands, pressed it first to his lips 
 and then to his forehead, and broke the seal. But 
 an unlooked-for difficulty here arose. How were the 
 contents to be deciphered ? The sheikh himself was 
 guiltless of the art of reading, and his retainers like- 
 wise. A consultation was held, and there was much 
 knitting of eyebrows and wagging of heads, and 
 staferallahing and hamdoollahing, till suddenly one 
 of the Moors was struck with a bright idea. 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 117 
 
 " Barikallah ! blessed be Allah ! " said he ; " I have 
 it. Send for the Thaleb Mohammed." 
 
 Thaleb Mohammed, a middle-aged man wearing 
 an expression of fatuous solemnity, as became one 
 credited with colossal erudition, soon arrived. I 
 believe his reputation rested on the fact of his being 
 able to read, or, more probably, to repeat by heart 
 under pretence of reading, a few verses of the Koran. 
 He took up the letter with an air of portentous 
 wisdom, and, murmuring a prayer to Allah to clear 
 his brain and enlighten his understanding, he set 
 about the formidable task of spelling out its contents. 
 He turned the document every way, upside down, 
 sideways, wagged his head, and finally, muttering some- 
 thing of which I could not catch the sense, he gave it 
 up as a bad job. 
 
 Briefly remarking that he was a ja,ckasS) and in all 
 probability the father of the greater number of 
 jackasses now existent, the sheikh ordered the un- 
 fortunate thaleb to receive a hundred blows on the 
 soles of his feet, in order,' as he said, to give him 
 better understanding. In the end, the letter was 
 handed to Ah to read, and the pains of Jehannum 
 were invoked on his head if he did not do it correctly. 
 
 " May I never see the blessed houris of Paradise," 
 humbly ejaculated the Persian, " if I alter one single 
 word, or attempt in any way (which would, indeed, 
 be a foolish thing) to deceive the wisdom of your 
 Highness." 
 
 The letter commenced as follows : — " In the name 
 of Allah, the All-Powerful, the Compassionate. The 
 blessing of Allah be upon His holy Prophet 
 Mohammed,, and upon all who walk in the right way. 
 
iiS THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 " From the Tajjer Abd er Rahman Sliman Embarek 
 to the Sheikh Seedy Mohammed Barghash Abd el 
 Kreem, greeting. The peace of Allah and Seedna 
 Mohammed be upon our friends." 
 
 The letter went on to say, after more oriental rig- 
 marole, that three Nazarenes, and a certain Ali Abd el 
 Ressool from the land of Iran, all friends of the writer, 
 were setting forth upon a journey to the navel of the 
 desert, and that the said four friends hoped, by the 
 blessing of Allah and the aid of Moulai Idrees, to 
 pass through the happy dominions under the benevo- 
 lent sway of the Sheikh Abd el Kreem. The tajjer, 
 therefore, begged the sheikh, for the love of Allah, 
 and because of the friendship which subsisted between 
 them, to be gracious to the Nazarenes and to afford 
 them every assistance in his power. The peace. 
 
 The sheikh's manner softened on hearing this 
 letter read, and an expression almost approaching 
 amiability crossed his ill-favoured countenance. 
 
 " Mahhaba bik, you are welcome," said he ; " the 
 friends of my friends are friends of mine. On my 
 head be it to perform the wishes of the Tajjer Abd 
 er Rhaman in this matter." 
 
 As he spoke he seized Urquhart's hand and pressed 
 his own to his heart and then on the top of his head. 
 This last gesture signified that he took all our faults 
 and trespasses on his own hand, which was very 
 obliging of him, as, unless rumour and his looks 
 greatly belied him, he had quite enough of his own 
 to carry. 
 
 " But why don't they cover their legs ? " said he, 
 turning to Ali, and again harping on the old theme. 
 
 "May it please your Highness," said Ali, "in the 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 119 
 
 Belad el Roum it is not the custom for the people to 
 wear the jellabia." 
 
 " Holy Prophet ! do the Christian dogs, then, go 
 about naked ? " 
 
 " Allah forbid ! " returned the Persian ; " but the 
 Oolad Ingleez (sons of the English) are a race of 
 accomplished horsemen, and the steeds of that country 
 are so fiery and untamed that no man may bestride 
 them unless he has tight-fitting raiment on his legs." 
 
 The sheikh replied, in effect, that he would rather 
 be kicked off his horse than make an ass of himself 
 by going about in such ridiculous and unbecoming 
 attire. " But after all," he philosophically added, 
 " what does it matter what the swine-eating infidels 
 do .'' In any case, they and their fathers will burn 
 eternally in Jehannum." 
 
 The sheikh evidently considered that this clinched 
 the matter and that further argument was useless, so, 
 gathering up his garments and raising his portly 
 person to its full height, and throwing his haik 
 jauntily over his left shoulder, he waddled majestically 
 towards the gate of the kasbah. 
 
 Abd el Kreem, as we learned afterwards, was vastly 
 proud of his personal appearance. His ambition 
 was to be considered " the glass of fashion and the 
 mould of form," the " Kreem de la Kreem," to quote 
 Gerald's vile pun, of the manhood of Seedy Idrees ; 
 and he was always surrounded by a band of sycophants 
 who pandered to his vanity. These were never tired of 
 applying to him the epithet of " moon-faced," which 
 was appropriate only in so far that his countenance 
 possessed, not only the rotundity, but also the 
 eruptive surface peculiar to that orb. Being of 
 
I20 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the lineage of the Prophet, he wore the green robe 
 of the shereefs, and was reverenced by all the Moors 
 as a saint. It was only natural that they should pay 
 this honour to a person possessing so peculiarly 
 iniquitous a character as the sheikh, since, next to 
 idiocy, that is the best passport to canonization in 
 Marocco. Seekers after a sign of his mission were 
 referred to a large wart on his nose as proof positive 
 of his being one chosen by Allah ; and no sceptic 
 was found so hardened as not to be convinced by this 
 irrefragable evidence. He was the Marabout of the 
 neighbouring zaouia, which dignity, and the emolu- 
 ments attaching thereto, he had inherited from a long 
 line of ancestors. Needless to say that he made a 
 good thing out of it. His blessing was a marketable 
 commodity, the price varying according to the means 
 of the person blessed. Pieces of cloth from his old 
 jellabias, and even the parings of his nails and the 
 trimmings of his beard fetched money as talismans 
 against the evil eye and other misfortunes. Strings 
 of beads, which had been worn round his sanctified 
 neck, were in great request as rosaries, but perhaps 
 the sale of relics and charms formed the most profit- 
 able part of his business, " A questionable kind of 
 saint," the reader will say ; yet I am not sure that 
 the Christian calendar could not furnish parallels with 
 scarcely moEe enviable records. 
 
 By permission of Abd el Kreem, we lived in our 
 tents outside the walls, thereby avoiding the discom- 
 forts of Moorish houses and the evil odours of the 
 town. Thanks chiefly to Abd er Rhaman's letter, 
 and to Ali's skill in deciphering it, we were treated 
 with every consideration. Plenteous mona, or gifts of 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 121 
 
 provisions, were provided for ourselves and our 
 servants, and a guard of warriors armed with match- 
 locks was told off for our protection. Nevertheless, 
 we were anxious not to waste more time in the 
 place than was absolutely necessary. Our chief aim 
 was to obtain, if possible, some reliable' information 
 as to the existence and whereabouts of the Djebel 
 Kebcer. Legend was rife, as Urquhart had told us 
 in the smoking-room of Inverfechan, concerning it 
 and the race of holy Marabutin who dwelt at its 
 base, and the wonders the latter worked. Not a soul, 
 however, seemed to possess any definite knowledge 
 on the subject. It was further rumoured" that gold in 
 abundance was to be found along the banks of a 
 river which, taking its rise somewhere in the moun- 
 tain, flowed thence out into the desert ; but no man 
 had ever seen this river. A band of adventurous 
 Moors, it was said, attracted by the prospect of 
 finding gold, had set out many moons ago across the 
 desert ; but they had never been heard of since, and 
 it was supposed that they had all perished on the 
 way. The existence of the Djebel Kebeer, we 
 observed, was universally believed in ; but no one 
 seemed to have the haziest notion of its locality, 
 further than that it lay somewhere to the south in 
 the Sahara, and many days' journey distant from the 
 Zaouia Seedy Idrees. 
 
 In addition to this difficulty of getting any reliable 
 information, a new and unexpected obstacle to our 
 departure arose in the shape of a sudden whim of the 
 sheikh's. Our fear had been lest we should find his 
 hostility a bar to our enterprise, and, knowing the 
 suspicion and dislike with which the natives as a 
 
122 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 rule regard foreign travellers, we little imagined that 
 any trouble could arise from his taking too great a 
 fancy to us. Yet this was what actually happened. 
 He was by no means pleased to see us at first, and, 
 as the reader will remember, expressed his sentiments 
 concerning us in no measured terms. In his case, 
 however, as in many others, intercourse broke down 
 the barrier which barbarism and bigotry interposes 
 between men of different race and creed. As he saw 
 more of us his aversion gradually lessened, and, to 
 our surprise and not unqualified delight, finally turned 
 into a positive liking. He seemed to take a particular 
 fancy to Gerald, and lost no opportunity of making 
 himself agreeable to him. The upshot of it all was 
 that when we expressed a desire to start on our 
 journey and mooted the question of camels and 
 other equipment, he positively refused to let us go. 
 So obstinate did he show himself on the point, that 
 we judged it wise to let the matter rest for awhile. 
 
 Meanwhile, our stay was made as pleasant for us as 
 possible, and everything was done to show the esteem 
 in which the sheikh held us. We were actually 
 honoured one day by an invitation from Mrs. Abd el 
 Kreem, who, enamoured either of Urquhart's whiskers 
 or, more probably, Gerald's fair hair and winning 
 smile, requested us to take afternoon tea, or, as the 
 French would say, to " fivocloquer," with her at four 
 o'clock. It was impossible to refuse, so, donning our 
 smartest attire, and putting our best leg forward, we 
 presented ourselves at the appointed hour at the door 
 of the sheikh's mansion. He received us graciously 
 in person, and, invoking the peace of Allah on our 
 heads, assured us that, once having passed his 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 123 
 
 threshold and eaten of his bread, we were his father, 
 mother, brother, and all the rest of his relations, and 
 that everything he possessed was ours. 
 
 So saying, he led the way across the tesselated 
 court and under the portico, leaving in his train a 
 strong odour of garlic, which, in a holy man who was 
 supposed to daily hold converse with angels and 
 other spiritual beings, was highly improper.^ 
 
 Passing through a narrow door, we found ourselves 
 in a cosy inner apartment spread over with rich 
 Rabat rugs, and surrounded by a low divan. At one 
 end of this divan there reclined a portly middle-aged 
 dame, with a hook-nose and a swarthy complexion 
 and large black eyes of singular brightness, who was 
 presented to us as the sheikh's head wife. I was 
 somewhat surprised at our being introduced in this 
 fashion to the interior of a Mussulman's household ; 
 but, as a matter of fact, the country Moors are far 
 less particular about secluding their women than 
 those of the towns. Anyhow, Mrs. Abd el Kreem 
 seemed delighted to see us, paying particular atten- 
 tion, I observed, to Gerald. Indeed, Urquhart and 
 myself were at first not a little astonished at the way 
 in which both she and her spouse combined to do 
 him honour, but after tea the secret of their attentions 
 came out. A matrimonial scheme was on foot 
 between them, of which poor Gerald was the intended 
 victim. Tea was served in the usual Moorish fashion 
 with cakes and sweetmeats, and, when we had 
 swallowed the three cups prescribed by native eti- 
 
 ' The saints of the East are expected to follow the example of their 
 master TNIohammed, and to abstain from onions and garlic for fear ()f 
 giving offence to good spirits who hold communion with them. 
 
124 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 quette, the sheikh introduced in a characteristically 
 blunt fashion the subject nearest to his heart. 
 
 " Behold, O Nazarenes," said he, addressing us 
 collectively, but meanin<J his remarks for Gerald's 
 ear, " I have a daughter, a virgin, named Fatma, who 
 is passing fair. Her face is like the moon. Her 
 mouth is as a ring ; she hath wide hips, and she is 
 of goodly proportions. Already doth she Aveigh 
 170 lbs., and, with moderate stuffing,^ she will scale 
 very much more. In short," said he, turning to 
 Gerald, " she is just the sort of damsel a good-looking 
 young tajjer like thee ought to marry. Take her, O 
 Father of the Nose ; she is thine ; and with her my 
 blessing and a goodly dower of land and camels 
 and cattle shall be her portion. Ala rasi, on my head 
 be it." 
 
 At this moment the door opened and, doubtless 
 by preconcerted arrangement, the young lady entered. 
 And a very fine girl she was for her age. She was 
 tall, immensely fat, and almost as dark as her father ; 
 and, as she walked, or rather wobbled, across the 
 room, we had full opportunity of admiring her 
 magnificent proportions, which the sheikh had in 
 no wise exaggerated. Arriving at the divan, she 
 flopped down beside her mother, the exertion causing 
 her fat cheeks to quiver like blubber ; and then she 
 opened on poor Gerald with the whole battery of her 
 ample fascinations. Her mouth, which Gerald said 
 resembled, for all the world, a slit cut in a haggis, 
 
 ' Orientals, as is well known, value their women pretty much accord- 
 ing to their size and weight. Hence Moorish girls, as soon as they 
 are engaged, enter upon a process of cramming in order to increase 
 their bulk. An Eastern Paris would adjudge the apple not " to the 
 fairest," but to the fattest. 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 125 
 
 was fixed in an engaging grin, and her big goggle 
 eyes, round which the kohl was thickly plastered, 
 melted in what was meant to be a soft, languishing 
 gaze. 
 
 " There ! " exclaimed the sheikh, " is she not a 
 beauty ? Dost thou not long to taste the sweetness 
 of those coral lips ? By my beard, in the days of my 
 hot youth such a face would have made my heart 
 aflame with passion, but ye Roum are a cold-blooded 
 race. What sayest thou, my young tajjer ? Wilt 
 thou have her ? " 
 
 Gerald, though somewhat taken aback by the 
 unexpected turn affairs had taken, was equal to the 
 occasion. 
 
 " Tell the sheikh," said he to Urquhart, preferring 
 to make his excuses through the medium of an inter- 
 preter, " that the beauty of his daughter hath made 
 roast meat of my heart. Verily, she is a pearl among 
 women." (" Much more like a big oyster," he mur- 
 mured sotto voce?) " Her eyes are like two stars, and 
 gladly would I wed her were I free to do so, but, 
 alas ! my heart is fixed on a fair maid of my own 
 country " (" Good heavens, what a cram ! " muttered 
 Urquhart), " and Allah forbid that I should break my 
 plighted troth." 
 
 The sheikh's face clouded over at this reply. He 
 was not accustomed to be thwarted in his plans, and, 
 having set his heart upon getting Gerald for his son- 
 in-law, he renewed his persuasions and entreaties, till 
 at length, finding his importunity of no avail against 
 Gerald's obstinate refusal to embrace the opportunity 
 — or the lady — he assumed a more peremptory tone. 
 This nettled Gerald considerably, and, being at a loss 
 
126 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 for a satisfactory reply, he muttered something to 
 himself about Abd el Kreem being "an old Juggins." 
 
 The observation did not escape the quick ears of 
 the sheikh, who at once divined from Gerald's some- 
 what sulky expression, that some opprobrious epithet 
 was being levelled at him. Jumping up from his 
 seat, he plucked his beard in a passion and screamed 
 out — 
 
 " What is this I hear ? Lai sti shimlek. What 
 filth is this we are eating ? By the camel of the holy 
 Prophet, and by the ram he sacrificed at the first 
 Ramadan, if I am Juggins, you are the great-grand- 
 father of all the Jugginses. Oollah ! may fifty curs 
 defile the grave of Juggins's grandmother. Whose 
 dog am I, that swine-eating sons of Sheitan should 
 laugh at my beard ? May Juggins burn in Jehan- 
 num ! " 
 
 The ladies were much moved at this ebullition of 
 the shereefian wrath, and Mademoiselle Fatma burst 
 into a fit of hysterical tears, which aggravated rather 
 than soothed her parent's bad temper. Urquhart, 
 however, hastened to explain that Juggins, so far 
 from being an insult, was often used as a term of 
 endearment and respect amongst the sons of the 
 English, and the sheikh's anger subsided as quickly 
 as it had been roused. 
 
 "La bas, la bas, it is well. Our ears are gratified ; 
 our wrath is appeased. Only, I would not have it be 
 supposed that the fingers of contumely were plucking 
 at the beard of dignity." 
 
 This unpleasant little episode being satisfactorily 
 ended, we soon after rose to take our leave, and 
 returned to the tents, where we told Ali what had 
 
THE SHEIKH ABD EL KREEM. 127 
 
 happened. He was much amused, and said he had 
 heard that the sheikh had long been trying to get 
 his daughter off his hands, but owing to her unpre- 
 possessing appearance and abominable temper, he 
 had so far been unsuccessful. About a year ago she 
 had been engaged to a young merchant from the 
 Draa oasis, but after a fortnight's courtship he had 
 broken off the match, vowing he would rather wed 
 one of the houris of Jehannum than this female 
 Sheitan. During a slight quarrel they had she had 
 scratched his face and bit him to such good purpose 
 that he bore the marks about his person for many a 
 day after. In this case the amantiiini irce did not 
 prove to be the redintegratio anioris, and the intended 
 bridegroom was happily spared from affording *a 
 practical answer to the all-important question, " Is 
 marriage a failure ? " 
 
128 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE EXECUTIONS. 
 
 In consequence of Gerald's obduracy a slight coolness 
 subsisted between us and the sheikh for the next few 
 days, though the lovely Fatma ceased not to languish 
 and ogle upon Gerald whenever an opportunity 
 offered, and he began to find her attentions somewhat 
 embarrassing. 
 
 " What with the sheep's eyes of the charming 
 Fatma," he remarked, " and the importunities of her 
 fat pa, life isn't half good enough for me here, and I 
 vote we make tracks as soon as possible." 
 
 This, however, was easier said than done, for, though 
 we did everything we could to bring matters to a 
 climax and to induce the sheikh to consent to our 
 departure, he, like another African potentate of earlier 
 date, "would not let Israel go." He had got over his fit 
 of ill-temper ; the presence of Christians in his " happy 
 dominions" was a novelty and a distraction for him, 
 and he did not despair of overcoming Gerald's aversion 
 to becoming his son-in-law. Accordingly, we had no 
 alternative but to grin and bear it, and wait till some 
 opportunity should arrive of making our escape. 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 129 
 
 Meanwhile, our too amiable host, anxious to afford 
 us every diversion in his power, told us that a great 
 festival was about to take place, when a number of 
 criminals and rebels who had taken up arms against 
 him would be led out to execution, or to suffer such 
 other penalties for their crimes as were meted out to 
 them by the kadi. We assured him that such a 
 spectacle would afford us no gratification ; that, on 
 the contrary, it would be most repugnant to our 
 feelings, and we begged him at any rate to postpone 
 the day until after we had taken our departure. The 
 wretch seemed astonished that we did not look forward 
 to the entertainment with the same gusto as himself, 
 and said that justice, as he was pleased to call it, must 
 take its course, and that the date of the executions 
 could not be altered. We had heard horrible tales of 
 his cruelty and the barbarous tortures he inflicted on 
 his unfortunate subjects, but the fiendish pleasure 
 which the anticipations of their sufferings seemed to 
 afford him was inexpressibly shocking to us. 
 
 However, when the morning of the appointed day 
 broke, we repaired, along with a crowd of natives, to 
 the scene of the "festival." We looked forward to 
 the entertainment with anything but pleasurable 
 feelings, but, under the peculiar circumstances in 
 which we were placed, the success of our expedition 
 being largely dependent on the sheikh's good will, it 
 would have been highly impolitic to absent ourselves. 
 I fear, too, that a spirit of morbid curiosity likewise 
 prompted us in some measure. The place of execution 
 was on the outskirts of the town, and when we arrived 
 a large concourse of people had already gathered 
 together on the spot. In their midst a square space 
 
 K 
 
I30 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 about two hundred yards wide was kept clear by the 
 soldiers, the spectators being congregated round in 
 rows of four and five deep. On one side of the open 
 space was a marquee, open at the sides ; beneath we 
 could see the portly forms of the sheikh's wife and 
 the colossal Fatma seated on a carpet. Presently, 
 the sheikh himself, clad in his green robes, came 
 riding up on a handsome white barb, surrounded 
 by a numerous escort all mounted on gorgeously 
 caparisoned steeds. Obedient to the cruel spur, 
 they curvetted and caracoled, standing on their hind- 
 legs and performing the various other antics and feats 
 of noble horsemanship with which the Moorish rider 
 delights to witch the world. As the sheikh 
 approached every knee was bent and every head 
 bowed in that vast throng, and a roar as from ten 
 thousand throats rent the air, " Allah protect Sidna," 
 
 Seeing us standing in the crowd, the sheikh sent 
 one of his retainers to invite us to join him in the 
 tent. We entered, and after the customary salutations 
 had been exchanged he bade us be seated on the 
 carpet beside him. 
 
 " Ye are come, Nazarenes," said he, " to witness an 
 act of exemplary vengeance upon those who have 
 offended against the law^s of Allah, as expounded by 
 His holy Prophet, and also upon the rebellers against 
 the shereefian authority constituted by Allah and 
 represented in our person. Let the dogs be brought 
 forth to their doom ! " he roared ; and his face assumed 
 the Satanic expression which we had observed upon 
 it once or twice before. 
 
 In obedience to his command, the kadi, a tall Moor 
 wearing a blue soulham and enormous turban strode, 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 131 
 
 forth and took up his position about fifty yards in 
 front of the tent. He was followed by the executioner, 
 a gigantic negro, who bore the implement of his office 
 — a long broad-bladed double-edged sword. Then 
 came the melancholy procession of the condemned 
 criminals. They were in two gangs, the members of 
 each gang being fastened together by massive chains 
 round their ankles, and their hands were heavily 
 manacled. They marched slowly forward, dragging 
 their irons painfully after them, some looking pale 
 and dejected, others with an air of proud and defiant 
 resolution. The foremost gang, about fifteen in 
 number, consisted of the leaders of the revolt, and 
 they were condemned to be beheaded. The remainder, 
 to the number of nine, had been convicted of theft, or 
 robbery with violence, and their punishment was to 
 be that ordained by Mohammedan law in such cases 
 — namely, to lose one hand or foot. 
 
 At a signal from the kadi, two Moors undid the 
 fastenings of the chains and led the first of the con- 
 demned men forward. An ashy paleness overspread 
 his features, but he showed no other sign of fear, 
 " La ilaha ill' Allah, there is but one God," he cried 
 in a loud clear voice, as he knelt down and bared 
 his neck to the executioner's sword. The black 
 approached and took aim ; there was a sweep and 
 a flash of light, and the head rolled upon the ground. 
 
 " Mezian ! excellent ! " exclaimed the sheikh, 
 rubbing his hands in great glee. " By my beard, 
 'twas a brave stroke. Now for the others. Barikallah ! 
 praised be Allah ! we have still fourteen left." 
 
 At this Urquhart could hardly contain himself with 
 rage, and it was with difficulty that Gerald and I pre- 
 
132 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 vailed on him to keep quiet. The remainder of the 
 condemned men followed in succession, till the whole 
 fifteen had been decapitated, and the sands ran red 
 with the blood of the slain. The victims were of all 
 ages, some being white-haired old men, others in the 
 prime of manhood, and two or three mere striplings. 
 Most of them met their doom with stoical fortitude, 
 but there were some who shrieked aloud in the 
 extremity of their terror, and had to be dragged to 
 the place of execution. The heads were gathered in 
 a heap and carried off, preparatory to their being 
 salted and nailed up on the wall of the kasbah, as a 
 warning to all who should venture to defy the sheikh's 
 authority. 
 
 A brief interval followed, during which preparations 
 were made for the completion of the bloody drama. 
 Sand was sprinkled over the dark red stains, and 
 three Moors presently came up bearing a large 
 cauldron full of some hot steaming liquid. This was 
 the boiling pitch, in which the stumps of the severed 
 limbs were to be plunged to stop the bleeding. The 
 manacles were knocked off the hands of two of 
 the second gang, and they were led forward to the 
 executioner. The crime with which they were 
 charged was highway robbery upon a travelling 
 merchant, but we were afterwards told that they had 
 been falsely accused by a Moor who had a quarrel 
 with them. Our nerves were already highly strung 
 after all that we had witnessed, and we felt that we 
 could scarcely bear to watch the infliction of this 
 torture. Gerald begged Urquhart to intercede with 
 the sheikh for the prisoners, and he did so, but his 
 pleading was of no avail. 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 133 
 
 "By the beard of the Prophet, and by all the 
 saints," said he, " the sentences must be carried out, 
 or no man's life or property will be safe." 
 
 The first of the two prisoners was now laid upon 
 the ground, and the executioner with one blow 
 severed his right foot above the ankle. Two Moors 
 carried him to the cauldron and thrust the bleeding 
 limb into the seething pitch, when, with a howl of 
 rage and agony, the unhappy wretch struggled out 
 of the grasp of his tormentors, and, after a vain 
 attempt to stand upright upon his remaining foot, 
 fell senseless to the ground. A thrill of horror ran 
 round the multitude, and in the confusion the second 
 of the prisoners, a tall handsome young Moor with 
 a most engaging expression of countenance, eluding 
 his guards, darted forward to the tent and prostrated 
 himself at the feet of the sheikh. 
 
 " Mercy ! O Sheikh Abd el Kreem, slave of the 
 Compassionate," ^ he cried ; " have mercy, even as 
 Allah is merciful, and the blessing of Mohammed 
 and the holy saints be upon you. By Allah, I swear 
 it, I am guiltless of the crime laid to my charge." 
 
 But the sheikh was in no way moved by this touch- 
 ing appeal. " Ho ! there, guards," he shouted, 
 " remove this dog from the tent, and let his right 
 hand as well as his foot be cut off for his presumption 
 in daring to intrude into our presence. By my beard ! 
 but ye shall smart for this carelessness, yc sons of 
 burnt fathers." 
 
 The warders, fearful of the consequence of their 
 negligence in letting their prisoner escape, came 
 running up with the intention of binding him hand 
 
 Abd el Kreem signifies " Slave of the Compassionate." 
 
134 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 and foot, when Urquhart, who throughout this harrow- 
 ing scene had with difficulty smothered his indignation, 
 unable to contain himself any longer, sprang up and 
 interposed himself between them and their victim. 
 
 " Hearken, O Sheikh, to my words," he exclaimed, 
 " and do not deny your guests this slight boon they 
 crave of you. Spare the youth, and let him go free. 
 Surely, blood enough and to spare has been shed 
 this day, and already your people are sick of the 
 slaughter. Let not the sun go down upon the blood 
 of more victims, but let the hand of the executioner 
 be stayed." 
 
 For a moment the sheikh remained silent, and 
 Gerald and myself, seeing him waver in his resolution, 
 seconded Urquhart's appeal for mercy with all the 
 eloquence at our command. The sheikh's brow 
 clouded, and he seemed anything but pleased at our 
 interposition. At length, however, he yielded, and 
 answered as follows : — 
 
 " Behold, the men have sinned and deserve to 
 suffer the just penalty of their crimes. However, our 
 ears are open to the intercession of our guests. The 
 beams of the sun of clemency shall shine upon those 
 who rest in the shadow of guilt, and the sword of 
 retribution shall be sheathed in the scabbard of for- 
 giveness. Yea, verily, al oojak, because of your 
 countenance, O Father of Whiskers, and because of 
 the countenance of my brother, the Father of the 
 Nose, they shall be spared. Let their chains be 
 struck off, and let them all go free ; and let pro- 
 clamation to that effect be made unto the people. 
 There is but one God, and Mohammed is the Prophet 
 of God." 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 135 
 
 Accordingly, a herald in due course made pro- 
 clamation to the multitude that it had pleased his 
 Shereefian Highness, in the exercise of his infinite 
 wisdom and mercy, to extend a free pardon to the 
 malefactors who for their heinous crimes deserved to 
 suffer the full penalty of the law. Whereupon the 
 crowd once more sent up a great shout of " May 
 Allah prolong the life of Sidna ! " and then, the per- 
 formance being over for the day, they gradually 
 dispersed every man to his own home. 
 
 That evening, as we were sitting outside the tents 
 smoking our pipes after dinner and talking over the 
 events of the day, we were surprised by the apparition 
 of a tall Moor, We could not discern the features, as 
 he kept his face half hidden in the folds of his haik. 
 The gates of the town being locked soon after sun- 
 down, it was a most unusual thing to see anybody 
 out at such an hour, so, after the usual interchange of 
 greetings, we asked him what he wanted. 
 
 Throwing back his haik he placed himself in the 
 full light of the moon, and we at once recognized the 
 young Moor whom our intercession had saved from 
 the executioner's sword. 
 
 "The blessing of Allah and His holy saints be 
 upon you, Nazarenes," said he. " May your footsteps 
 be prosperous, and may your end be peace. Ye have 
 done a good and a noble deed this day, O sons of the 
 English, and Allah will reward you. For myself, I 
 rest in the shadow of your condescension, and the 
 waters of gratitude overflow my soul. Ye have saved 
 my life, and behold ! it is now yours to make what 
 use of it ye will. My name is Absalam Gil Ali 
 Embarek. I am poor and alone in the world. My 
 
136 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 father and mother are dead, and yon fiend of Jehan- 
 num " (meaning the sheikh) "hath confiscated all my 
 substance. Yet is my trust in Allah, into whose 
 hands I commend myself, and He will surely requite 
 my enem.ies for their wickedness." Here the young 
 Moor paused, and a dark look of concentrated hate 
 and anger crossed his handsome face, and his 
 brows were knitted as he thought of his wrongs. 
 " Rumour hath it, Nazarenes," he continued, " that 
 ye purpose to essay to visit the distant mountain 
 where the holy Marabutin dwell ; yet would I fain 
 believe the tale to be false, and that ye have no mind 
 for such an enterprise; for lo ! the peak thereof, cloud- 
 capped and snow-covered, and environed by leagues 
 of desert sand, no man hath ever trod upon — no, nor 
 yet ever will tread, for it is very high, and the djins 
 who minister to the Marabutin encompass it round 
 about, and prevent the uninitiated from approaching." 
 
 " You seem to know a great deal about this 
 mountain, my good friend," said Urquhart, fixing his 
 eyes on the Moor. " What if after all they speak 
 truth when they say we purpose going there ? " 
 
 " Then surely, Nazarenes, ye know not what it is 
 ye are attempting, and it were well ye gave up the 
 idea. Without the aid of the blessed Marabutin (to 
 whom are revealed all secrets both of heaven and 
 earth), no man may hope to cross the intervening 
 desert, for the way is long and the wells are scarce 
 and hard to find. The simoom will parch you w^ith 
 his fiery breath, before whom the life of man is 
 withered up like the grass of the field. Many there 
 be who, drawn on by lust of gold, have set forth on 
 that terrible journey, and behold ! their bones are 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 137 
 
 bleaching in the desert wilds, and not a man of them 
 hath returned alive to tell the tale. Wherefore, 
 Nazarenes, be warned in time and rush not upon 
 certain death." 
 
 " We thank you for your warning," said Urquhart ; 
 "but nevertheless our minds are made up. We mean 
 to take the risk, and to start as soon as possible. The 
 only thing which delays us is that we hope to come 
 across some one with a knowledge of the desert who 
 may act as our guide." 
 
 " There is but one I wot of who knows aught of 
 the way," answered the Moor ; "but to guide you to 
 the Djebel Kebeer is beyond even his power. Listen, 
 Nazarenes," he went on after a pause, " and I will 
 open my heart unto you. The man of whom I spoke 
 just now stands before you. Three years ago I 
 joined a caravan belonging to a merchant of Tafilet 
 on a journey across the Great Desert to Timbuctoo. 
 We arrived at that city without mishap, and, having 
 disposed of our merchandise and loaded our camels 
 with the produce of the Soudan, we started upon our 
 journey homewards. I will not weary you by re- 
 counting all that befell us ; suffice it to say that on 
 the fifteenth day after leaving Timbuctoo we dis- 
 covered, to our horror, that we had strayed from the 
 right track, and were hopelessly lost in the Great 
 Desert. For some days we wandered about trying to 
 find our way, but our efforts were of no avail. Our 
 scanty stock of water was exhausted, death was 
 staring us in the face, and we had resigned our souls 
 to Allah, when, just as we were in the extremity of 
 our despair, we were found and rescued by a body 
 of men who proved to be Arabs of the oasis of the 
 
138 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Djcbel Kebeer engaged on a distant expedition. 
 These men conveyed us two days' journey to the foot 
 of the mountain, where we were hospitably received 
 by the Marabutin, and fed and lodged for the space 
 of about two moons. At the end of this time my 
 master, the merchant, being anxious to return home, 
 prevailed upon the Marabout whose hospitality we 
 had been enjoying to supply us with guides. This 
 he did, and by their aid we were enabled to 
 accomplish the remainder of our journey across 
 the desert in safety. I remember little concerning 
 this journey, except that it took us fully ten or 
 twelve days to reach this place, during which time 
 we suffered torments of thirst and many men and 
 animals died of the hot wind. Also, that at midday 
 as we journeyed the sun was behind us and slightly 
 over the left shoulder." 
 
 " Why, then," cried Urquhart, " you are the very 
 man we have been looking for. Can we not prevail 
 upon you to repeat the journey once more, and in 
 our company ? Name the sum you require for your 
 services, and if it be anything in reason it shall be 
 yours upon our return to civilization." 
 
 Embarek made no reply, but bowed his head as 
 though lost in thought. At length he spoke. 
 
 "Ye have heard, Nazarenes, what I have said con- 
 cerning the perils ye are about to encounter, and how 
 none have yet surmounted them, or survived to tell 
 of what befell them on the way. But ye Roum are 
 a daring race. Death hath no terrors for you. Ye 
 are the fathers of knowledge and power, and ye 
 devour distances and conquer obstacles which other 
 men would shun to encounter. Once more, and for 
 
THE EXECUTIONS. 139 
 
 the last time, I say, have a care, lest haply in this 
 thing ye essay too much and perish in the attempt." 
 
 " Useless words," said Urquhart ; " our minds arc 
 fixed as adamant." 
 
 " So be it. I will try no more to dissuade you. A 
 fool wasteth his words upon vain disputations, but the 
 wise man knoweth to retain his tongue. And now 
 for my .answer. Behold! ye have saved me from a 
 fate worse than death, yet hath life but little left to 
 attract me. I will not stay here to expose myself to 
 the persecution of my enemies, who directly your 
 backs are turned will wreak their vengeance upon 
 me. Rather a thousand times will I go forth with 
 you into the wilderness, and share with you whatever 
 fate it may please Allah to have in store for you. 
 Behold ! death comes to us all sooner or later, and it 
 comes but once. Wherefore, Nazarenes, from this 
 time henceforth command me as your servant to do 
 your bidding. For the rest, the pay, I leave it in 
 your hands to do what seemeth best to you. I have 
 spoken. And now the night is far spent, and I would 
 crave to be allowed to rest in the shadow of your 
 protection, for the gates of the city are closed, and no 
 man may enter therein." 
 
 Bidding him good night, we turned in, not to sleep, 
 but to discuss the new turn which our affairs had 
 taken. Urquhart and Gerald were all for taking on 
 Embarek as our guide, and for making a start as soon 
 as the sheikh's leave could be obtained and the 
 necessary preparations made. For myself, I had 
 never taken a sanguine view of the prospects of our 
 expedition, and after all that we had heard from 
 Embarek it may be imagined that the outlook did 
 
I40 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 not strike me as particularly promising. However, 
 I readily fell in with the wishes of the others ; so, 
 being all three in accord upon the matter, we sought 
 our respective camp-beds, and, rolling ourselves up in 
 the blankets, we were soon sleeping the sleep of the 
 just. 
 
( 141 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT. 
 
 We were up betimes next morning, being resolved to 
 bring matters to a head one way or another, and to 
 depart from Seedy Idrees, either with Abd el Kreem's 
 leave or without it. Accordingly, Urquhart and 
 Gerald went off after breakfast to interview the 
 sheikh, and, if possible, to secure his consent to our 
 departure, leaving me to superintend certain matters 
 which required looking after in camp. In their 
 absence I had a talk with Embarek as to the equip- 
 ment necessary for our march into the desert, and 
 particularly as to what animals we ought to get. He 
 advised us to sell all our mules and to buy camels, 
 and also, if we liked, desert horses to ride. The 
 latter, he assured mc, were fully equal to camels in 
 endurance and the power of going without water. 
 
 Soon after noon Gerald and Urquhart returned 
 looking very much pleased with themselves, from 
 which I conjectured that the result of their interview 
 had been satisfactory. And so it proved. At first, 
 they said, the sheikh was obstinate, and refused to 
 listen to them. 
 
142 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 " Wherefore would ye go, Nazarenes," he had cried, 
 " to seek death in the wilderness ? Have ye aught 
 to complain of in my treatment of you here? Allah 
 knoweth, all that I possess is yours. If ye require at 
 my hands aught else than ye now have, ask, and, if it 
 be in my power, I will give it to you, whether it be 
 land or cattle or slaves. If your hearts go out in 
 desire unto the women of my tribe, choose ye wives 
 from out of their number, and settle down amongst 
 my people ; and, by the beard of the Prophet, all men 
 shall honour you, and ye shall be second in authority 
 only to myself." 
 
 In reply, Urquhart said that, so far from having 
 anything to complain of in his treatment of us, our 
 hearts were overflowing with gratitude for his kind- 
 ness. Nevertheless, we had travelled from afar for a 
 certain purpose, and could not relinquish that purpose 
 now. On our return from the Djebel Kebeer, which 
 he hoped would be at no distant date, we would, if it 
 still pleased the sheikh to receive us, make a longer 
 stay. 
 
 In the end Abd el Kreem gave way, consoling 
 himself with the reflection that it was the will of 
 Allah, against which it was no use contending. It 
 was arranged that we should remain one more week, 
 and then that no obstacle should be placed in the 
 way of our departure. 
 
 The week was spent in buying animals and hiring 
 drivers. Besides our camels we purchased three 
 desert horses — lean, weedy animals, with rough coats 
 of a pale bay colour. They presented a most miser- 
 able appearance, but after a week's trial we began to 
 learn their value. 
 
ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT. I43 
 
 On the eighth day after Urquhart's interview with 
 the sheikh, all being now ready, we set forth. Abd 
 el Kreem himself and the greater part of his family 
 came to bid us God-speed on our journey. The fair 
 Fatma was there, with no eye for any one but Gerald, 
 and something like a tear stood in her big goggle 
 eyes as he mounted his horse and bade her a long, 
 and, as it turned out, a last adieu. 
 
 "Farewell, Nazarenes," cried the sheikh. "My 
 heart will be heavy until ye come back and I see 
 your faces once more. Even now I know not where- 
 fore ye will go, but the ways of fate are inscrutable. 
 Meanwhile, let the desire of home be a spur to hasten 
 your return, and may Allah attend your footsteps in 
 the wilderness, and the blessing of His holy Prophet 
 be upon you as ye travel through waste places. Fare 
 ye well." 
 
 Reciprocating the sheikh's good wishes, and hoping 
 that the very considerable shadow cast by his portly 
 person might not diminish in our absence, we gave 
 the word to start, and our caravan got under weigh. 
 
 " A pretty set of madmen we are ! " thought I, as 
 I took a last look at the battlements of the kasbah, 
 which, after we had been two hours on the march, 
 were just disappearing behind the crest of a range of 
 sandhills. And, truly, there was something delight- 
 fully sketchy about the whole of our proceedings. 
 None of us had any exact idea where we were going. 
 We were plunging into the trackless wastes of the 
 Sahara in the hope that after a fortnight or so of 
 travelling we might hit upon the Djebel Kebeer ; if 
 we did not, which seemed to me a far more probable 
 contingency, die of hunger and thirst on the way. 
 
144 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Our course lay south-south-east, because Embarek 
 had a vague idea that Mount Atla3 lay somewhere to 
 the left of the midday sun, and also because some of 
 the older inhabitants of Seedy Idrees had told us that 
 that was the direction taken by the other caravans 
 who had set forth on the same fool's errand as our- 
 selves. 
 
 I shall condense as far as possible my account of 
 our march across the Sahara, partly because this 
 history is already growing too long, and also because 
 the every-day incidents of desert travel have been so 
 often before narrated by other and more graphic pens 
 than mine. One day's tramp succeeded another for 
 nearly a week with unvarying monotony. To describe 
 the details of one would be to describe them all — the 
 start in the delicious cool of the early morning hours, 
 the halt in the scorching noontide glare, the evening 
 march, and the pitching of the camp as the heavy 
 dews of night begin to fall. There are people who 
 have found a charm and an interest of its own in 
 desert scenery and travel, but I must confess that I 
 am not one of them. True, there is a certain inde- 
 scribable weirdness in the never-ending stretches of 
 barren, desolate plain ; the monotonous undulations 
 of wind-drifted sand ; in the vast solitude and the 
 deathlike silence, scarce broken by the velvet tread 
 of the spongy-footed camel. Even the habitual 
 chatter of the Arabs is hushed, for talking induces 
 thirst, and our water-bottles are none too capacious, 
 and fresh supplies of the precious liquid are pre- 
 carious in the extreme. To my mind the whole thing 
 would be terribly wearisome and uninteresting were 
 it not for the excitement of ever-present peril, and 
 
ACIxOSS THE GREAT DESERT. 145 
 
 the strange fascination which lands untrodden by the 
 foot of civilized man must always possess for the 
 explorer. And then the sun, whose beams in Eng- 
 land, like angels' visits, we long for and welcome 
 when we see them — out here one gets to hate them 
 as one's worst enemy, while his remorseless rays beat 
 down upon you from out of the cloudless vault of 
 blue. 
 
 For several days we tramped along on our mono- 
 tonous journey across the wilderness, camping by night 
 wherever water could by any possibility be procured. 
 Of vegetation there was almost none, save that here 
 and there a io-w scarecrows of shrubs grew about the 
 beds of dried-up torrents. In these places water 
 could generally be obtained by digging, but it was 
 scanty and of very bad quality. On the miserable 
 herbage which grew about the banks of these water- 
 courses our animals had to eke out the slender 
 supplies of grain we had brought with us for their 
 consumption, and the camels soon began to grow thin. 
 Many people have an idea that a camel will live upon 
 anything, and that if you provide him with a moderate 
 diet of empty soda-water bottles and biscuit-tins he 
 will thrive and be thankful. The fact is quite the 
 reverse. He likes good food and plenty of it, and he 
 is, moreover, quite incapable of hard work for long if 
 he does not get it. I am afraid I fail to appreciate 
 the merits of the Ship of the Desert. lie is most 
 aggravatingly slow in his paces, excessively ugly, and 
 incurably vicious. The Arabs say that a camel 
 harbours revenge for exactly a year, and one of our 
 newly hired drivers, with the inventive genius of his 
 species, told us a curious yarn illustrative of this 
 
 L 
 
146 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 theory. He said that once, while in charge of a camel 
 in Northern Marocco, he had occasion to give the 
 animal a severe beating. Happening to return to the 
 same village a year later, he was walking through 
 the soko, or market-place, where a number of animals 
 were tethered, and was passing close to a camel, when 
 the brute suddenly turned on him and seized him 
 by the seat of his breeches, inflicting considerable 
 damage on his raiment and also what lay beneath it. 
 He fortunately managed to escape from the camel's 
 clutches without serious injury, and, looking at him, 
 he recognized him as the identical animal which he 
 had beaten a year before. Further, on thinking the 
 matter over, he remembered that it was upon the 
 very same day the previous year that he had adminis- 
 tered the beating. Strangest thing of all, when he 
 saw the camel the next morning he was as amiable as 
 possible and wanted to fraternize with his quondam 
 persecutor, thereby proving beyond possibility of 
 doubt that the creature's memory lasted exactly one 
 year and no more. 
 
 " Mashallah ! " exclaimed Mohammed at the end of 
 the tale, " but the jimmel is indeed a sagacious beast." 
 
 We three Englishmen were all of opinion that the 
 camel-driver was a credit to a race whose splendid 
 mendacity has always gained my warmest admira- 
 tion. I believe the natives of Marocco to be nearly, 
 if not quite, the finest liars in the world. Was there 
 not a cynical man of law who divided the race of 
 
 liars into three classes, thus — " liars, d d liars, 
 
 and scientific witnesses"? Yet I cannot help think- 
 ing that the finest efforts of the most hardened 
 "expert" in the witness-box would pale before the 
 
ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT. 147 
 
 triumphs of imagination of even a moderately- 
 truthful Moor. 
 
 But this is digressing. On the seventh day 
 Embarek told us that we should encamp in a real 
 oasis, and our expectations were raised accordingly. 
 We had not seen a bit of green or a drop of running 
 water since leaving Seedy Idrees, for our way was 
 through a land which, in its utter desolation, seemed 
 to be cursed of Heaven. Yet the reader must not 
 suppose that the desert here was that of the popular 
 imagination — a level plain of sand destitute of vege- 
 tation. On the contrary, the surface of the ground 
 was diversified by hills and valleys ; the soil was hard 
 and barren, but sparsely covered in places with 
 stunted herbage, and it would only have required a 
 ^c\v showers of rain to render it tolerably productive. 
 In one place we passed through a gloomy ravine with 
 precipitous cliffs on either side. Boulders of lime- 
 stone, which had fallen from the heights above, lay 
 tumbled about in wild confusion, giving the camels, 
 who are always at their worst on stony ground, a great 
 deal of trouble. Down the sides of the hills torrents, 
 which had long since ceased to run, had cleft deep 
 rifts and gorges. Stripped of every atom of verdure 
 and vegetation. Nature, all flayed and scarified, 
 displayed herself in naked sterility, unrelieved by a 
 single softening feature. We called this defile the 
 " Valley of the Shadow of Death." 
 
 True to his promise, on the evening of the seventh 
 day after our departure from Seedy Idrees, Embarek 
 brought us to the "oasis." Heavens! how we were 
 disillusioned. Our visions of cool rills and fountains, 
 bubbling forth amid verdant meads and shady palm- 
 
148 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 groves, were rudely dispelled in face of the sordid 
 reality. In a hollow, surrounded by bare rocks, was 
 a small puddle of dirty water ; the verdant meadows 
 of our too lively imaginations were represented by a 
 few stalks of rank camel-grass and some miserable 
 artemisia shrubs, which maintained a dire struggle for 
 existence against the niggardliness of Nature, 
 
 However, this was the last water we should find for 
 at least four days, so it behoved us to make the most 
 of it. Before us lay league upon league of the yellow 
 sands of the Sahara — the true desert of the popular 
 fancy, as Mr. Carl Haag has familiarized us with it, 
 only lacking the conventional accompaniment of 
 palm tree and Arab sheikh. We rested one day by 
 the well, and the next morning I rose early, just as 
 the first faint saffron streaks of dav/n appeared in the 
 east, and gazed forth with gloomy forebodings across 
 the dreary waste. Far as the eye could reach it 
 stretched away to the utmost horizon, and fancy 
 multiplied the distance till it almost reached infinity. 
 Could we reasonably hope to reach alive whatever 
 shore might lie beyond that ocean of sand .'' The 
 odds seemed to me to be decidedly against it. 
 
 We carefully tested our water-skins before setting 
 forth, for upon their soundness our lives would for 
 the next few days depend. We also watered the 
 camels to their full capacity, as their stomachs would 
 contain our reserve supply in the event of the skins 
 giving out. Then, filling our gourds and bottles and 
 every available receptacle we could get together with 
 the muddy, but all too precious, liquid, we set our 
 faces southwards, and were soon in the heart of the 
 inhospitable waste. This was desert with a vengeance, 
 
ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT. 149 
 
 and my heart beat quicker as I thought what the 
 next {q\w days might have in store for us. We moved 
 slowly on in single file. The straggling goffla looked 
 from a distance like some huge snake dragging itself 
 lazily along. It was Embarek's opinion that eight or 
 nine days must elapse before we could hope to reach 
 the Djebel Kebeer — always supposing that we were 
 steering our course in the proper direction, which, 
 having regard to the exceeding vagueness of his ideas 
 on the subject, seemed to me, to say the least of it, 
 doubtful in the extreme. He also said that, to the 
 best of his recollection, there were not more than 
 two wells on the way, situated two or three days' 
 journey apart. He could not remember that there 
 was any particular landmark indicating the position 
 of the first of these wells, but the second had a couple 
 of palm trees growing beside it, which he thought, 
 with the aid of our telescopes, we should have a fair 
 chance of discovering. 
 
 A cheerful prospect truly ! We were in search of 
 a mountain, which, -granting that it actually existed 
 — and I was by no means satisfied even of this — lay 
 sonieivhere to the south-east in the Great Desert ; it 
 might be ten days' journey off, it might be fifteen, it 
 might be more. Then, our chance of stumbling upon 
 those two wells seemed to be quite as remote as our 
 prospects of finding Mount Atlas. Taking everything 
 into consideration, I thought the betting was about 
 ten to one that we should all be dead and done for 
 before the end of the week, and I could not help 
 expressing myself in this sense to Urquhart. He, 
 however, was full of hope and as sanguine as ever. 
 
 " Oh," he cried, " we shall get along somehow. 
 
150 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Embarek has a pretty fair idea of the direction to 
 take, and our compasses will keep us from getting 
 far out of the track." 
 
 Urquhart's somewhat vague optimism was not 
 particularly reassuring, even when backed by Gerald's 
 unfailing faith in his friend, which rose superior to 
 every trial. However, as I said before, there was 
 nothing to be done but to go on and hope for the 
 best. A comical incident occurred just at this time 
 to divert my thoughts, and, as this part of our journey 
 contained few things of that nature, I may as well 
 chronicle it. It was Mohammed's duty to clean and 
 otherwise take care of our saddles, and, to do him 
 justice, he did the work admirably. Unfortunately, 
 he now learned for the first time, probably from Ali, 
 that the saddles were made of pig-skin. The know- 
 ledge that he had been handling every morning and 
 evening the hide of the unclean beast was a terrible 
 shock to so strict a Mohammedan as our cook, and 
 his disgust grew to positive horror when he made 
 the further discovery that the brush wherewith he 
 scrubbed the leather was formed of the bristles of the 
 same animal. 
 
 " Staferallah ! " he exclaimed in accents of woe, 
 " may God forgive me ! ashes have fallen on my 
 head, and I am indeed brought low! What pollution 
 is this that I have been daily devouring? To think 
 that every morning and evening I have been in 
 contact with the harami, the accursed thing, and 
 knew it not ! O Ali, you son of a burnt father, why 
 did you not tell me sooner .'' Ah welli, woe is me ! 
 How shall I ever cleanse myself from such abomina- 
 tion? May Allah have mercy upon all such as sin 
 
ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT. 151 
 
 unawares, and upon those who unwittingly transgress 
 His laws." 
 
 " We are in the hands of Allah, and to His keeping 
 we return," piously observed Ali, though I failed to 
 see the exact bearing of the remark. " May your 
 trespasses be forgiven you, and may your end be 
 peace." 
 
 By way of commencing his expiation, poor 
 Mohammed prayed that evening twice as long as 
 usual, and performed several times over cl tiinooni, 
 or the washing with sand prescribed by the Koran 
 whenever water is not procurable. A picturesque 
 figure he was as he stood silhouetted against the lurid 
 sunset glow, which, as the great red disc sank into 
 the sandy waste, filled the sky like the light from 
 some vast hidden conflagration. Spreading his 
 jellabia on the ground to serve as a prayer-carpet, 
 he repeated over and over again the inagreb, or sunset 
 prayer. Now bowing down upon his knees he 
 touched the earth with his forehead ; then raising 
 himself upright, with hands now uplifted, now pressed 
 to his side, he testified to the unity and greatness of 
 Allah. Next, with more bowing and salaaming, 
 sitting awhile on his heels, with knees touching the 
 ground and hands on his thighs, he went through 
 the whole of the rest of the formula prescribed by the 
 Moorish sect of Malek, of whose rites he was a 
 scrupulous observer. 
 
 This was the last we heard of the matter, for 
 Mohammed's fears of religious contamination soon 
 yielded to graver apprehensions as to his personal 
 safety and that of the caravan. We covered a good 
 stretch of ground that morning until the fierce heat 
 
152 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 of the sun compelled us to make our midday halt. 
 A shimmering mist rose from the face of the desert, 
 and some fine effects of mirage appeared. Wide 
 lakes, studded with wooded islets, stretched away to 
 imaginary banks which seemed to slope down in 
 forest-clad declivities to the water's edge. Even 
 though I knew only too well the impossibility of such 
 things in this thirsty land, it was with difficulty that 
 I could bring myself to disbelieve the evidence of my 
 senses, so perfect was the illusion. At another time 
 visions of aerial castles, cloud-ramparts crowned with, 
 lofty battlements and towers, presented themselves to 
 our bewildered gaze. Phantasmagoric camels, guided 
 by the spectres of Titanic Moors, stalked with giant 
 strides across the heavens, the ghostlike reflections 
 of our own caravan. A sight calculated to impress 
 the most unemotional observer with wonder and awe. 
 Upon ourselves, situated as we were, our nerves 
 strung to the highest pitch, it had a powerful effect. 
 The superstitious natives believe these apparitions to 
 be the djins of the desert hovering round their 
 intended victims, and they regard them as portents 
 of impending disaster. 
 
 October 15. — It looks as though the forebodings 
 of the Moors were likely to be soon realized. Our 
 stock of water is all but exhausted, and as yet there 
 is no sign of the well. We halt for six hours at 
 midday, enduring agonies of thirst and prickly heat. 
 This sort of thing cannot last much longer. It must 
 soon end one way or another, and I think I know 
 which way is the most likely. 
 
 iLth. — Thank God, we are saved for the present ! 
 Just as we had given up all hope, Almarakshi's sharp 
 
ACROSS THE GREAT DESERT. 153 
 
 eyes caught sight of a white paddy-bird, the first 
 hving creature we had seen since leaving Seedy 
 Idrees. The Moors are wild with joy. They say 
 there must be water near, or such a bird could not 
 exist. We whip out our telescopes and watch his 
 flight, which follows a straight line for a considerable 
 distance. Carefully taking our bearings, we turn our 
 horses' heads in the same direction, and at the end of 
 a couple of hours' march we ar^e rewarded by the 
 sight of a few stunted bushes and scrappy patches of 
 camel grass, which betoken the presence of water. 
 The well is similar to that in the last oasis, and the 
 water, if possible, muddier and more tepid. Heaven 
 knows, however, we do not stop to criticize iti quality, 
 but drain our cups as though it were veritable nectar. 
 
 1 8///. — Off again, after one day's halt by the well. 
 The heat grows fiercer and fiercer as we get further 
 south and deeper into the heart of the Great Desert. 
 The ground to-day is stonier and less sandy, with 
 rocks cropping out here and there, and the earth 
 burns like red-hot iron. . 
 
 An hour before noon on this day we sought the 
 scanty shade cast by some large boulders of rock, 
 and lay grilling there for four or five hours. While 
 scooping myself a hole in some tiny hillocks of sand 
 which had formed at the base of the rocks, so as to 
 make myself as comfortable as possible, I came upon 
 something hard. At first I took it to be a round stone, 
 but on removing it, to my surprise and horror, I found 
 that it was a human skull. Presently Urquhart found 
 more bones, some of them undoubtedly human. This 
 set us all searching, and after scratching away a'short 
 time we came upon a number of skeletons, all lying 
 
154 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 huddled together and cov^ered only by a i^w inches 
 of drifted sand. Other bones, which were not human 
 seemed to be without exception those of camels. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " exclaimed Urquhart : " we seem 
 to be in a perfect Golgotha. Who on earth can these 
 have been .-' " 
 
 "Ya lateef! O merciful God!" cried Embarek : 
 '' 'tis the goffla which set forth some years ago from 
 Seedy Idrees and perished in the wilderness. May 
 their souls rest in peace, and may Allah in His mercy 
 save us from a like fate." 
 
 Yes ; there could be little doubt about the matter. 
 These sandy hillocks were the graves of our hapless 
 predecessors in the mad attempt to cross the desert. 
 Perishing of thirst, or else more likely overwhelmed 
 by the simoon, they had dragged themselves to the 
 base of the rock we lay under, but only to die there 
 engulfed by the sandy billow driven by the desert 
 wind. 
 
 And we — w^e whom mocking Fate had sent here 
 to snatch a few hours' repose in their last resting- 
 place — were we about to leave our bones to bleach 
 in some similar spot ; or, strangest of coincidences, 
 here under the very rock where they had died ? For 
 now a strange languor and despondency, such as we 
 had not known before, came over us, so that we felt 
 disinclined to stir even from our present gruesome 
 surroundings. Our spirits, which had been raised by 
 the fortunate discovery of the first well, sank lower 
 than ever, and the future painted itself in the darkest 
 colours to our heat-oppressed fancies. All the pluck 
 seemed taken out of us. We were at a loss to account 
 for this feeling of depression, until at length we 
 
AC/aOSS THE GREAT DESERT. 155 
 
 became aware of a distinct change in the state of the 
 atmosphere. Ordinarily the air of the desert, in 
 spite of the great heat, possesses strangely invigorat- 
 ing properties, and in the early morning hours it is 
 deliciously cool and bracing. To-day, however, as 
 the afternoon wore on, a distressing sultriness set in, 
 and we struggled in vain against the feeling of 
 lassitude which it induced. To Embarek, and those 
 others of our servants who had had experience in 
 desert travel, this was a familiar symptom, but they 
 made no effort to overcome it, and it was easy to see 
 from their faces that their minds were filled with 
 gloomy forebodings. 
 
156 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE SIMOOM. 
 
 All that afternoon of the i8th we lay amid the 
 mortal remains of the band of adventurers from Seedy- 
 Id rees. 
 
 Every moment the air grew closer and more un- 
 wholesome. The sky, too, from out of whose stain- 
 less blue the sun was wont to pour down upon us his 
 merciless rays, now became filled with thick clouds 
 which, as the hour of sunset approached, assumed 
 strange and magnificent shapes. Purple masses of 
 vapour, turretcd like the bastions of some vast aerial 
 fortress ; huge brazen pyramids ; vast mountain 
 ranges — nebular Alps, massive and solid looking, 
 their jagged crests rimmed with fire — formed a grand 
 aerial panorama. 
 
 Towards six o'clock the sun set. Girt with a 
 blood-red canopy of lurid cloud, be strode royally 
 down to the western horizon ; and as his fiery orb 
 disappeared, the desert caught the crimson glare till 
 the vast expanse of sand glowed like a lake of flame. 
 The brief African twilight followed, and the life of 
 day ebbed rapidly away until complete darkness 
 overspread the earth. 
 
THE SIMOOM. 157 
 
 We roused ourselves sufficiently to take a scanty 
 evening meal, but the burning thirst, which our 
 limited stock of water forbade us to satisfy, made us 
 forget our hunger, and we ate but Jittle. At present 
 it was too dark for us to think of travelling, as the 
 camels would probably lame themselves, in which 
 case it would be all up with us. An hour after mid- 
 night, however, the clouds partially dispersed, and 
 a few faint, shimmering moonbeams afforded us 
 sufficient light to make a start. We took our bear- 
 ings carefully with the compasses, and ordered the 
 camels to be loaded. The night air, instead of being 
 cool and dewy as usual, was distressingly muggy, 
 which made travelling much more laborious than 
 usual. The hours of darkness passed slowly by, and 
 a- iQ:\\ faint streaks of light heralded the advent of 
 day, and then the sun rose, shining in a sickly fashion 
 through a yellow haze, with shafts of pallid light 
 radiating from his disc like the spokes of a wheel. 
 It was evident that a storm of some kind was brewing, 
 and we cherished the fond hope that it might end in 
 rain. 
 
 At half-past seven we halted for breakfast, and 
 also to give the camels a feed of corn, of which they 
 stood in sore need ; and from that spot we never 
 stirred for two whole days. As the morning wore 
 on new and unaccountable effects of mirage appeared. 
 Fresh spectres of terrific aspect presented themselves 
 to our gaze, apparition following apparition with 
 startling rapidity and variation, and filling our minds 
 with undefined apprehensions. Nor was this all. Far 
 away on our right, across the tawny billows of the 
 wilderness, we saw for the first time gigantic columns 
 
tSS THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 of sand scudding along on the horizon, their tall, 
 slender shafts waving gracefully as they advanced, 
 and expanding on high into wide flat tops like gigantic 
 mushrooms. Now and again they were dissipated 
 by the wind, and, bursting aloft, blurred the azure of 
 the sky with a yellow haze. Immediately in front 
 of us a murky mass of violet-coloured nimbus had 
 gathered, which now seemed to be bearing straight 
 down upon us. 
 
 The Moors were the first to see these alarming 
 phenomena, the sure precursors of the hot wind of 
 the desert, and something like a panic broke out 
 among them. 
 
 " Allah be merciful to us ! " cried Embarek in 
 accents of terror. " 'Tis the simoom. Already I can 
 feel his fiery breath upon my cheek, and I smell the 
 sand-cloud as it advances on us from afar." 
 
 " Embarek speaks sooth," chimed in Ali, who 
 always took a cheerful view of things. " If it strikes 
 us before we reach the well it is all over with us, and 
 Azrael will take us, even as he hath taken those who 
 rest beneath the shadow of yonder rock. May the 
 holy Prophet and his saints be near us, and aid us 
 in the hour of need." 
 
 For a while these gruesome portents, pregnant with 
 death and disaster, threatened us from a distance, till 
 suddenly they disappeared. Not for long, however. 
 Fresh clusters of sand-pillars formed on every side, 
 and the violet-coloured cloud appeared once more 
 upon our left. Nearer and nearer came the yellow, 
 undulating columns, now with a stately gliding motion, 
 now sweeping swiftly by on the murky pinions of the 
 whirlwind ; now circling slowly round, coiling, twisting, 
 
THE SIMOOM. 159 
 
 eddying-, in strange curves and sinuosities. Anon, to 
 our heated imaginations they seemed to take shape 
 and form, as of djins of the desert ; ghostly arms 
 beckoned and waved with menacincr gestures. Anon, 
 the thin shaft of some tall pillar would be parted in 
 twain, and the flat top, poised in mid air, hung silent 
 and motionless over our heads, as though Azrael, 
 Death's angel, were hovering near, ready to enwrap 
 us in his sable plumes. 
 
 At the first sign of this new danger we made the 
 best preparations we could to meet it. The camels 
 were made to kneel down and tethered in a circle, 
 with ourselves in the centre, ready to lie on our faces 
 in the sand the moment the hot blast should strike 
 us. The heat was suffocating, and already fine 
 particles of sand getting into our mouths and nostrils 
 caused an almost insupportable irritation. And now 
 the violet cloud came nearer, increasing in size and 
 volume, until it became apparent that our fate could 
 not be much longer delayed. A parching wind, the 
 herald of worse horrors to come, parched our cheeks 
 as the simoom, charioted upon the suffocating cloud, 
 bore down upon us. Through the whirling mists of 
 dust the red disc of the sun shed a lurid light upon 
 the scene, causing the sand-storm to glare like the 
 smoke from some infernal furnace. At last the 
 tempest broke upon us with all its fury. In a moment 
 the sun, whose brazen globe had hitherto loomed 
 threateningly through the vapour, was blotted out 
 completely, and all was darkness — darkness unspeak- 
 able — darkness which choked and could be felt. 
 
 Embarek uttered a muffled cry of warning, but it 
 was not needed, for with one accord we had thrown 
 
l6o THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 ourselves flat on our stomachs, giving ourselves up for 
 lost. For myself, I thrust my face under my camel's 
 belly in the endeavour to escape from the suffocating 
 blast ; but it was of little avail. The scorching wind 
 howled and moaned above ; the fine sand penetrated 
 everywhere, filtrating through our clothes, and choking 
 up the pores of our skins and making breathing 
 almost an impossibility. 
 
 Oh, the agony of those long hours of torment ! 
 Above the wailing of the storm I could hear the 
 muffled shrieks of half-stifled men, mingled with the 
 moaning of the camels, and I remember that in the 
 midst of it all the thought struck me, " What will 
 become of us if the camels die ? " It would be all 
 up with us then with a vengeance. 
 
 Profiting by a slight lull in the storm, I ventured 
 to raise my head. My eyes encountered a strange 
 spectacle. All the men and the beasts were covered 
 several inches deep with a fine dust, which left only 
 their heads showing. On every side the pillars of 
 sand were whirling and eddying about in mad frolic, 
 lit up by the sickly glare of the sun. Then once 
 more the hot blast burst on us, and I was forced to 
 shelter myself as well as I could from its fury. A 
 tormenting thirst now asserted itself, and I expected 
 every moment to be my last. I fetched my breath 
 with painful gulps and gasps, and the fine, choking 
 sand seemed to have got down into and filled my 
 very lungs. I had not conceived that Death could 
 present himself to suffering humanity in such fearful 
 guise. How I cursed myself for my folly in consent- 
 ing to come to this inhospitable region, only to die 
 thus miserably ! To make matters worse, in the 
 
THE SIMOOM. 161 
 
 middle of the storm the camel next to mine broke 
 loose and passed like some huge four-footed phantom 
 into the gloom, leaving his driver exposed to the full 
 force of the blast. Presently the wretched man, 
 whose sufferings throughout had wrung my heart, 
 turned over on his side with a dreadful groan and 
 expired. A few hours later, when the storm had 
 abated for a while, I saw that the body had swollen 
 to an unnatural size, and putrefaction set in almost 
 directly, as usually happens with those who die of the 
 poisonous desert wind. This added to the unutter- 
 able horror of our situation. To remove the body 
 was utterly impossible so long as the simoom blew, 
 for rising to one's feet would have meant instant death. 
 All that day and night we lay in the same spot, 
 twelve wretched, cowering mortals, suffering unspeak- 
 able torments, and silently beseeching the God of 
 Heaven to spare our lives, or, if we were fated to die, 
 at least quickly to put us out of our misery. I do 
 not mean to say that the simoom was blowing all 
 this time, else not a man or beast of us would have 
 been left alive. But the sky never sufificiently cleared 
 to allow us to rise or resume our journey, and every 
 now and again in the night hours the hot breeze and 
 the falling sand told us that the force of the blast was 
 not yet entirely expended. Daylight came at length, 
 but it brought us little relief. The heavens had the 
 same terrible hue of burnished brass, alternating with 
 pale yellow, and the moving pillars of sand still 
 waltzed madly round, though at a greater distance. 
 Thank God, however, that horrible simoom cloud was 
 no longer to be seen, which gave us some hope that 
 we had experienced the worst. 
 
 M 
 
l62 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Towards nine o'clock the sand ceased to fall, and 
 we could rise and breathe freely. The sun came out, 
 and, the sand-cloud gradually dispersing, the heavens 
 became clear. My first impulse was to see how 
 Urquhart and Gerald were faring. The former had 
 spoken once or twice during the night, but Gerald 
 had given no sign of life since the previous evening. 
 We found him in a state of semi-unconsciousness, but 
 the pure morning air soon brought him round. We 
 were like three moving sand-pillars ourselves when 
 we stood upright, and we had great difficulty in 
 shaking the dust out of our clothes. On going round 
 the goffla we found that two of the camels and 
 another of their drivers had died from the effects of 
 the simoom. Strange to say, these Arabs, children 
 of the desert as they are, seem less capable of 
 enduring thirst and the other hardships of travel in 
 the wilderness than their brethren from northern 
 climes who are less accustomed to heat. Our horses, 
 tough little beasts that they were, seemed to have 
 suffered least of the whole party, and were sur- 
 prisingly well, considering what they had gone 
 through. 
 
 Our first care was to examine the water-skins, for 
 we all felt that we must drink, and that soon, or die. 
 Fortunately, we found them all intact, but their 
 contents had half evaporated since they had last been 
 opened. To eke out our scanty stock Embarek 
 skilfully transferred the water from the stomachs of 
 the two dead camels into our skins, and a small 
 ration was served out to horses and men. We 
 calculated that with the utmost economy we could 
 not make our small supply last over the next day, so 
 
THE SIMOOM. 163 
 
 if we did not find the second well by that time, we 
 should only have lived through the horrors of the 
 simoom to die another death of lingering torture. 
 In any case, it was useless to remain longer where we 
 were, so, though the sun was now pouring down his 
 fiercest rays upon us, we determined to make a start. 
 In spite of the heat, however, the air was decidedly 
 fresher since the sand-storm, and if only we could get 
 water we felt that all would be right. That "if," 
 however, I thought ought to be writ in capital letters. 
 We felt too ill and weak to bury the two dead 
 Moors, but, placing the bodies side by side, we left 
 the work of interment to the sands and winds of the 
 desert. I remember remarking to Urquhart, by way 
 of making things as cheerful as possible, that the 
 simoom would soon have other sexton's work to per- 
 form. He did not seem to relish my grim humour, 
 and answered rather snappishly that things were 
 quite bad enough already, without making them out 
 worse than they were. We were also compelled to 
 leave behind some of our heavier impedimejtta, 
 including one of the tents, as the number of our 
 camels was now reduced by three, and those that 
 survived were nearly worn-out. We had not gone 
 far before we came across the one which had broken 
 loose during the sand-storm. He was in a very bad 
 way, and, after a short consultation, Embarek decided 
 to cut his throat, and the water in his stomach was 
 soon in one of our empty skins. We travelled all 
 that afternoon and far into the night before we 
 halted, without seeing a sign of the well, though 
 Embarek was confident that it could not be far away. 
 But I am tired of detailing the miseries of this 
 
l64 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 horrible journey, and would fain pass them over as 
 quickly as possible. For the sake of brevity, there- 
 fore, I shall revert for the present to my diary. 
 
 22;?^. — No sign of water. The end cannot be far 
 off. We are pretty well at the last gasp, and suffering 
 agonies of thirst. Gerald is especially bad. He is 
 delirious at times, and raves incoherently about 
 forests and meadows and bubbling fountains. I feel 
 myself as if I had a brain-fever coming on. When 
 will it all end ? It would have saved trouble, and 
 been far simpler, had we all been suffocated in the 
 simoom instead of lingering on like this. However, 
 to-morrow will probably be the last of it. 
 
 2ird. — Killed another camel this morning, partly 
 because he was worn-out and refused to rise, but 
 chiefly in order to get the water from his stomach. 
 We are all worse, if possible, than yesterday. We 
 were just on the point of calling a final halt and 
 giving ourselves up for lost, when Urquhart, after care- 
 fully scanning the whole horizon through his telescope, 
 espies the wavy plumes of two tall palm trees. They 
 are far away on our left and, if anything, rather 
 behind us. Embarek is overjoyed at the sight, saying 
 that it is the well, and that we have been steering our 
 course a little too far to the west. I don't feel very 
 sanguine about it myself. We turn the animals' 
 heads in the direction indicated, but the trees are 
 many miles off, and the animals are too utterly 
 exhausted to cover the distance. Accordingly we 
 are obliged to halt another night. Shall we ever live 
 to see to-morrow's sun ? 
 
 idfth. — Managed to get the animals to start, and 
 continued our way towards the trees. We are all 
 
THE SIMOOM. 165 
 
 utterly exhausted, man and beast, and can scarce 
 drag one foot after the other. The horses, who have 
 borne up most pluckily so far, are now dead beat, and 
 we are forced to dismount and lead them. Suddenly, 
 after an hour and a half's march, the animals one 
 after another throw up their noses in the air, as 
 though scenting something, and quicken their paces. 
 The Moors are half frantic with excitement and joy. 
 
 " El hamdu I'lUah," says Ali slowly and with 
 emphasis ; " let us render praises to Allah and His 
 Nebi (prophet). The camels sniff the water from 
 afar. Allah Kreem, God hath been bountiful to us ! 
 It is the well, and we are saved." 
 
 Ali is right. Our lives are spared for the present. 
 
l66 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST. 
 
 It had been a near thing, for another day without 
 water would certainly have finished us. However, 
 " all's well that ends at a well," as Gerald remarks — 
 from which melancholy effort at humour I infer that 
 he is feeling better — and our troubles are over for 
 awhile. This " oasis " is a more respectable one than 
 the last. There is some very tolerable grass growing 
 in it, which enables us to economize our barley, and 
 so to make a longer halt than otherwise we should 
 have done. Moreover, the day after we arrived, I 
 flushed a big covey of hajjil el saJihara} (desert part- 
 ridges, or sand-grouse). They only flew a short 
 distance and were perfectly tame, evidently not being 
 accustomed to the sight of man, so by "browning" 
 the covey several times in most unsportsmanlike 
 fashion we managed to bag no less than five brace. 
 It may well be imagined that they were a most 
 welcome addition to our scantily stocked larder. 
 These sand-grouse were the only living creatures we 
 
 ' The word "Sahara" is habitually mispronounced, the second 
 syllable being short. 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST 167 
 
 had seen for the last ten days, with the exception 
 of the soHtary paddy-bird who had so providentially 
 guided us to the well on the i6th. Embarek infers 
 from our coming across these birds that we cannot be 
 very far from some inhabited country, and he is sur- 
 prised that we have not yet sighted Mount Atlas, 
 which, to the best of his recollection, is not more than 
 about three days' journey from the well. A slight 
 haze, however, which pervades the lower atmosphere 
 throughout the day would easily account for this. 
 
 The rest of our voyaging in the desert is soon told. 
 The second day after leaving the oasis we came 
 across another small well by accident, the existence 
 of which Embarek had not known, and encamped 
 beside it for the night. We noticed that evening that 
 the ground to the south-east rose in a gradual slope 
 as far as we could see, and the sky in that direction 
 was filled with a bank of heavy cloud. We regarded 
 this cloud with some alarm, fearing that it might be 
 the precursor of another simoom, but Embarek 
 laughed at our fears, saying that it did not bear the 
 slightest resemblance to the simoom-cloud, which was 
 smaller and of a different colour. 
 
 " Yon cloud is formed by cold, not by heat," he 
 added, nodding his head significantly. 
 
 " And, pray, what are we to understand by that .' " 
 I inquired. 
 
 " I mean," said he, " that somewhere behind yon 
 curtain of vapour the Djebel Tselj is concealed, and 
 that in two or three days at the latest we shall be 
 breaking bread with the blessed Marabutin." 
 
 This seemed to be too good news to be true, but 
 the bare idea of our being near the end of this horrible 
 
1 68 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 journey, and of seeing Ali's Mahatma friends in the 
 flesh, was enough to send us to bed in a far happier 
 frame of mind. I slept soundly on till about seven 
 o'clock next morning, when I was awoke by Gerald's 
 voice calling outside the tent in loud and excited 
 tones — 
 
 " Hi ! Jim, David, get up, quick, and come out. 
 Mount Atlas ! Mount Atlas ! " 
 
 Hastily throwing a blanket over my shoulders, I 
 ran out to see what was up, and the sight that met 
 my gaze almost took my breath away, and made me 
 rub my eyes to see if I was really awake, or still 
 dreaming. The grey, rounded masses of cloud still 
 hung thick about the horizon to the south-east, but 
 above them rose, as though suspended in mid-air 
 between heaven and earth, with nought but mist for 
 its foundation, a dazzling snow-white peak, piercing 
 with its colossal spike the stainless azure of the early 
 morning sky. I can well remember my first near 
 view of the Alps — it was from the window of a hotel 
 in Interlaken — and the impression which the majesty 
 of the Jungfrau made upon me. But there, one's 
 mind had been gradually attuned to the splendours 
 of snowy summits and mountain masses by distant 
 views and by travelling among the lower outlying 
 ranges. Here, the effect was far more sudden and 
 overpowering. For days and weeks we had been 
 tramping over the dead level of the sandy sea, which 
 still stretched away without a break on every side far 
 as the eye could reach. And now this glorious vision 
 had risen suddenly from the vast plain, as though 
 conjured up in a single night by some wizard's hand. 
 Was that really snow we saw, or was the mirage 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST. 169 
 
 mocking us once more with its airy nothingnesses ? 
 Would this glittering peak pass into the limbo 
 wherein had disappeared the lakes and mountains, 
 and the " baseless fabrics " of the cloud-castles and 
 towers, which we had seen in the Sahara ? 
 
 No ; there could be no mistake about it this time. 
 Even Gerald, who on previous occasions had been 
 a consistent backer of the deceitful mirage, is now 
 ready to lay any odds on the reality of Mount Atlas. 
 Heavens ! what a glorious sight ! and how our hearts 
 bounded at the prospect ! Mr. Stanley has vindicated 
 the geographical accuracy of Herodotus as regards 
 the pigmies, Ruwenzori, and the true sources of the 
 Nile, and now we were about to perform a similar 
 service for the shade of the grand old geographer and 
 for Pliny. What an exquisite " arrangement " in gold 
 and silver and turquoise is formed by the Sahara's 
 yellow waves and that snowy peak cleaving the vault 
 of blue. As the sun rose higher the clouds at the 
 base began to disperse ; a few light fragments of 
 fleecy mist parted from the main mass, and floated 
 slowly up the flanks of the mountain till they melted 
 away into space. And now the lower slopes began 
 to appear. The leaden vapours parted asunder, like 
 curtains drawn aside by some invisible hand, and, 
 through the openings in the wreathing mists, dark 
 precipices of seemingly enormous height frowned 
 forth, and lower peaks, the buttresses and supports of 
 the central massif, came into view. We calculated 
 that the mountain could not be more than thirty 
 miles off, if so much, and, judging from the amount 
 of snow we saw, it must be at least as high as Mont 
 Blanc. 
 
170 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 It was curious to see the different effect this 
 spectacle had upon the various members of our 
 caravan. As for us three EngHshmen, we neither 
 moved or spoke for some minutes, A Frenchman or 
 an ItaHan would probably have cut capers or shed 
 tears of joy, but in such supreme moments an Eng- 
 lishman restrains himself Yet what varied thoughts 
 and memories, what strange, conflicting emotions 
 came crowding tumultuously in upon our minds ! 
 Our hearts were full to overflowing, yet words seemed 
 to fail us. Not so the Moors. They laughed and 
 shouted aloud in their glee, and Embarek and 
 Almarakshi sang out a veritable poean of triumph. 
 As for Ali, he embraced Mohammed with effusion, 
 and shed copious tears of gratitude jind joy on that 
 worthy's fat neck. The dream of the Persian's life 
 was about to be realized. He would soon meet face 
 to face his old gooroo, or instructor in the occult 
 mysteries, that revered being whose inspired words 
 and teaching had once been the lodestar of his life, 
 but from whom fate had sundered him for so many 
 years. Urquhart, too, his friend and benefactor, would 
 now achieve the object for which he had dared and 
 suffered so much, and, this attained, the old man 
 could die happy. 
 
 From our camp by the well the mountain mass, of 
 which the snow-peak formed the culminating point, 
 appeared to rise from a sort of elevated plateau, from 
 vvhich the ground sloped gradually down into the 
 desert. Closer inspection, however, at the end of five 
 hours' march from the well, showed us that what we 
 thought was the edge of a plateau was in reality a 
 low range of rocky hills running nearly due east and 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST. 171 
 
 west. Over these hills it would be necessary for us 
 to pass before we could reach the foot of the Djcbel 
 Kebeer, We camped for the evening near the foot 
 of these hills, so as, if possible, to arrive at our destina- 
 tion before midday on the morrow. We could see 
 no sign of human dwellings, and, considering the 
 proximity to the snow, the hills seemed singularly 
 destitute of vegetation. A few scanty patches of 
 artemisia were visible here and there, but the soil was 
 almost as sterile and unproductive as in the middle 
 of the desert. No doubt the water flowing down 
 from Mount Atlas found its outlet somewhere to the 
 south. Nor could we discern anything in the shape 
 of a road or path leading down into the desert, from 
 which I inferred that the natives of these parts (if 
 any such really existed) did not trouble this side of 
 the hills much, and no wonder. 
 
 We rose early next morning, and, mounting our 
 horses, we rode for some distance along the hills 
 looking for some pass which our tired and heavily 
 laden beasts could get over. About two miles from 
 the camp we found a narrow gorge, with what looked 
 like an old disused road leading up to the top of the 
 range. The track did not look particularly favour- 
 able for camels, but we nevertheless determined to 
 try it, and after a troublesome climb, which badly 
 lamed two of them, we got to the top of the pass, and 
 our curiosity as to what lay on the other side was 
 gratified. 
 
 The vast snow-fields of the Djebel Kebeer had led 
 us to hope for something better than the meagre 
 oases of the desert, or even of the Draa valley, but we 
 were fairly amazed at the splendidly fertile and en- 
 
172 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 chanting prospect which opened out beneath us. 
 Between the hills on which we stood and the central 
 mountain mass was a lovely smiling valley formed by 
 a stream which flowed down from the upper snow 
 region. To our right, a spur of the Djebel Kebeer 
 descended to the range of hills on which we stood, 
 and formed the head of the glen. Lower down, the 
 valley broadened out to a width of apparently about 
 two miles, and the stream, following the line of the 
 base of the mountain, made a sharp bend to the 
 south and flowed down in serpentine windings 
 through meadows of a most exquisite green, alter- 
 nating with patches of cultivation. On the left bank 
 hills of moderate height divided the valley from the 
 desert. On the right, or western, bank the lower 
 slopes of the Djebel Kebeer were clothed with forests 
 of holm-oak, cork, olive, and other trees, and groves 
 of orange and lemon. Above the trees a line of lofty 
 cliff ran parallel to the stream, surmounted in its turn 
 by upland pastures, whereon, by the aid of our glasses, 
 we could descry herds of innumerable cattle feeding. 
 Yet higher up the mountain-side a glacier forced its 
 way down far below the snow-line between two 
 opposing walls of rock, and from out its hanging-wall 
 of blue ice a stream leaped down in a succession of 
 cataracts to the river below. Dotted about the lower 
 landscape were numerous hamlets and white houses 
 and cottages, and some distance down the valley we 
 could see a small town of flat-roofed houses built 
 after the ordinary eastern fashion. In this town, 
 Embarek told us, resided most of the Marabutin ; so, 
 without more delay, we determined to direct our 
 footsteps thither. 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST. 173 
 
 At the bottom of the hill we struck an excellent 
 road adapted for wheeled traffic. This surprised me 
 considerably, as in Marocco, there being no carts or 
 carriages, such a thing as a road does not exist. 
 Crossing the stream by a wooden bridge, we followed 
 the right bank for some distance. As we proceeded 
 lower down the valley we were dumbfounded at the 
 extraordinary beauty and fertility of this Central 
 African Paradise, in which we had so unexpectedly 
 found ourselves. Every turn of the road disclosed 
 some vista of enchanting loveliness. The lower out- 
 works and buttresses of the mountain were cleft by 
 wooded glens, down which rivulets of the clearest 
 water flowed amid brakes of tamarisks and oleander, 
 and clustering ferns and creepers. Nightingales were 
 singing in the bushes, their notes blending melodiously 
 with the soft coo of turtle-doves ; and the kingfisher 
 flashed like a jewel from bough to bough. Looking 
 up these miniature gorges the eye roved over verdant 
 glades and forests of myrtle, ever-green oak, sycamore, 
 and cypress, with the crags and snows of Atlas for 
 a background. Each of these views made an exquisite 
 picture in itself, such as an artist could easily include 
 within the compass of a single frame. As we were 
 anxious to arrive as soon as possible at the town, we 
 resisted the temptation to linger over these lovely 
 scenes, and pushed on amid meadows and gardens 
 and orchards of pomegranate, fig, peach, apricot, and 
 other fruit trees ; between hedges of tangled tamarind 
 and cactus, festooned with clustering lilac, jasmine, 
 and honeysuckle, — till we found ourselves approaching 
 the city gates. 
 
 We saw several natives at work in the fields as we 
 
174 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 passed. They were mostly tall, fine-looking men, and 
 by no means of a wild or barbarous appearance. 
 They wore the ordinary dress of the Moorish peasantry 
 — ^jellabia, turban, and slippers, but we noticed that 
 many of them were remarkably fair, with blue eyes, 
 and sometimes Avith red hair, as though northern 
 blood flowed in their veins. Urquhart suggested that 
 they might be descendants of the Goths, or Vandals, 
 who for over a century colonized North-West Africa ; 
 but then, what could have brought them so far south t 
 They naturally regarded us with curious eyes, but 
 greeted us courteously and, I was glad to hear, in 
 the Arabic language. We should anyhow be able to 
 make ourselves understood to our new friends. One 
 thing I noticed particularly was that directly we had 
 passed they returned to their work, from which I 
 inferred that they were more industrious than the 
 natives of Marocco. Their agriculture, moreover, was 
 far less rude, and the ploughs and other implements 
 were of more modern type than those in use among 
 the Moors. Nor, like the latter, were the husbandmen 
 armed to the teeth with sword and gun and pistol. 
 In fact, there was a peaceable, civilized, and prosperous 
 air about them all, and we saw no beggars or other 
 indications of poverty. The very birds and beasts 
 were as tame as possible, and certain animals, half 
 rabbit, half hare, which were nibbling at the grass by 
 the roadside, never budged an inch as we passed. 
 Red-legged Barbary partridges ran whistling from 
 under our feet as we walked through the fields, with 
 the confidence born of long immunity from attack. A 
 spirit of tranquillity and peace breathed over all 
 Nature, animate and inanimate alike. Everywhere 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST. 175 
 
 around was the glory of sunshine and the fragrance 
 of flowers, the babbling of cool rills, the music of 
 birds, and the hum of insect life ; and we felt, weary 
 and way-worn as we were, that we could gladly rest 
 and bask away the remainder of our lives in this 
 heaven-favoured spot. Truly, a fitting abode for the 
 mysterious Order to whom we were about to be 
 introduced. What manner of men, we wondered, 
 would the Brethren prove to be who lived in this 
 lovely retreat ? We could only trust that they would 
 prove worthy of their environment. 
 
 The town, as I said before, was built in the usual 
 Moorish style, but it was totally deficient in those 
 essentially Oriental characteristics — dirt and decay. 
 Nor was it encompassed by an outer wall, or, indeed, 
 by fortifications of any description, which confirmed 
 us in the opinion we had previously formed of the 
 peaceable character of the Atlanteans. Ali, who had 
 all along been in a fever of excitement at the prospect 
 of meeting his gooroo, eagerly inquired of the porter, 
 who sat in a small recess inside the gate, whether he 
 knew of any one of the name of Singmya Songo 
 living in the town, or, if not, could he say where he 
 was to be found .-' The porter replied that, sure 
 enough, he knew the person in question, who was the 
 principal Mallem (master) in the place, and that he 
 would bring him to us in the course of a few minutes. 
 The tone of deference and respect in which the 
 porter pronounced the euphonious surname of the 
 Adept seemed to show that we were about to be in- 
 troduced to a man of no small consequence in the 
 Atlantean community, and our expectations were 
 raised accordingly. As for Ali, he was fairly trans- 
 
176 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 ported with delight at the welcome news, and even 
 Urquhart's usually impassive face beamed with a 
 satisfaction which was too genuine to be concealed. 
 The matter-of-fact Gerald, on the contrary, exhibited 
 little emotion. For myself, I must own that my 
 heart beat high at the prospect of seeing in the flesh 
 one of those remarkable and divinely gifted beings of 
 whose doings I had heard such wonderful accounts. 
 The privilege of shaking hands with a real live 
 Mahatma is one which has been granted to but i&\\ 
 people in the world. 
 
 I remembered reading the narrative^ of one who 
 committed to paper his impressions of a similar 
 meeting, and I take the liberty of transcribing it here 
 in order to show the feelings with which one ought 
 to be animated on so momentous an occasion. The 
 writer describes how, while he was reading in his 
 room, he was " ordered by the audible voice of his 
 blessed gooroo " to leave all and go in search of 
 Madame Blavatsky. Finding himself near the borders 
 of Thibet, he " determined come what might, to cross 
 the frontier and find the Mahatmas, or — DIE." He 
 had barely crossed over into Sikkim, when he suddenly 
 saw a solitary horseman galloping towards him from 
 the opposite direction, a tall majestic man, with a 
 short black beard, and long black hair hanging 
 down to his breast. Looking up, he recognized him 
 instantly. " I was in the awful presence of Him, of 
 the same Mahatma, my own revered gooroo, whom I 
 had seen before in his astral body on the balcony of 
 the Theosophical head-quarters. . . . The very same 
 instant saw me prostrated on the ground at his 
 
 ' "Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research," Part IX. 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST. Xff 
 
 feet. . . . The majesty of his countenance, which 
 seemed to me to be the impersonation of power and 
 thought, held me rapt in awe. ... I see Him before 
 me in flesh and blood ; and he speaks to me in 
 accents of kindness and gentleness. What more do 
 I want ? My excess of happiness made me dumb." 
 
 It may be imagined, therefore, that my curiosity 
 was aroused to a high pitch, and I wondered if my 
 first impressions of the Adept would resemble those 
 of the Hindoo gentleman whose narrative I have just 
 quoted, and also whether he would appear in the 
 astral form or in his usual workaday, fleshly body. I 
 had to exercise a little patience, however, as the 
 Mahatma could not be found immediately, and we 
 were left standing in the street outside his house until 
 such time as he should make his appearance. 
 
 While waiting for the Adept I occupied myself in 
 taking stock of the holy man's residence. The chief 
 thing which struck me about it was the entire absence 
 of architectural ornamentation, as far as the outside 
 was concerned. The sole attempt at adornment con- 
 sisted in numerous cabalistic signs painted in red 
 upon the stucco over the doorway, all of them preg- 
 nant with hidden meanings known only to Initiates. 
 For instance, what ordinary person would be aware 
 that the double triangle, or Solomon's Seal, engraved 
 at the corner of the lintel, " represents deity in its 
 Supreme Essence, male and female, and contains the 
 squaring of the Circles, the so-called Philosopher's 
 Stone, the great problems of Life and Death, and the 
 mystery of Good and Evil, etc., etc." ^ That seems a 
 good deal for one simple device to contain, and it 
 
 ' "The Mystery of the Ages," by the Countess of Caithness, p. 156. 
 
 N 
 
178 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 makes one shudder to think what may be comprised 
 in that " etc., etc." Hardly less authentic in their 
 mystic significance are the two symbols opposite the 
 triangles, I O, " the unit and cipher, the line of force 
 and circle of comprehension," known to the ancient 
 Magians as the emblems of Energy and Space, Will 
 and Love, and other dual abstractions. These 
 characters, by the way, are not unknown in the West, 
 where, together with the incomplete circle — thus, 
 I O U — they constitute the trine symbol of Indebted- 
 ness, coupled, not unfrequently, with Impecuniosity. 
 
 True to his promise, the porter returned in the 
 course of a few minutes with the "blessed gooroo." 
 Perhaps my expectations had been unduly raised, but 
 I must confess to a feeling of disappointment when 
 the Adept arrived. It was no majestic Mejnour or 
 venerable Rosicrucian, such as fancy had painted him, 
 that met my gaze. There was nothing ethereal or awe- 
 inspiring in the very ordinary-looking, small, elderly 
 gentleman, with an iron-grey beard, a bald head, 
 and a slight stoop, who came forward and introduced 
 himself to us as the Mahatma Singmya Songo. He 
 was pleased to appear to us in his full rupa^ or 
 material body, as the occultists would say, over which 
 he wore a shirt with embroidered borders, and a long 
 white garment somewhat resembling a Roman toga. 
 On his feet were sandals of a peculiar make attached 
 by leather thongs, and his nails, both of fingers and 
 toes, were nearly half an inch long and sharpened, 
 like birds' claw.s, to a fine point. His countenance 
 wore a benevolent and slightly foolish expression, 
 which was heightened by an enormous pair of 
 goggles that he wore to protect his eyes from the 
 
MOUNT ATLAS AT LAST 179 
 
 glare of the sun. The cheek-bones were high and 
 prominent, and the features of a decidedly Mongolian, 
 rather than Indian, type. His head had a number of 
 extraordinary knobs and protuberances upon it, and I 
 think it would have puzzled a phrenologist to explain 
 what qualities they denoted, 
 
 " Salutations to the holy Mahatma ! " exclaimed 
 Embarek, prostrating himself " The peace of Allah 
 and the blessing of the Prophet be upon him and his." 
 
 Briefly returning the salutation, Mahatma Singmya 
 Songo courteously greeted us all in turn with the 
 conventional salaam alikum, and other Arabic forms 
 of welcome, and then, recognizing Ali, he fell upon 
 his neck and embraced him as a father would his 
 long-lost son. It was a slightly ridiculous, if affecting, 
 sight to see those two old men hugging each other in 
 this fashion, and I felt that it would need a long 
 course of initiation in the occult mysteries to instil 
 into my mind a proper sense of respect for poor old 
 All's "blessed gooroo." The Persian, however, was 
 far from sharing my feelings in the matter, for he 
 entertained for his old teacher a feeling of regard in 
 which personal affection was blended with veneration 
 for his Adeptship. In fact, it might be said that he 
 loved him both as a man and a Brother, and his heart 
 overflowed with gratitude for the happy destiny 
 which had brought them together once more. 
 
 At a sign from Singmya Songo we all followed 
 him into the house. We were at once struck with 
 the taste and elegance of the internal decorations, 
 which contrasted agreeably with the bareness of the 
 exterior. A fountain, well stocked with gold-fish, 
 was plashing gently in the centre of a miniature 
 
i8o THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Moorish court, paved with rich mosaics. The 
 windows were covered with fine vioosJirabeea, or 
 carved lattice-work. A handsome dado of blue and 
 yellow tiles adorned the walls under the portico 
 whose carved pilasters supported a wooden gallery 
 that ran completely round the court. This abode 
 Singmya Songo shared with his friend and companion 
 in his astral flittings, Mahatma Kikkuppa Row. The 
 latter happened to be absent at the time we arrived, 
 but we were not long in making his acquaintance, 
 and we continued to enjoy the hospitality of the two 
 Brethren for several days. 
 
( i8i ) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE OASIS AND ITS INHABITANTS. 
 
 The capital, and, indeed, the only town of the oasis, 
 unless we were to dignify sundry villages with that 
 nppellation, was called simply El Medinah, or The 
 Town. It was a place of no great size, containing on 
 a rough estimate barely a thousand inhabitants, since 
 the natives of the oasis, being engaged chiefly in 
 pastoral and agricultural pursuits, lived for the most 
 part in the country, or in the numerous hamlets 
 which were scattered about the foot of the mountain. 
 The streets were tolerably wide, well paved, and 
 scrupulously clean. There were no buildings of 
 conspicuous beauty or height, but, as we wandered 
 about the side-alleys, we came across several quaint 
 nooks and corners and " prout-bits," such as would 
 have pleased an artist's eye. The town was divided 
 into two sections by the river, which was spanned by 
 three picturesque bridges, covered in by wooden roofs 
 in order to protect passengers from the sun and rain. 
 We noticed that all the women walked about unveiled, 
 as in European cities, and that most of them were 
 very good-looking. Oriental custom, in its infinite 
 
l82 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 wisdom, veils the faces of its women, and the traveller 
 from the West is, or should be, grateful to it for 
 concealing features which are usually of more than 
 doubtful charm. The Atlantean ladies, on the other 
 hand, kindly exposed their pretty faces to the public 
 view, and nobody accused them of being lacking in 
 modesty. It seemed strange, too, to see no beggars 
 or other signs of misery and squalor, such as every- 
 where meet the eye in most eastern cities ; and the 
 same air of contentment and prosperity that prevailed 
 outside seemed likewise to reign within the walls. 
 
 Our entertainers spared no pains to make our stay 
 as enjoyable as possible, and they were most obliging 
 in taking us round and explaining to. us the various 
 points of interest in connection with this happy 
 community. Mahatma Singmya Songo said that a 
 country-house, situated about half a mile from the 
 town, was being fitted up for our reception, and he 
 hoped that it would be ready for us in the course of 
 the next fortnight. Meanwhile, our time was amply 
 occupied in exploring the neighbourhood, and collect- 
 ing information concerning the habits and customs 
 of the natives. Of the results of our investigations I 
 propose to give a short sketch here, beginning with 
 the geographical features of the district. 
 
 The oasis appeared to be of no great size, though 
 for a long while we had no opportunity of accurately 
 measuring its extent. About ten miles below the 
 town, the river, which, borrowing its name from the 
 mountain, was called the Wad el Kebeer, entered a 
 dense and almost impenetrable forest. Beyond the 
 forest its waters flowed out into the desert, either to 
 join the Niger, or, more probably, to be swallowed up 
 
THE OASIS AND ITS INHABITANTS. 183 
 
 like the Draa in the thirsty sands of the Sahara. 
 The valley, including the cultivated and pasture land 
 on the lower slopes of the mountains, was in places 
 as much as four or five miles wide, and supported a 
 population which, together with a few peasants who 
 lived on the opposite, or western, side of the Djebel 
 Kebeer, amounted in all to nearly two thousand 
 souls. 
 
 Mount Atlas itself was a wedge-shaped mass, 
 running nearly due north and south, and about thirty 
 miles in length at the base. It had three principal 
 snow-clad peaks, of which the northernmost, being the 
 highest, had masked the two others from our view 
 when we first caught sight of the mountain in the 
 desert. We calculated that this peak must attain an 
 elevation of 19,000 or 20,000 feet, which would make 
 it the rival of Kilimandjaro for the honour of being the 
 highest summit on the African continent. The exact 
 height of the town above the sea-level, according to 
 our aneroids, was 7558 feet, and the snow-level at the 
 time of our arrival was about 3000 feet higher. 
 Owing partly to its elevation, partly to the proximity 
 of the immense snow-fields, the climate of the oasis 
 was as temperate as could be desired, and the heat of 
 the noon-day sun was almost always mitigated by a 
 refreshing breeze from the glaciers. The nights were 
 deliciously cool, while in winter frost was by no 
 means uncommon. 
 
 As regards the inhabitants of the oasis, they 
 appeared to be an offshoot of the old Arab, or 
 possibly Berber, stock ; though, as I have already 
 said, their fair complexions led us to suppose that 
 they had an admixture of northern blood. Un- 
 
1 84 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 doubtedly the place was populated centuries before 
 the Mahatmas arrived. Concerning the date of the 
 earliest immigrations into the oasis, we have the 
 authority of Pliny and Herodotus for saying that it 
 was inhabited, at any rate, more than 2000 years ago. 
 The old Atlantes (Herodotus also alludes to them 
 under the name of " Atarantes," and he locates them 
 somewhere in the region of the Sahara now occupied 
 by the Tuariks),seem to have been a primitive people 
 who passed their time in uttering " direful impreca- 
 tions " against the sun, whose rays they found un- 
 pleasantly scorching — a somewhat futile occupation, 
 but one which seemed to afford them abundant 
 amusement. All the natives of Marocco have a 
 pencJiantiox uttering "direful imprecations," as I have 
 explained elsewhere ; but I cannot say that we found 
 the inhabitants of Mount Atlas especially proficient 
 in the art. These Atlantes seem to have been a 
 rather remarkable people in other ways, as, according 
 to the above-mentioned authorities, they ate the flesh 
 of no living animal, and belonged to that order of 
 men who see no visions in their sleep. Many of the 
 modern Atlanteans, on the contrary, were continually 
 "seeing things," such as spooks, astral bodies, 
 elementals, etc., etc., having learned the art of second 
 sight from their Mahatma instructors. 
 
 Quiet, God-fearing, inoffensive folk were these latter- 
 day Atlantes, living through their simple, pastoral 
 lives in peace and contentment. There were exceed- 
 ingly wealthy men amongst them (for gold beyond 
 the dreams of avarice lay about the banks of the 
 lower reaches of the river), but riches were little 
 thought of In a region so highly favoured of 
 
THE OASIS AND ITS INHABITANTS. 185 
 
 Heaven, where a genial soil was added to a tem- 
 perate climate, and Nature lavished her best gifts 
 with an unstinting hand, every man, by the exercise 
 of moderate industry, could have enough for all his 
 wants, and more he did not desire. Ambition and 
 the ceaseless pushing and striving to better one's self, 
 which pervades every section of European society, 
 was entirely absent here. Everybody was content 
 with his own lot in life, and never thought of trying 
 to raise himself in the social scale. There were no 
 " masses," nor, if we except the Mahatmas, any 
 "classes" either. Mohammedan in creed, they were 
 yet wholly devoid of the fierce bigotry which charac- 
 terizes their co-religionists in the north, and they 
 looked up to the Brethren as their spiritual guides 
 with a reverence which was touching to contemplate. 
 It may seem strange that the Mahatmas, who of 
 course professed the Buddhist religion (in its esoteric 
 form), should secure the respect and submission of a 
 Moslem community ; but it must be remembered that 
 the occult Adepts attach little importance to the 
 exoteric aspects of any creed, but direct their attention 
 solely to those inner truths which underlie the husks 
 and shells of all the religions of the world. Mysticism 
 is of no dogma ; it readily adapts itself to any doctrinal 
 system. Hence, the Mahatmas interfered in no way 
 with the practice of the Mohammedan religion by the 
 natives of .the oasis, who, in their turn, regarded the 
 Brethren as superior beings gifted with abnormal 
 wisdom and miraculous powers over the forces of 
 Nature. 
 
 The government of the oasis was republican and 
 theocratic, if I may use the term, the spiritual and 
 
i86 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 temporal power being united in the same persons, as 
 in Mohammedan countries. The legislative body- 
 consisted of a council of leading Adepts, of whom 
 one was annually elected president. Singmya Songo 
 occupied the post during our visit. This council, as 
 a matter of fact, partook more of the character of a 
 vestry than a Parliament, since, there being little or 
 no need for fresh legislation, and no questions of 
 imperial policy to discuss, the debates were mostly 
 on such matters as the making of roads and bridges, 
 and the keeping in repair of the embankments which 
 protected the fields from the floods that descended 
 with great force and suddenness during the melting 
 of the snows in spring. There was no army, partly 
 because the inhabitants were not of a warlike dis- 
 position, but also for the still more excellent reason 
 that there was no one for them to fight against. 
 
 The judges and magistrates and other officers of 
 the executive w^ere also chosen from among the Adepts. 
 Strange to say, these officials were not paid, being 
 impelled to do the work solely by a strict sense of 
 duty. Their labours, however, were light, for crime 
 was almost unknown, and disputes were of com- 
 paratively rare occurrence. A considerable number 
 of officials had to be kept on hand owing to the 
 frequent absence of the Brethren from the scene of 
 their duties. The marvellous power possessed by 
 Adepts of projecting themselves to distant places in 
 their lingas shariras, or astral bodies, is well known ; 
 and the Mahatmas of Mount Atlas were always going 
 about in this fashion, and landing up unexpectedly in 
 various corners of the earth — now appearing to the 
 Indian ryot at work in his rice-field ; now startling 
 
THE OASIS AND ITS INHABITANTS. 187 
 
 some commonplace burgher in one of the centres 
 of European civilization ; anon, scaring the fur-clad 
 Eskimo in his hut, or the noble Redskin in his 
 wigwam. On these occasions, they always left their 
 riipas, or material bodies, asleep in their houses at 
 Mount Atlas, carefully locking the doors and closing 
 the windows to prevent them being stolen or mislaid 
 in their absence. It would obviously be highly 
 annoying to return from a trip in your litiga sJiarira 
 and find your outer husk, or work-a-day bodily shell, 
 missing. I am informed, on the highest occult 
 authority, that the feelings of the bather who, emerging 
 from the water, finds that some one has walked off 
 with his clothes, are a perfect fool to the indignation 
 of a Mahatma in his astral body, when he finds that 
 his rupa has been made away with, and his return to 
 objective existence in the flesh for the time being 
 rendered impossible. 
 
ibS THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CONCERNING THE MAHATMAS. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the Mahatmas oi 
 Mount Atlas were i^^ in number or difficult of access. 
 In India, as is well known, an Adept is a rara avis^ 
 whom all men have heard of, but few have been 
 privileged to see or hold converse with. Out here, on 
 the contrary, the Mahatmas were so numerous as to 
 be rather a drug in the market than otherwise. Their 
 usual avocations were those of pedagogues, or 
 instructors to the youth of the oasis, for which service 
 they hired themselves out for a moderate stipend. 
 Talented and highly respectable Mahatmas, of proved 
 honesty and efficiency, could be engaged at the rate 
 of about forty botkis (an Atlantean coin equivalent 
 to about half a crown in our money) per month. 
 Being anxious myself to become posted, as far as 
 possible, in the esoteric mysteries, I lost no time in 
 looking out for a reliable gooroo, or teacher, and before 
 long I got suited with one in the person of a certain 
 Mahatma Sucha Row, a cousin of Kikkuppa Row, 
 the chosen associate and mess-mate of our amiable 
 host Singmya Songo. From Mahatma Sucha Row 
 
CONCERNING THE MA HA TM AS. 189 
 
 I learned many of the precious fragments of occult 
 lore which I am enabled to lay before my readers in 
 the following pages, together with much that I do 
 not feel myself at liberty to disclose. Those of my 
 readers who are students of occultism, will no doubt 
 be struck with the remarkable similarity of the 
 information I received to certain expositions of 
 esoteric doctrine which have appeared from time to 
 time in England. I am sure that it cannot fail to be 
 a source of unspeakable comfort to the talented 
 authors and authoresses of those works to find the 
 truth of their writings confirmed by one who, for some 
 time, enjoyed the privilege of daily intercourse with 
 the Mahatmas. Occasional divergences, more in form 
 than substance, however, will no doubt be detected 
 by the initiated ; but, as Mr. Sinnett very justly 
 remarks, " at these loftier levels of spiritual exaltation 
 a supreme knowledge of esoteric doctrine blends 
 all original sectarian differences," In other words, 
 the inner truths of theosophy are the same all the 
 world over. 
 
 Before I proceed with my narrative, I ought perhaps 
 to say a word about the band of hermits who, as has 
 been mentioned in an earlier chapter, occupied Mount 
 Atlas before the arrival of the Mahatmas. These 
 hermits, we subsequently learned, belonged to the 
 sect of Siifites, or Mohammedan mystics, whose 
 tenets, largely tinged with Buddhist esotericism, were 
 in many respects akin to those of the Mahatmas. 
 Hence, the two sects became gradually fused through 
 the adoption by the Sufites of the doctrine and 
 religious practice of the Thibetan new-comers ; and, 
 together, they formed the occult hierarchy of the 
 
igo THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Atlantean community. Many of the Sufites, indeed, 
 attained to the highest grades among the priests and 
 votaries of the theosophic cult, which accounted for 
 the mixture of Arabic and Asiatic names we found 
 among the Brethren. The Indian esoteric terminology 
 was in general use amongst them, though Arabic 
 remained the language of ordinary conversation. 
 The Adepts, whose vast stores of knowledge " amount 
 to a species of omniscience as regards earthly affairs," 
 were of course perfectly acquainted with all languages, 
 and spoke Arabic, Hindustani, French, and English 
 with equal ease and fluency. 
 
 I had to wait more than a fortnight for my hireling 
 Adept, Sucha Row, as at the time of our arrival he 
 had a situation as pedagogue in the family of a rich 
 merchant who lived lower down the valley. His late 
 employer gave him an excellent character, and as he 
 only asked for thirty-five botkis a month, I think you 
 will agree with me that I got him pretty cheap. I 
 wanted to put him on board wages, not feeling very 
 certain how a Mahatma ought to be fed. It appeared 
 however, that it was not the custom of the country, 
 so he used to take his meals with us, and, to tell the 
 truth, for a member of a fraternity who are supposed 
 to practise abstinence, he played a pretty good knife 
 and fork.^ He wasn't very much to look at ; but, then, 
 not many of the Mahatmas were, as they paid little 
 attention to the adornment of their rupas, or outer 
 
 ' In justice to my Mahatma I ought to explain that his diet was 
 strictly vegetarian. The Brethren of Mount Atlas object on principle 
 to the eating of flesh. Their menus often reminded me of those six- 
 penny dinners at the Vegetarian Restaurants in London, pease-broth, 
 boiled beans, and lentil pudding being the staple fare. 
 
CONCERNING THE M AH ATM AS. 191 
 
 envelopes of flesh. He was a thin, wizened little man, 
 about five feet five inches in height, with patches of 
 light sandy hair sprouting irregularly from his poll. 
 He had the same Mongol type of features as Singmya 
 Songo, and he wore the long finger and toe nails, 
 which seemed to be the distinguishing mark of an 
 Adept. Like most of his kidney, he wore large blue 
 goggles, which by no means added to the dignity of 
 his appearance ; but, unlike Singmya Songo, whose 
 garments were pure white, he wore a long brown robe 
 of some rough material, which made him look like 
 a Franciscan friar. In character he was amiability 
 itself, and he exhibited a most touching meekness of 
 disposition, approaching nearer than any man I ever 
 met to that ideal of humility which we Christians 
 profess so loudly in theory, but in practice so 
 studiously ignore. He was always apologizing about 
 something or other, and endeavouring to efface himself 
 in every possible way. In fact, he seemed to be 
 possessed of the idea that he had no business to 
 be living at all. Like Plotinus, he was ashamed of 
 existing in fleshly form, and delighted above measure 
 in that " separation from the body for the purpose of 
 philosophizing well," which Pythagoras regarded as 
 the highest good of all. Fortunately, the mysterious 
 faculty by which Adepts can divest themselves of 
 their rupas as easily as you or I can take off our 
 great-coats, enabled him temporarily to gratify his 
 tastes in this direction ; but he longed for the time 
 when his emancipation from the fetters of the flesh 
 should be completed by death. Hence, in no way 
 was his abnegation of self more conspicuous than in 
 consenting to continue his physical existence on earth 
 
192 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 at all. As one of his chelas told me, he was only 
 " living on to oblige " his friends. 
 
 His qualifications as gooroo were unexceptionable, 
 and he was possessed of a flow of language (" gift of 
 the gab," Gerald profanely called it) which was little 
 short of marvellous. He was, on the whole, singularly 
 open in his explanations, but readers of occult books 
 will have noticed that most of the Brethren are a 
 curious mixture of engaging frankness and unaccount- 
 able reticence, and Mahatma Sucha Row was no 
 exception to the rule. Often, just as he seemed to 
 be on the point of making some important disclosure, 
 he would draw in his horns and, leaving his auditors 
 on the tenterhooks of impatient expectation, " wrap 
 himself," as Ali put it, " in the shroud of obscurity 
 and take refuge behind the curtain of silence." If 
 we persisted in our inquiries, or on the rare occasions 
 when we cornered him in argument, he had a disagree- 
 able habit of projecting himself in his astral body to 
 Thibet, or elsewhere, thereby rendering all further 
 discussion perfectly hopeless. Obviously, an ordinary 
 mortal cannot be otherwise than at a great dis- 
 advantage when arguing with an opponent endowed 
 with these remarkable powers. 
 
 Talking of the powers of the Mahatmas reminds 
 me that I have said little or nothing on that subject. 
 The Brethren of Mount Atlas were invested with 
 the same supernatural faculties as are attributed to 
 the Thibetan Adepts, only, I believe, to a still more 
 remarkable degree. I use the word " supernatural," 
 be it understood, in the popular sense. The occult 
 reader is of course aware that there is no such thing 
 as supernaturalism, the Initiates merely having com- 
 
CONCERNING THE MAHATMAS. 193 
 
 mand over forces of Nature unknown to the common 
 herd of sceptics. In spiritual matters their knowledge 
 is the result, not of laborious intellectual reasoning, 
 but of the development of the Sixth Sense, the 
 Intuition, that glorious faculty which Kant and other 
 German Idealists groped blindly after, but which the 
 Mahatmas have possessed for ages. On the physical 
 plane it is derived from that power of " psychological 
 telegraphy," which enables them to project their souls 
 anywhere they please, and learn what is going on all 
 over the world. " The clairvoyant faculties of the 
 Adept," as Mr. Sinnett accurately informs us, " are so 
 perfect and complete that they amount to a species 
 of omniscience as regards mundane affairs." Old 
 Sucha Row, for instance, often projected his soul into 
 the midst of Cabinet Councils in Downing Street. 
 He knew perfectly well what games Boulanger was 
 playing, and the schemes of State policy hatching in 
 the brains of Prince Bismarck and the Czar. He 
 could by a word have rendered unnecessary the 
 labours of the Parnell Commission. But he never 
 " let on " concerning any of these things, and it may 
 well be imagined that, to a mind occupied with the 
 tremendous mysteries of the Great Arcanum, and 
 endowed with perceptions ranging over other worlds 
 and other states of existence than ours, such mundane 
 trivialities could not appear otherwise than absolutely 
 unimportant. 
 
 And here let me parenthetically apologize if my 
 language should sometimes seem to sink below the 
 level demanded by the dignity of my subject. After 
 all, I am but a humble neophyte in occult matters, 
 and a good esoteric style is not acquired in a day. 
 
 O 
 
194 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 The chief secret of success lies in the use of as many 
 big words as possible, and, above all things, in 
 beginning them with capital letters. There is much 
 virtue in a capital letter, as all good mystics know. 
 For instance, if I write of " the universal," or " the 
 absolute," your attention will not be arrested ; while 
 before " the Universal " and " the Absolute " you 
 must perforce stand awestruck, as in the presence of 
 a great and imposing mystery. 
 
 The physical wonders worked by the Adepts have 
 been the theme of many writers. It is well known 
 that they possess perfect command over that 
 mysterious occult force known in the East under its 
 Sanscrit name of Akdsa. It has a variety of other 
 names among the Initiates, such as " Astral Light," 
 " Water of Phtha," " Soul of the Universe," " Magnes," 
 or " Milk of the Celestial Virgin." ^ In fact, you may 
 call it " pigeon's milk," if you like, or anything else 
 you please ; no one will object, I am sure. It is 
 a force of infinite potency and subtlety. It was known 
 to occult science ages and ages ago, while we poor 
 Westerners are only now just beginning to muddle 
 along with steam and electricity. Personally, I do 
 not despair of seeing steam-engines and other 
 machines driven, and telegraphic messages sent, by 
 the agency of pigeon's milk — Akdsa, I mean. Its 
 introduction on the Underground Railway would be 
 a distinct boon to City gentlemen, and would doubt- 
 less cause a considerable rise in " Districts," of which 
 I am unfortunately a shareholder. 
 
 By means of Akdsa the Mahatmas performed 
 many magical feats which greatly astonished the 
 • "Isis Unveiled," by Madame Blavatsky, p. 58. 
 
CONCERNING THE MAHATMAS. 195 
 
 natives, and caused them to regard the Adepts with 
 a veneration due rather to gods than men. They 
 also employed it as the motive power for innumerable 
 mechanical contrivances. Their clocks and watches 
 went by Akdsa, and only wanted winding up once 
 a year. Their vehicles were propelled by it, horses 
 being seldom used for this purpose. Tricycles worked 
 by Akdsa were the ordinary means of conveyance. 
 I noticed in Singmya Songo's house certain machines 
 for simplifying and shortening various domestic pro- 
 cesses, some of which struck me as being particularly 
 ingenious. There was one of them for cleaning 
 boots and shoes, either Moorish or European, which 
 especially took my fancy, and I tried hard to worm 
 the secret of its manufacture out of the Mahatma. 
 The boots were put into an aperture at one end ; a 
 handle was turned, and they came out almost immedi- 
 ately with a most beautiful polish. I fancied I saw 
 in this machine boundless possibilities in the way of 
 a Limited Liability Company to be brought out on 
 the London Stock Exchange. " The Mount Atlas 
 Automatic Boot Polisher Company, Limited," in one 
 pound shares, introduced by means of an attractive 
 prospectus to the notice of a discriminating public, 
 could not fail to be a success and to command a high 
 premium. The Mahatma, however, resolutely refused 
 to part with the secret, so that my cherished project 
 of company-promoting fell to the ground. 
 
 This mysterious force was also largely used for 
 medicinal purposes, Akdsa pills, potions, and baths, 
 being largely prescribed by the resident faculty. 
 
 But the cure in which the Atlanteans reposed the 
 greatest faith was hypnotism, which had been brought 
 
196 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 to a degree of perfection which would have astonished 
 " Professor " Kennedy himself. The remedy, as a rule, 
 was applied locally, the patient not being sent off 
 into a trance, but the part affected being alone 
 mesmerized. 
 
 Amongst the other occult sciences studied by the 
 Mahatmas of Mount Atlas it was only to be expected 
 that astrology should find a principal place. The 
 movements of the heavenly bodies were carefully 
 noted by persons specially delegated for the task, and 
 the course of future events was accurately divined 
 thexefrom. Under the able tuition of the erudite 
 Sucha Row I made considerable progress in this 
 abstruse but fascinating science, and after a few 
 months' study I could cast a horoscope, and practise 
 other arts of divination along with the best of them. 
 Among other things, I noticed that the Mahatmas 
 regulated their political and, more especially, their 
 financial affairs largely by astrological observation, 
 and I feel confident that the connection and inter- 
 dependence between the fluctuations of the stock 
 markets and the movements of the heavenly bodies 
 are not sufficiently considered in Europe.^ I have 
 little doubt but that an " operator " on the " cover " 
 system, who had a knowledge of astrology, would 
 have a great advantage over his rivals who were 
 ignorant of such matters. To take an example, let 
 us suppose the planet Mercury to be in conjunction 
 with Ursa Major. In the absence of other indications, 
 an occult speculator would then certainly be a " bear " 
 
 * An article in Lucifer, April, 1889, entitled, "Sun-Spots and 
 Commercial Crises," touches only the fringe of this most important 
 question. 
 
CONCERNING THE M AH ATM AS. 197 
 
 of stocks. If, on the other hand, the same planet 
 had, in hermetic parlance, "a trine aspect on the 
 ascendant," it would mean that " things " were going 
 up, and, especially if the sun happened at the same 
 time to be entering Taurus, he would of course be on 
 the " bull " tack. I intend to try this system myself 
 some day, and look forward to retiring shortly on a 
 modest little competence as the result, though Gerald, 
 in his cynical way, considers the bankruptcy court or 
 Colney Hatch to be more probably my destination. 
 He suggests that I should bring Sucha Row back to 
 England, and take him into partnership in the Stock 
 Exchange, in order to keep me informed of what is 
 going on in the world of finance. 
 
 " Ton my honour, 1 think it would be worth your 
 while," he remarked to me one day ; " he would be 
 sure to put you on to a good thing or two. Don't I 
 just wish I had had a Mahatma with me in the 
 Birdcage at Newmarket the other day, when that forty- 
 to-one chance romped in for the Cambridgeshire." 
 
 But I anticipate too much. All these great and 
 important discoveries were not made in a day. A 
 severe preliminary course of occult instruction, the 
 details of which I will not inflict upon the reader, had 
 to be gone through by me, as by every novice in the 
 mysteries of the Great Arcanum, before I arrived at 
 any of the higher branches of theosophic science. 
 Suffice it to say that in Sucha Row I found the most 
 patient and amiable of teachers. His efforts to instil 
 into me and my companions the rudiments of esoteric 
 lore were ably seconded by Singmya Songo and two 
 or three of his associates, and under their guidance 
 we made rapid progress in our studies. 
 
198 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVir. 
 
 LEILA. 
 
 For many weeks our life at Mount Atlas pursued its 
 quiet and uneventful tenor. Our mornings were 
 passed, as a rule, in occult study under the super- 
 vision of the Mahatmas. In the afternoons we took 
 long walks in the neighbourhood, where fresh beauties 
 disclosing themselves every day delighted our eyes 
 and added zest to our labours. In the evenings we 
 again enjoyed esoteric converse with the Brethren. 
 
 About a month after our arrival we were installed 
 in our new country house, which we much preferred 
 to living in the town. It lay in the midst of a 
 veritable Hesperides-garden of orange trees on the 
 further side of the carpet of meadow which crept, 
 flower-patterned with iris and asphodel, up to the 
 base of the mountain. Above the house, the woods 
 and vineyards, clambering the hillside, rose in suc- 
 cessive billows of light and dark green foliage. Pro- 
 ceeding down the valley, you passed out of the orange- 
 grove into one of mingled myrtle and tamarisk, which 
 in its turn gave place to a forest consisting chiefly of 
 sycamore, cypress, and holm-oak. Sucha Row resided 
 
LEILA. 
 
 199 
 
 with us, and, our house being quite close to the town, 
 we contrived to see a great deal of his brother Mahat- 
 mas. Singmya Songo paid us frequent visits, while, 
 on the other hand, we spent many evenings beneath 
 his hospitable roof in El Medinah. 
 
 Besides the attractions of the scenery, the study of 
 the flora and fauna of the oasis was a source of never 
 failing amusement and interest. The variety and 
 exquisite hues of the wild flowers were something 
 little short of marvellous, and Urquhart, who included 
 among his numerous tastes a passion for botany, was 
 not long in making a large collection of choice and 
 rare exotics. To Gerald and myself, the birds and 
 beasts with which the forest teemed were a source of 
 greater interest. We regarded them perforce with 
 the eye of the naturalist rather than the sportsman. 
 Our guns, I need hardly say, were laid aside, as the 
 wanton slaughter of dumb animals for mere amuse- 
 ment would have been in the highest degree repugnant 
 to the Adepts of a creed which, beyond all others, 
 enjoins merciful consideration towards the brute 
 creation. A natural consequence of the security they 
 enjoyed w^as the tameness of all the birds and animals, 
 to which I have alluded already. In fact, the sparrows 
 and linnets were unpleasantly familiar, flying in at 
 the windows at all hours, and fearlessly perching on 
 the chairs and tables as we sat at meals. 
 
 Man}^ of the wild birds possessed plumage of the 
 most brilliant colours. Orioles, woodpeckers, hoopoes, 
 and bee-eaters were among the most common, while 
 humming-birds of exquisite beauty abounded in the 
 woods, their iridescent hues glinting in the sunbeams 
 as they darted from twig to twig. Conspicuous among 
 
2O0 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the larger varieties was a bright canary-coloured bird 
 something like a golden pheasant, only two or three 
 times as big. The natives of Mount Atlas called 
 it Aboo DaJiab ("the Father of Gold,") and legend 
 asserted that it fed upon the grains of -gold which it 
 picked up from the sands of the river bed. Gerald 
 was of opinion that the Aboo DaJiab was the Arab 
 prototype of the western " oof-bird," differing only 
 from that fowl in its exceeding tameness and the ease 
 with which it could be captured. 
 
 In the course of one of our rambles in the neigh- 
 bourhood an event occurred which was destined to 
 have an important influence upon the destinies of one 
 member, at any rate, of our party. Accompanied by 
 Ali, we had walked for about two hours down the 
 main valley to the mouth of one of the numerous 
 gorges which intersected the sides of the Djebel 
 Kebeer. This particular ravine, however, was of 
 greater size and length than most of the others, and 
 from the river bank our eyes could follow its windings 
 up into the heart of the mountain for a considerable 
 distance. Struck by the romantic beauty of the lower 
 part of the glen, we resolved to explore its higher 
 recesses. A narrow path led us beside a brook, which 
 babbled merrily over the stones, leaping here and 
 there in tiny cascades into pools glassy clear, fringed 
 with soft moss-beds and maiden-hair fern, and over- 
 shadowed by cypress and sycamore. The grassy 
 glades in this sylvan solitude could have been seldom 
 trodden by the foot of man, and the deer (of which 
 we came across a considerable number), rabbits, 
 squirrels, and other four-footed denizens of the forest, 
 held undisputed possession. About midday we 
 
LEILA. 20I 
 
 emerged from the wood into a meadow, which lay- 
 embosomed in a cup-Hke hollow, hemmed in by steep, 
 bush-covered declivities. Here we rested an hour to 
 dispose of the provisions we had brought with us. 
 As soon as we had finished our meal, and smoked 
 a couple of pipes, we prepared to resume our walk, 
 when we noticed that the sky, which in the morning 
 had been perfectly cloudless, was becoming rapidly 
 overcast. It was evident that we were in for a heavy 
 storm. A loud thunderclap right over our heads was 
 the prelude to such a downpour as one only sees in 
 the tropics, and in a few minutes we were soaked to 
 the skin. The lightning played in a quick succes- 
 sion of vivid flashes, followed almost immediately by 
 deafening peals of thunder. During lunch we had 
 noticed a white house perched on a promontory of 
 rock two or three hundred feet above the stream, and 
 as this was the only human habitation in sight, we 
 repaired thither for shelter. Entering by a small 
 wicket gate, we found ourselves in a picturesque 
 garden, though the rain descending in torrents gave 
 us little opportunity of admiring its beauty. We 
 knocked at the door of the house, which was promptly 
 opened to us by a tall Moor clad in a russet-brown 
 jellabia, whom we correctly supposed to be the master 
 of the house. He was a man of about fifty, with 
 finely cut features and a black beard streaked with 
 grey, and an erect, commanding figure. Our draggled 
 appearance rendered almost unnecessary the explana- 
 tion and apology we offered him for thus invading his 
 abode. 
 
 " The peace of Allah and His holy Prophet be upon 
 you, O strangers," he said, in that tone of grave and 
 
202 THE BRETHREX OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 dignified courtesy peculiar to the high-bred Oriental. 
 " Ye are welcome. Enter, and be seated." 
 
 Going in, we found ourselves in a small but cosy 
 apartment, sumptuously furnished in Eastern style. 
 A low divan, lined with soft, embroidered cushions, 
 ran round the walls, which were draped with rich 
 stuffs and hangings. A fire of sycamore logs was 
 soon crackling on the hearth, and, taking off our wet 
 things, w^e arrayed ourselves in the Moorish raiment 
 furnished to us by our host. I noticed that Urquhart 
 looked exceedingly well in his new attire, and he 
 wore his haik and soulham as if to the manner born. 
 Gerald, on the contrary, seemed hardly at home in 
 the ample folds of his jellabia ; while, as for myself, I 
 feared my more diminutive person would get lost in 
 mine — it was so excessively roomy. 
 
 " Behold ! Nazarenes," said our entertainer, " it is 
 well-nigh the Yionx o{ el assar^^ (the afternoon prayer). 
 " It yet rains, and the evening shadows will soon 
 begin to fall, and the way back to El Medinah is long 
 and ill to traverse in the dark. If, therefore, ye can 
 be content with a modest hospitality cheerfully 
 bestowed, abide here for this night. To-morrow, if 
 the storm abates, and the sky be fair, we will speed 
 you on your way." 
 
 Thus pressed, we yielded, by no means unwillingly, 
 to the good man's solicitation, and prepared to take 
 up our quarters for the night. As the daylight 
 waned we sat and talked over the fire, our entertainer 
 showing a not unnatural eagerness to know who we 
 were, whence we came, and how we had arrived at 
 Mount Atlas. We readily acceded to his wishes, and 
 told him the whole story of our adventures. He was 
 
LEILA. 203 
 
 much interested in Urquhart's account of our narrow 
 escape from death in the simoom, and told us that we 
 ought to render thanks to Allah for preserving 
 us from the manifold perils of the Great Desert. 
 Having satisfied his curiosity concerning ourselves, 
 we ventured to ask him a few questions about him- 
 self. 
 
 " Of a truth, O sons of the English, after the full 
 measure of information which ye have vouchsafed 
 to me concerning yourselves, it were only fitting I 
 reciprocated your frankness. My name is Seedy 
 Aissa Alarby Ben Absalam. I am a merchant of El 
 Medinah, though in sooth it is but little business that 
 I transact nowadays. I am a servant of the one God 
 (blessed for ever be His name), and a lay brother 
 of the occult fraternity of the Djebel Kebeer. I 
 live in this house alone with my niece, the maid 
 Leila, whose coming for the service of the evening 
 meal I have been awaiting for this hour past. Stay, 
 methinks even now I hear her footstep upon the 
 threshold." 
 
 As he spoke, the door opened, and Leila entered 
 the room. I had expected to see a damsel of the 
 conventional Moorish type, dark-eyed, brown-skinned, 
 unspiritual, unintellectual ; and we were all fairly 
 amazed at the wondrously beautiful apparition which 
 presented herself to our eyes. Her figure, tall, slender, 
 supple as a palm-stem waving in the breeze, was 
 enveloped in a white flowing robe girt at the waist 
 by a crimson sash. Her feet, small almost to a fault, 
 were encased in sandals, which displayed the contours 
 of an instep arched to perfection. Her hair, of a 
 glossy raven black, was parted from the brow, and 
 
204 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 braided simply with a small silver cord. The pale, 
 clear, olive complexion contained just a suggestion of 
 rose-tint in the centre of the oval cheek. Her 
 delicately pencilled eyebrows, almost meeting over 
 the nose, according to the eastern ideal of female 
 beauty, formed arches for great lustrous eyes of a 
 deep blue-black, fringed with long silken lashes. 
 The irises were clear and liquid, with occasional 
 violet-coloured emanations. Now and again, a smile 
 tinged with thought and sadness played about the 
 tender curves of the exquisitely formed mouth, and 
 her teeth gleamed like two rows of pearls in their 
 coral setting. The graceful pose and setting of the 
 small head on the shapely neck gave a suggestion of 
 high-breeding, which was accentuated by a certain 
 stateliness of manner, as of one more accustomed to 
 command than to obey. But what struck me even 
 more than these charms of form and feature, dazzling 
 as they were, was the expression of the girl's face. 
 It was not melancholy, nor even pensive, but the eyes 
 had habitually a strange, dreamy, abstracted look, as 
 of some spiritualized animal, yet, withal, full of intel- 
 lectuality. In appearance she was a maiden of two 
 or three and twenty, but the bearing and manner 
 were those of one who had long since reached 
 womanhood. 
 
 On seeing us, she stopped surprised, and for a 
 moment seemed somewhat disconcerted, blushing 
 slightly ; but, quickly recovering her self-possession, 
 she made us a slight but graceful courtesy. As we 
 rose from our seats on her entrance, she directed at 
 each of us a brief but penetrating glance. Gerald's 
 tall figure she scanned with evident admiration, and 
 
LEILA. 205 
 
 then, my humbler person and Ali's receiving but a 
 passing scrutiny, her gaze fell upon Urquhart. For 
 a moment I observed that she bent upon him a 
 searching look, as though she would read his very 
 soul, and then she gave a slight start, and the colour 
 left her cheeks. Presently, her eyes were withdrawn 
 from him and wandered upwards, when for a brief 
 space they regained their strange, far-away look, as 
 though her mind was occupied in things not of this 
 earth. Urquhart, too, usually so impassive, seemed 
 strangely moved. His colour came and went, and he 
 moved uneasily. Gerald also noticed their embarrass- 
 ment, and slily nudged me with his elbow. In a few 
 moments, however, both had regained their composure, 
 and Leila seated herself beside her uncle, who play- 
 fully chid her for coming in so late. 
 
 *' How now, my child } " he said, playing with her 
 thick masses of hair which had escaped from under 
 their silver band. " Where have you been playino- 
 truant at a time when your presence is more than 
 ever needful? These strangers here have honoured 
 us by seeking shelter beneath our roof, and we have 
 but little entertainment provided for them." 
 
 " I was in the forest, uncle," she replied in a voice 
 of singular timbre and sweetness, " and the rain came 
 on suddenly, and I was forced to take shelter in the 
 hollow trunk of an ancient oak until the downpour 
 ceased. But I will delay no longer, and if our friends 
 here will but be content with such humble cheer as I 
 can set before them, it shall be prepared as speedily 
 as possible." 
 
 So saying, she rose and left the room, leaving us 
 all marvelling at her wonderful beauty and charm of 
 
206 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 manner. But there was one thing which, for the 
 time, occupied my thoughts to the exclusion of 
 everything else, and that was the emotion mutually 
 displayed by her and Urquhart at this their first 
 meeting. Could it be a case of love at first sight .'* 
 Had Urquhart, whose heart had resisted the onslaughts 
 of so many fair charmers in the centres of civilization, 
 surrendered the citadel without a blow to this beautiful 
 African maiden ? But then, how to account for the 
 emotion shown by the latter? Urquhart, with his 
 unpolished exterior and somewhat blunt manners, 
 was not the sort of fellow a girl would fall in love with 
 all at once, and I could hardly believe that he could 
 have made so rapid and easy a conquest. Neverthe- 
 less, argue as we might, some bond of union evidently 
 existed between them, and Gerald whispered to me, 
 as we left the room to get ready for dinner, that it 
 was "evidently 'a case' between David and Miss 
 Leila." 
 
 But whatever momentary loss of self-possession the 
 two had displayed when they first met, their sub- 
 sequent demeanour towards each other during the 
 rest of our sojourn under Seedy Aissa's roof afforded 
 no further grounds for our suspicions. The evening 
 passed quickly by in pleasant converse, and we 
 retired early to rest. 
 
 In the morning we awoke to find a day of unclouded 
 skies and glorious sunshine. From my bedroom I 
 looked out of the casement, through the trellis-work 
 overgrown with creepers, jasmine, and honeysuckle, 
 upon a prospect of enchanting beauty. The site of 
 the house had been selected with great skill, com- 
 manding a view of the glen throughout its length. 
 
LEILA, 207 
 
 down to the valley of the Wad Kebeer. Above and 
 behind us towered the cliffs and peaks of Mount 
 Atlas, and the white tongue of a hanging glacier 
 descended far down the mountain side to seemingly 
 within a few hours' walk of the house. At the back 
 of the garden were green meadows and Alpine pastures 
 alive with browsing flocks and herds. In the garden 
 itself a tiny brooklet, appropriately named Aboo 
 Safee or "The Father of Limpidity," trickled down a 
 dell fringed with oleander and broad-leaved hemlock. 
 Rose and tulip, lily and bright-hued geranium, blossom- 
 ing shrubs of various kinds, grew in profuse, yet 
 judiciously restricted, luxuriance. The walls were 
 overgrown with peach and apricot ; and orange, 
 lemon, and other fruit-trees were planted sparingly 
 about the velvet lawns, where a couple of slender, 
 lustrous-eyed gazelles gambolled gracefully, and a 
 peacock strutted majestically across the grass, dragging 
 after him his gorgeous, iridescent train. The air was 
 loaded with perfume, and vocal with the music of 
 innumerable birds, and as I stood and listened to 
 their melodious notes, the hum and murmur of bees, 
 the bleating of sheep, and the lowing of the cattle 
 in the meadows, my senses were bathed in a pro- 
 found calm and contentment, and I would fain have 
 lingered a while longer in these new-found bowers of 
 our African Eden. 
 
 Indeed, Seedy Aissa urged us to prolong our stay, 
 and we were all, especially Urquhart, loth to leave, 
 but we feared lest our Mahatma friends at El Medinah 
 should be getting anxious on our account ; so, in the 
 afternoon, promising to renew our visit at the earliest 
 opportunity, we bade our courteous host farewell, and 
 
2o8 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 set our faces homewards. We spoke little as we 
 walked through the forest, being each occupied with 
 his own thoughts. Only old Ali, who could seldom 
 be silent for many minutes together, chattered away 
 with much volubility and Oriental hyperbole in praise 
 of the beauty of Leila. 
 
 " Of a verity, O Father of Whiskers," he cried, " the 
 maid Leila is a pearl among women. Ah welli ! woe 
 is me, she hath already made roast meat of my heart. 
 Her form is the form of a gazelle ; her face is like 
 the moon. Paradise is in her eye, and the light 
 therein is as the light of the stars. Her mouth is a 
 ring ; her lips are of coral ; her bosom an enchant- 
 ment ; her cheeks are beds of pale roses ; her breath 
 sweet as odours wafted from the citron-groves of 
 Atlas." (" How do you know that, you old dog } " 
 asked Gerald sotto voce). " Oollah ! " he added with a 
 deep sigh, " by the beard of the Prophet, she would 
 be a veritable houri were she only a little fatter." 
 
 Urquhart seemed to anything but appreciate our 
 faithful retainer's encomiums, sincere though they 
 undoubtedly were ; yet he spoke never a word, but 
 strode on with a preoccupied air, as though he were 
 engaged in a walking race. And, indeed, we had 
 need to hurry, if we would arrive home before night- 
 fall, for the sun was setting as we descended into the 
 valley, and the glow of evening bathed forest, field, 
 and river in a flood of ruddy gold, ere the shadows 
 sped swiftly across the meadows and commenced to 
 climb the eastern hills. 
 
 On our arrival at El Medinah we found, as we had 
 anticipated, Sucha Row and the other Brethren much 
 concerned for our safety. They feared we had met 
 
LEILA. 209 
 
 with some accident while rambHng on the mountain- 
 side, and were about to send out parties in search of 
 us. We explained the cause of our absence, and 
 questioned Singmya Songo concerning Seedy Aissa 
 and his fascinating niece. He would not give us any 
 answer at that time, but asked us to spend the 
 evening with him, which we gladly consented to do. 
 He was then good enough to fully satisfy our curiosity 
 on the point, and I may say at once that our interest 
 in the fair Leila was heightened rather than dimin- 
 ished by what he told us. 
 
 We had hitherto imagined the occult community 
 of Mount Atlas to consist exclusively of the Mahatmas, 
 their chelas, and certain lay members like our late 
 host, Seedy Aissa. The idea had never entered our 
 heads that it might include lady thcosophists as well. 
 Yet such, to our surprise, we now found to be the 
 case. The female students were rigorously separated 
 from the males, and devoted themselves exclusively 
 to the learning and development of a special branch 
 of occult science, which I shall presently endeavour 
 to shadow forth. They lived a sort of conventual 
 existence in a large seminary, or college, of young 
 lady chelas, situated in a remote valley among the 
 mountains. And the Lady Superior of this college 
 was none other than Leila, whose intellect and deep 
 knowledge of the esoteric doctrine marked her out to 
 the leading Mahatmas as a fitting occupant of so high 
 and responsible a post. 
 
 And here I shall be compelled to crave the reader's 
 patience for a short space. In order to give a clear 
 conception of the position which Leila occupied in 
 the Atlantean community, and, more important still, 
 
 P 
 
2IO THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 to explain the nature of the intercourse which sprang 
 up between her and Urquhart, it will be necessary for 
 me to treat of certain occult topics which, owing to 
 their involved and recondite nature, I should other- 
 wise have preferred to leave untouched. I am now 
 about to partially withdraw the veil which has hitherto 
 shrouded an Arcanum of mighty import. Please, 
 therefore, give me your best attention. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CONCERNING CERTAIN OF THE DEEPER OCCULT 
 MYSTERIES. 
 
 The reader must not infer from the foregoing remarks 
 that I am about to reveal the half of what I could 
 tell if I chose. Theosophical doctrines ought never, 
 in my opinion, to be sprung upon an unbelieving 
 world in their entirety. These spiritual Arcana should 
 rather be ladled out in small doses, as in large 
 quantities they are apt to disagree with some mental 
 constitutions. Only when the times are ripe for a 
 fuller exposition can the curtain of the Inner Shrine 
 of the Temple of Wisdom be wholly drawn aside. 
 And those days are as yet, I fear, far distant, hidden 
 deep in the womb of ages to come, when the seed- 
 germs of instruction now planted shall blossom forth 
 and expand into a perfect tree of knowledge. 
 
 The mysterious doctrines — gleams of light flashed 
 from the hidden radiance — of which I am now 
 enabled to offer a brief sketch to the general public, 
 are those of the Biune Existence and the Sympneu- 
 matic Consciousness. Some faint glimmerings of 
 these hermetic truths have already been revealed to 
 
212 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the world by an eminent English mystic,^ whose 
 expositions, after making allowances for certain minor 
 errors of detail, inevitable in works dealing with such 
 abstruse subjects, I found to be surprisingly accurate 
 as far as they go. For the sake of convenience, I 
 shall quote from these works whenever the matter 
 they contain coincides with the information I gathered 
 from my revered Mahatma teachers concerning this 
 most difficult branch of the Hidden Wisdom. 
 
 It is not generally known that in the earliest stage 
 of the development of the human race man was 
 bisexual, or androgynous — that is to say, both male 
 and female. Yet such, Singmya Songo assured us, 
 was actually the fact. The differentiation into sex 
 was a process of comparatively late date, which will 
 be described presently. The original man, being 
 thus dual, or biune, in nature, possessed an ethereal or 
 fluid body, of which the complementary sex-parts 
 could be interwoven or separated at will, as the 
 atomic elements composing the female principle 
 might chance to combine or disintegrate with those 
 composing the male. Gradually, however, by a 
 process difficult to explain, but resulting from man's 
 wilfully opening his organism to debasing sex- 
 influences from the outer world, the sex elements 
 drew apart. As Mr. Laurence Oliphant quite cor- 
 rectly puts it, in language very similar to that em- 
 ployed to me by Singmya Songo, "the androgynous 
 Ego suffered an atomic dislocation in his outer 
 organism, which involved a divorce from his own 
 feminine complement." This change from unity to 
 
 ' Mr. Laurence Oliphant, in his two works, " Sympneumata," and 
 " Scientific Religion." 
 
CONCERNING THE DEEPER OCCULT MYSTERIES. 213 
 
 dualism, occultists tell us, constituted the " Fall of 
 Man," as mystically described in the Book of Genesis. 
 A further result of the Fall, in addition to the separa- 
 tion of the sex elements, was that man lost his 
 ethereal fluid nature, and drew upon himself fleshly 
 accretions from the lower animal kingdom. His 
 original delicate organism became overlaid with the 
 coarse husk of a solid material body, so that, instead 
 of remaining an ethereal creature, whereof the male 
 principle intertwined with the female, the two parts 
 forming one biune whole, he became divided into two 
 halves, man and woman, each incapable of inter- 
 penetrating with its particles the subsurface spaces of 
 the other, owing to its heavy outer covering of flesh. 
 The spiritual part of man, as it exists now, is the sole 
 remnant of his old ethereal nature, overlaid by the 
 animal excrescence which we term " body." 
 
 In order rightly to apprehend this profound mystery, 
 we must regard each man or woman we see walking 
 about as the separate and mutilated man-half or 
 woman-half, as the case may be, of an original biune 
 creature which, by reason of its disorderly conduct in 
 its earlier stages of development, has lost its fluid, 
 bisexual nature, and become divided into two parts as 
 described above. 
 
 " Externally two persons," our worthy Mahatma 
 remarked to me, " the twin portions of the sundered 
 Ego are in reality one, although they have lost the 
 power they once possessed of mutually permeating 
 their respective atoms. Nay, men are ignorant, as a 
 rule, of the very existence of their ' sympncuma,' their 
 spiritual perceptions being blinded so long as they 
 are held in the thraldom of the flesh." 
 
214 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 The " sympneuma," I may say at once, is none 
 other than the complementary being, the "better 
 half" of our earlier ethereal state, who formed an 
 integral part of our original self. She is our spiritual 
 co-partner, whose life-elements are in mesmeric 
 rapport, and whose atomic structure is in a mysterious 
 way interlocked with our own. The sympneuma, for 
 aught we know, may be a lady of our acquaintance 
 in this world, or an incorporeal being of the astral 
 sphere. Mr. Laurence Oliphant speaks of the sym- 
 pneuma as being necessarily of the spiritual world, 
 whereas the Mahatmas assure me that many of us, if 
 we only knew it, have our sympneumas on earth. In 
 this latter case, if the sympneuma is a " sensitive," or 
 medium, portions of her particles may interweave with 
 our own, and we may hold converse with her inner 
 personality, but this rarely happens. Mankind in 
 general are, as the Mahatma said, unconscious of the 
 existence of their sympneuma, though many of us 
 have a vague longing and a shadowy hope that such 
 a being may exist. 
 
 " Somewhere beneath the sun — 
 
 These quivering' heart-strings prove it — 
 Somewhere there must be one 
 Made for this heart to move it ; " 
 
 to quote once more the pretty lines from " lonica." 
 A natural result of this longing is that people are apt 
 sometimes to jump to a premature conclusion that 
 they have found their sympneuma, a mistake which 
 is sometimes attended with inconvenient results. For 
 instance, the young lady who, remarking, " You air 
 my affinerty," wanted to embrace Artemus Ward in 
 the railway carriage, was only desirous of giving a 
 
CONCERNING THE DEEPER OCCULT MYSTERIES. 215 
 
 practical illustration of the sympncumatic doctrine as 
 she understood it. Such people mistake, or pretend 
 to mistake, mere physical affection for the higher 
 sympneumatic magnetism. Gentlemen of theosophical 
 proclivities who fall in love with their friends' wives 
 often excuse themselves on the ground that they are 
 bound by the higher law of occult affinities. If, as 
 sometimes happens, they run away with them, they 
 advance the plea that their twin Egos are only obeying 
 the inexorable laws of their being. Hence it will be 
 seen that the sympneumatic doctrine is liable some- 
 times to mischievous perversion by evil-disposed 
 persons. 
 
 The descent of man from his high ethereal state to 
 his present degraded, corporeal condition was not 
 effected in a moment. It was a gradual process. 
 Fortunately, however, it has now reached Its climax, 
 and mankind is already commencing its re-ascent to 
 its lost ethereal condition. Stout people, in particular, 
 will be glad to learn that "the semi-animal layer that 
 encompasses man's form is now in process of slow 
 extinction,"^ and the fleshly deposit will gradually 
 slough away till man regains once more his original 
 fluid condition. Shakespeare, who, though he did 
 not perhaps know it himself, was in reality an 
 occultist of high grade, speaks with prophetical in- 
 spiration in Hamlet's soliloquy — 
 
 " O that this too too solid flesh would melt, 
 Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew." 
 
 Slowly but surely the process is going forward, and 
 Mahatma Kikkuppa Row estimates that in about 
 fifteen or twenty centuries our bodies will have 
 
 * " S) mpneumata," p. 183. 
 
2i6 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 attained the consistency of calves'-foot jelly. From 
 the jelly stage we shall further disintegrate and dis- 
 solve until we reach the state of fluidity in which man 
 existed before his descent into material form. With 
 the loss of our animal husking, or overlay, we shall 
 regain our dual biune nature, which even now exists 
 in the deeper interiors of persons of higher spiritual 
 development. 
 
 But what on earth, the reader impatiently asks, has 
 all this got to do with Leila ? The connection will 
 appear more clearly when I come to speak of the 
 relations of that fascinating lady Mahatma with 
 Urquhart ; but I may state at once that it was the 
 study and development of the two kindred doctrines 
 of the Biune Existence and the Sympneumatic Con- 
 sciousness, to which the sisters of the Occult College, 
 presided over by Leila, directed their undivided efforts. 
 It was hoped that by the use of a moderate diet, 
 consisting chiefly of pease-pudding, broad beans, and 
 lentil soup, and by a strict attention to the pro- 
 prieties, they might some day revert to the desirable 
 conditions I have sketched above, when, freed from 
 their casings of clay, their spirits might wander forth 
 to interweave themselves with the particles of the 
 male complementary beings who they knew were 
 waiting for them in some part of the universe. 
 Whether their desires are destined to be gratified or 
 not, time alone can show, I can only say that I saw 
 no signs of their approaching fulfilment during my 
 stay at Mount Atlas, for a healthier and more robust 
 set of young women I never set eyes upon. 
 
 It may readily be imagined that we were not long 
 in seeking to renew our acquaintance with Seedy 
 
CONCERNING THE DEEPER OCCULT MYSTERIES. 217 
 
 Aissa and his charming niece. On the occasion of 
 our next visit we varied our route by taking a path 
 which led over one of the spurs which ran down from 
 the central mass of the Djebel Kebeer. As the way 
 was said to be difficult to find we were accompanied 
 by one of Singmya Songo's chelas, or pupils, an 
 amiable young man about twenty-five years of age, 
 with a pale face and a very ascetic air, who was said 
 to be making rapid strides in esoteric science. By- 
 the-by, there was a curious fact connected with this 
 chela, which I think I ought to mention. He had 
 died less than thirty years before the date of the 
 events narrated in this history, but had been brought 
 back to earth-life within five years of his decease 
 through the instrumentality of Singmya Songo. This 
 was an example of those "artificial incarnations 
 accomplished by the direct intervention of the 
 Mahatmas," alluded to by Mr. Sinnett,i "when a 
 chela ... is brought back into incarnation almost 
 immediately after his previous physical death without 
 having been suffered to float into the current of 
 natural causes at all." As Mr. Sinnett very properly 
 remarks, the Mahatmas are quite incapable of " acting 
 capriciously in such a matter," so, no doubt, the virtues 
 or intelligence of our youthful guide were deemed to 
 render him a fitting recipient of so high and excep- 
 tional an honour. 
 
 In the valley next to the one where Seedy Aissa 
 lived we passed a large, handsome building of red 
 sandstone, the grounds whereof were surrounded by 
 a high wall. This proved to be the Occult College 
 for female chelas, and a little further on we were 
 
 ' " Esoteric Buddhism," p. 150. 
 
2iS THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 gratified by the sight of a procession of the charming 
 novices, all clad in robes of purest white, filing two 
 and two through a glade in the forest. It was the 
 midday promenade of the theosophic young ladies — 
 the " morning canter of the fillies in training for the 
 Biune stakes," as Gerald called it in his sporting 
 fashion. We looked to see if the fair Leila was 
 among their number, but our search was unavailing, 
 for, as we afterwards learned, she had stayed at home 
 to await our arrival, of which her clairvoyant percep- 
 tions had given her due warning. The lady chelas 
 of the Occult College struck me as being a remark- 
 ably pretty, fresh-looking lot of girls ; and their 
 plump figures, and cheeks ruddy with the glow of 
 health, seemed to afford little prospect of a rapid 
 disintegration into the fluid, incorporeal state for 
 which they were supposed to be yearning. Gerald 
 was very anxious to be introduced ; but, as it was 
 strictly against the rules, he contented himself with 
 making them a polite bow ; and I regret to say I 
 noticed a good deal of blushing and suppressed 
 giggling in their ranks as we passed. 
 
 Crossing the brow of the hill, we dropped right 
 upon Seedy Aissa's house. There we found Leila 
 walking in the garden, watering and tending the 
 flowers and shrubs which were ever the object of her 
 loving care. The mutual emotion evinced by her and 
 Urquhart on the occasion of their first introduction 
 was hardly less apparent at this their second meeting. 
 There could be no doubt that some bond of union 
 existed between them, whether it was of ordinary love 
 or some other tie of a more mysterious nature. The 
 idea, which at the time struck Gerald as fantastic, had 
 
CONCERNING THE DEEPER OCCULT MYSTERIES. 219 
 
 gradually taken possession of my mind, that Urquhart 
 had met his sympneuma, his counterpart, in these 
 distant wilds of Africa. Before the Mahatma had 
 made me acquainted with the mysterious sympneu- 
 matic doctrines, I had read of "affinities," of com- 
 plementary beings whose souls are said to be in 
 harmony, and whose life-currents blend with our own, 
 even when their material bodies are far apart. I 
 knew, moreover, that Urquhart was a firm believer in 
 the theory, and it struck me that we might have here 
 the explanation of the strange link of sympathy 
 which seemed to be so instantaneously established 
 between him and Leila. Another fanciful notion that 
 entered my head, was that they might stand to each 
 other in the relation of mesmerist and hypnotic 
 subject, or it was possible that Leila might be a 
 sensitive, or person endowed with mediumistic powers, 
 and that Urquhart had come within the zone, or 
 aura, of her magnetic attraction. There was some- 
 thing in Leila's weird and eerie personality, and her 
 dreamy, abstracted look, which forbade us to believe 
 that this was a case of ordinary love. For the present, 
 however, all was pure conjecture, and it seemed 
 little use to indulge in vague speculations concerning 
 matters which time would doubtless make more clear. 
 That an affinity of some sort existed between them, 
 and that they found pleasure in each other's society, 
 was sufficiently obvious ; and Gerald and I thought 
 that the present was pre-eminently one of those 
 occasions when two are company, and three, or more, 
 are not. Accordingly, making the excuse that we 
 wished to pay our respects to Seedy Aissa, we left 
 them together, and entered the house. 
 
220 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 When, after the lapse of rather more than an hour, 
 we came out again, we found them walking together 
 on one of the gravel-paths which wound in and out 
 among the flowers and shrubs. There was no appear- 
 ance of constraint or embarrassment in their manner, 
 and nobody could have said that they behaved in 
 any way like a pair of lovers of the ordinary type. 
 Urquhart told us that he was coming back with us 
 that evening to El Medinah, but that he had arranged 
 to return the following day, and spend a iQ\N days 
 with the merchant and his niece. Accordingly, as 
 the afternoon was wearing on, we set our faces home- 
 wards, and reached the town just before sunset. 
 
( 221 ; 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ON SYMPNEUMATIC LOVE. 
 
 Our doubts and speculations concerning the nature 
 of the relations subsisting between Urquhart and 
 Leila were finally set at rest by Sucha Row, when, 
 after our return to El Medinah, Urquhart had left us 
 to take up his abode temporarily in Seedy Aissa's 
 house. My Mahatma was not disposed at first to be 
 at all communicative on the subject, until I asked 
 him somewhat sternly what he supposed I had 
 engaged him for at a liberal weekly wage, if not to 
 keep me thoroughly posted in occult matters of every 
 description. He at once apologized profusely, in his 
 meek, submissive fashion, and stammered forth some- 
 thing about his being under vows of secrecy with 
 respect to certain things appertaining to the Hidden 
 Wisdom. At the same time, he proceeded to un- 
 burden himself of much highly interesting informa- 
 tion, which I will endeavour to present to the reader 
 as succinctly as possible. Besides Gerald and myself, 
 there were present at the interview Ali, Embarek, 
 and Mohammed. I ought perhaps to explain that 
 the latter had never acquired a taste for occultism 
 
222 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 In fact, he roundly declared it to be the quintessence 
 of bosh, and its devotees the grandfathers of all folly, 
 while his behaviour and bearing towards the Brethren 
 was wholly wanting in respect. 
 
 According to Sucha Row, Leila was, as we had 
 by this time almost grown to believe, Urquhart's 
 sympneuma, his spiritual bride, the twin soul which, 
 having once formed his feminine co-partner in their 
 original biune state, had since been wandering about 
 the spheres in search of its mate. Along with his 
 brother Mahatmas, Kikkuppa Row and Singmya 
 Songo, he had known that their planets were in con- 
 junction, and that, being meant for each other, they 
 were some day fated to come together. But the 
 Brethren had done nothing to hasten the meeting. 
 They had left it to Kismet, the destiny which marches 
 with slow but unerring steps to its end, and which 
 not even the marvellous powers of the Adepts can 
 avert, or cause to deviate one hair's breadth from its 
 course. 
 
 "Verily, my friends," exclaimed my Mahatma, in 
 his mild, benevolent way, " the communion of the 
 complementary parts of the divided Ego, which some 
 call Soul-Affinity, is a mystery hard to fathom. 
 There is a chemistry on the spiritual, as on the 
 physical, plane ; and the laws of Nature are equally 
 inexorable in either sphere of her action. As an 
 atom flies to the substance with which it has the 
 greatest affinity, so by the higher magnetism of love 
 kindred souls must sooner or later wing their ways 
 together. Like must conjoin with like — if not in this 
 world, then in other and higher spheres — when sense 
 will decay and finally disappear, and the divided 
 
ON SYMPNEUMATIC LOVE. 223 
 
 monads of the life-impulses of the Universe will re- 
 unite their component elements. I beg your pardon." 
 
 "Pray, don't stop," I remarked, as he cast a timid, 
 inquiring glance at Gerald and myself ; " we are all 
 attention." 
 
 " Unity is one thing, Dualism is another," he went 
 on. " Yet are they in certain aspects identical. Of 
 a truth, this is a mystery — one of the profound Arcana 
 of Being. It has been well said that ' the laws of 
 Matter are the potential Mathematics of the Absolute,' 
 and " 
 
 " Moulai Idrees defend us ! " broke in Mohammed, 
 who had been listening with ill-concealed impatience 
 to what he called the outrageous twaddle talked by 
 the Mahatma. " Moulai Idrees defend us ! what words 
 are these .'' Strange filth, indeed, is this we are 
 devouring. Have a care, Mr, Mahatma ; do not 
 laugh at our beards, lest haply you cat the stripes 
 of abasement, and chew the cud of mortification." 
 
 He went on to express his opinion that he had 
 never heard so much bosh talked in the course of his 
 whole life as by the Mahatmas ; and that, taking one 
 thing with another, he had eaten more dirt during 
 the few weeks he had spent at Mount Atlas than he 
 usually reckoned to consume in the course of an 
 entire year. 
 
 " Nay, brother," purred Sucha Row in his mellifluous, 
 deprecatory tones, " be not angry with me. I was 
 but about to remark that the ultimate destiny of the 
 human Ego, entangled as it is on earth in the 
 eccentricities of its own self-volition, is to free itself 
 from the trammels of Matter, and to become united 
 with the latent principle of Infinity." 
 
224 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 " Staferallah ! " growled our worthy " father of 
 cooking-pots," " this is worse than ever. Go to ! go 
 to! you son of Jehannum. Don't make an ass of 
 yourself In the name of the Prophet, what is all 
 this but bosh, humbug ?" 
 
 " Allah akbar, God is most powerful ! " interposed 
 Embarek, who had been listening with a reverential 
 air to Sucha Row's remarks ; " do not interrupt the 
 blessed Mahatma. Ma andish ras, you have no sense. 
 You have eaten of the ras ed diibbah, the hyaena's 
 head. The words of the Brother are the distillations 
 of pure wisdom, sweeter than honey in the honey-pot ; 
 but you have not brains to understand them. May 
 the condescension of the holy Mahatma never 
 diminish, and may his footsteps prosper." 
 
 " Condescension, forsooth ! " exclaimed our cook. 
 " What nonsense is this you are talking ? However, 
 it is all one to me. Go on, therefore, Mr. Mahatma," 
 he added sardonically ; "in the name of Allah, go on. 
 We have made such a plentiful meal of dirt already, 
 that by all means let us devour some more." 
 
 Embarek was about to make a suitable reply, and 
 a quarrel seemed to be imminent when Gerald, curtly 
 ordering both of them to "shut up," requested Sucha 
 Row to go on with his discourse. 
 
 " But please," he said, " let us have rather less about 
 Egos and the potential laws of Mathematics, or what- 
 ever you call them, and more about David and Miss 
 Leila." 
 
 Thus admonished, poor Sucha Row, after more 
 prefatory circumlocution, proceeded to explain that 
 Leila, though a lady, was an Initiate of a high order, 
 versed in all the deeper mysteries of occultism. 
 
ON SYMPNEUMATIC LOVE. 225 
 
 Profoundly imbued, above all, with the doctrines of 
 the Biune Existence and the Sympneumatic Con- 
 sciousness, she had awaited, with the patience born of 
 a sure conviction, the coming of her soul-mate, which, 
 her intuition told her, could not be long delayed. 
 The interval she spent in preparing to give him a 
 fitting reception. The preparation consisted chiefly 
 in the suppression, by means of a severe course of 
 penitentiary discipline, of all earthly appetites. True 
 sympneumatic intercourse is, as will be more fully 
 explained hereafter, as different from ordinary love 
 as chalk is from cheese. The physical affection 
 which we denominate passion must be rigorously 
 stamped out,^ for it is only when shorn of all desires 
 and inclinations on the plane of the senses that the 
 sympneuma can hold that soul-communion with its 
 mate which constitutes the true spiritual marriao-e. 
 Hence the probationary training which Leila enforced 
 on her pupils of the Occult College she pursued with 
 tenfold rigour and scrupulousness herself. She ate 
 next to nothing, and what little food she took was of 
 the coarsest and plainest kind. In this way she had 
 risen to the highest grades of theosophic perfection 
 and knowledge. 
 
 The sources of her inspiration were various. 
 Among them, I may mention that she frequently 
 became absorbed in trance-states, during which many 
 things visible only to the eye of the clairvoyant were 
 revealed to her. Further, Sucha Row assured us, and 
 we afterwards had his information confirmed from her 
 
 ' I am inclined to think that Count Leo Tolstoi must have had some 
 inkling of the sympneumatic doctrine when he penned his remarkable 
 work, " Kreutzer Sonata." 
 
226 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 own lips, Leila, like some other modern mystics, kept 
 a tame Genius, or Familiar, on hand, from whom she 
 received "illuminations," ^ or revelations, concerning 
 things appertaining to the astral sphere. Her Genius 
 was of the male persuasion, and he wore sapphire 
 wings and a green body — rather an inartistic combina- 
 tion, I thought ; but Genii appear to have a fancy for 
 gaudy raiment.^ My experience is that lady occultists 
 usually have male Genii, and the gentlemen female 
 ones, which is as it should be. 
 
 Another curious fact connected with Urquhart's 
 occult sweetheart, and confided to us by Sucha Row 
 under a strict promise not to divulge it to Urquhart, 
 was her age. He asserted that, notwithstanding her 
 youthful appearance, she was in reality nearly fifty 
 years old. Owing, no doubt, to her profound know- 
 ledge of the medicinal properties of Akdsa, she had 
 managed to preserve her complexion by means of 
 some occult preparation, possibly, " The Milk of the 
 Celestial Virgin," or some other similar astral cosmetic. 
 We should never have learned from Leila herself the 
 secret of her advanced age, as she was always 
 studiously reticent on the subject. Indeed, my 
 experience is that occult ladies are just as touchy 
 about that delicate question as their uninitiated sisters. 
 
 ' For information on this interesting subject, see " 'Clothed with the 
 Sun, ' being the Book of the Illuminations of Anna ( Bonus) Kingsford ; " 
 edited by Edward Maitland. I gathered many details myself about it 
 from an exhaustive treatise, entitled, "Struck by the Moon; or, Got 
 'em Again," which was written by a lay chela of the Atlantean 
 brotherhood. 
 
 * Mrs. Kingsford's Genius was "always in red." He was "a mal^ 
 and his colour was ruby." Mr. Edward Maitland's, on the other hand, 
 "is a female, and sapphire." " Clothed with the Sun," p. 279. 
 
ON SYMPNEUMATIC LOVE. 227 
 
 For instance, Mr. Sinnett records^ that Madame 
 Blavatsky "has ahvays had a dislike to telling her 
 age with exactitude, which does not spring in her 
 case from the vanity which operates with some ladies, 
 but has to do with occult embarrassment. The age 
 of the body in which a given human entity may reside, 
 or function, is held by occult Initiates to be some- 
 times a very misleading fact, and chelas under strict 
 rules are, I believe, forbidden to tell their ages. In 
 Madame Blavatsky's case the problem was somewhat 
 complicated by the fact that she had, within the few 
 years previous to my first knowledge of her, grown to 
 somewhat unwieldy proportions." 
 
 Now, whatever Leila's faults may have been, I am 
 quite sure that vanity was not one of them. Nor, 
 again, was " the problem complicated " in her case by 
 her being of " unwieldy proportions," as her supple, 
 lissom frame had withstood the ravages of time as 
 successfully as the pale roses of her cheeks. I am 
 therefore driven to the conclusion that her anxiety to 
 conceal her age must have "had to do with occult 
 embarrassment." 
 
 In the course of a conversation we had a few days 
 later, I asked Sucha Row if a belief in the curious 
 doctrines of Biunity, and their kindred theories, was 
 universal among the Initiates of Mount Atlas. He 
 replied in the affirmative, adding that celibacy was 
 considered essential to the Higher Life, and that all 
 the Adepts were single. I ventured to inquire how 
 the world was to be populated if ever the occult ideal 
 was arrived at, and nobody married. 
 
 " I admit," he replied, " that the problem of race- 
 
 * " Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky," p. 227. 
 
2 38 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 reproduction, which you have raised, is a matter of 
 deep interest .and importance. At the same time, as 
 far as present needs go, there will always be plenty of 
 people found among the ordinary ruck of humanity, 
 into whose minds the deeper truths of Being have not 
 yet penetrated, to secure us against any danger of the 
 extinction of the human species. Besides, let me tell 
 you this, that we are slowly but surely reverting to the 
 new conditions, or rather to the conditions which 
 prevailed in the infancy of the human race. You may 
 not be aware that originally procreation was effected, 
 not by ordinary physiological means, but by respira- 
 tion,^ or what hermetic science calls 'generative 
 exhalation,' and I feel confident that when man has 
 regained his biune, fluid state, the creative powers of 
 the human breath will be found fully equal to the 
 task." 
 
 I should have liked to pursue this interesting topic 
 further, but our conversation was interrupted by the 
 somewhat unexpected arrival of Leila, Seedy Aissa, 
 and Urquhart. The latter, it appeared, had persuaded 
 the merchant and his niece to leave their mountain 
 retreat and spend a few days beneath our roof. 
 They consented to come for a week, but in the event 
 their stay was prolonged, and a fortnight later they 
 
 • Mr. Laurence Oliphant tells us that "up to this time physiological 
 birth was unknown, the human race being, by means of the respiratory 
 organs, propagated in pairs, the male with the female, who formed the 
 complete being, though it was divided materially as to its surface 
 substance." The human organisms in those days appeared "in a 
 bisexual aromal form, filled with the breath of life, and acquired, 
 by atomic condensation and combination, the structural conditions 
 necessary to their growth and development." "Scientific Religion," 
 PP- 254. 255- 
 
ON SYMPNEUMA71C LOVE. 229 
 
 were still with us and their departure seemed to be 
 postponed indefinitely. 
 
 As may be imagined, a considerable portion of the 
 time which Leila could spare from her duties at the 
 Occult College was spent in Urquhart's society. 
 Their courtship, however, if such it could be called, 
 seemed to us to be of a most peculiar and unusual 
 kind. To begin with, they manifested none of that 
 desire for privacy and retirement to secluded places, 
 which engaged couples usually display. On the 
 contrary, they seemed rather to prefer that Gerald 
 and myself and the Mahatmas should be present at 
 their interviews. Urquhart, indeed, was careful to 
 explain (which was, indeed, becoming sufficiently 
 obvious) that their relations were not those of 
 ordinary lovers. For instance, as my lady readers 
 will doubtless have by this time observed, there was 
 absolutely no kissing. You, dear Madam, who read 
 diligently your three-volume novel, expect, I know, 
 at least two kisses (burning ones, too) on the average 
 per page, or you don't think you have got your 
 money's worth. But you must not look for anything 
 of the sort in this true tale of love on the super- 
 physical plane. Sympneumatic lovers never kiss. It 
 is not considered proper, and, moreover, by engender- 
 ing the grosser animal magnetism it impedes the 
 current of true spiritual intercourse. Urquhart once 
 admitted to me that he and Leila sometimes found 
 this rigorous suppression of the natural impulses a 
 matter of some little difficulty, but it had to be done, 
 though now and again, especially in the latter stages 
 of their intimacy, a sigh or a tender glance from Leila 
 reminded us that she was but a woman after all. 
 
230 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Hence, I rather think they preferred that other 
 persons should be present at their interviews, for fear 
 they should be tempted to relapse into forbidden 
 indulgences. 
 
 It is a somewhat difficult task to convey to the 
 ordinary mind an exact notion of this peculiar kind 
 of love, which, for want of a better word, and out of 
 respect for Mr. Oliphant, who first introduced these 
 curious theories to the British public, we shall con- 
 tinue to call " sympneumatic." As already explained, 
 earthly passion does not, or should not, enter into it. 
 It is, or should be, simply a matter of soul-intercourse, 
 resulting in the " mutual melting of fluid organisms 
 into heart-union." For the ultimate aim of sympneu- 
 matic lovers is the reduction of their bodies to their 
 original ethereal condition, when alone they will be 
 able to mutually permeate their fluid organisms and, 
 as Mr. Laurence Oliphant has it, to " flow interiorly 
 through each other's subsurface spaces." 
 
 This is what constitutes the true spiritual love- 
 making, and I am assured by those who have tried it, 
 and so ought to know, that it is much more satis- 
 factory than the ordinary kind. In its highest 
 development, when the original fluid state has been 
 attained, the sympneumatic lover " lives," once more 
 to quote Mr. Oliphant, " in the expanding chambers 
 of his own subsurfaces " at the same time that, in 
 some mysterious way, not to be explained to the 
 ordinary understanding, he pervades the " organic 
 realms of the subsurfaces" of the lady. His nervous 
 sensitiveness becomes abnormally developed, as " the 
 dormant inner consciousnesses of his atomic centres " 
 are awakened, and his "groping tentacles receive a 
 
ON SYMPNEUMATIC LOVE. 231 
 
 thrill which transmits itself throughout all the atoms 
 of his structure." 
 
 The above is a brief sketch of the principles on 
 which Urquhart and Leila conducted their occult 
 wooing. I do not recommend this kind of love- 
 making to persons of the average type, as they would 
 probably find it rather insipid. It is only after a 
 long course of probationary training in occult science 
 and practice that mankind can hope to rise to those 
 loftier spiritual altitudes to which Count Tolstoi, 
 Mr. Oliphant, and a few other very superior people, 
 have presumably attained. 
 
232 THE JBRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 OF THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 
 
 Several weeks passed before Seedy Aissa and Leila 
 his niece returned to their own home. During their 
 stay with us Leila never allowed her intercourse with 
 Urquhart to interfere with her responsible duties as a 
 female Mahatma and Lady Superior of the Occult 
 College, and these naturally occupied a considerable 
 portion of her time. But besides this, she often 
 absented herself for two or three days on end without 
 telling anybody where she was going to, or when we 
 might expect her return. I noticed that her uncle 
 never seemed to manifest the slightest anxiety on 
 her account during these periods of absence, nor chid 
 her when she came back. Our curiosity was naturally 
 aroused by these strange proceedings, but it was 
 some time before we could get any explanation. 
 Urquhart himself was as much in the dark as the rest 
 of us, and I am sure he felt keenly, though he never 
 said anything, Leila's reticence on the matter. We 
 asked Ali, who during our stay at Mount Atlas had 
 begun to give himself most portentous airs, if he 
 knew anything about it. He looked very wise and 
 
OF THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 233 
 
 mysterious, and said he believed that she repaired to 
 a cave high up on the side of Mount Atlas, to perform 
 certain occult rites there. 
 
 "Cave, you old ass! what cave?" interposed 
 Gerald. " It's my opinion that you're cramming us." 
 
 But the Persian persisted in asserting that such a 
 cave existed, though where it was he could not say. 
 All he knew at present was that it was called the 
 " Cave of the Elementals," but he hoped to gain some 
 further information from one of Singmya Songo's 
 chelas, with whom he had struck up a close acquaint- 
 ance, and from whom he had learned what little he 
 knew already. 
 
 We were discussing the matter when Sucha Row 
 joined us. Noticing that he looked exceedingly pale 
 and ill, I asked him what was the matter. He told 
 me that he was suffering from a bad stomach-ache, 
 which he attributed to the exhalation of impure 
 Western magnetism from the rupas of us three 
 Europeans. It is not pleasant to be told that you are 
 breeding a plague around you, but, as Mr. Sinnett quite 
 rightly says, it is this Western magnetism which the 
 Mahatmas find " so trying," that, to escape it, they 
 have to retire to the fastnesses of Thibet. I must 
 say, however, that I had never before heard of its 
 affecting the Adepts in this particular way. 
 
 I immediately asked Sucha Row if our information 
 concerning the cave was correct, and, if so, what he 
 meant by withholding it from me. On my uttering 
 the words, " Cave of the Elementals," my Mahatma 
 appeared very much startled, and, as once before, 
 stammered forth some incoherent excuses about his 
 being compelled to keep the secrets of his Order from 
 
234 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 getting out among the uninitiated. For reply, I 
 reminded him severely of his duties to me as his 
 employer, and informed him that, unless he showed 
 himself more frank in future, I should be compelled, 
 however reluctantly, to seek the services of some 
 other and more communicative Mahatma. This 
 threat had the effect of causing him to throw a little 
 light on the matter, though he assured me that if it 
 ever got to the ears of the Council of Mahatmas that 
 he had been guilty of divulging hermetic secrets, it 
 would go hard with him. The Cave of the Elementals, 
 it appeared, was a large cavern in a belt of precipitous 
 rock far up on the higher slopes of the Djebel Kebeer. 
 
 " It derives its name," he said, " from its being the 
 abode of the elemental spirits, or Dwellers of the 
 Threshold, as your English Bulwer Lytton calls them, 
 those ' semi-intelligent creatures of the astral light,' 
 who belong to a wholly different kingdom of nature 
 from ourselves. It is by command over the elementals 
 that the Adepts perform some of their greatest physical 
 feats, and that the most remarkable phenomena of 
 spiritualistic seances are brought about. Within the 
 recesses of the cave, also, dwell the larvae, or evil 
 spirits inimical to the race of man, kept in subjection 
 only by the controlling and beneficent powers of the 
 higher Adepts. There, too, are vast stores of akasa, 
 or vril, that subtle force, or essence, by whose 
 mysterious agency we Mahatmas are enabled to do 
 so many astonishing things." 
 
 '• Yes, and there, too, I suppose," chimed in Gerald, 
 "is the perennial fount of the mystic fluid, bo-vril, 
 pure beef force, or bovine essence, served hot to all 
 the leadiner Mahatmas." 
 
OF THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 235 
 
 Sucha Row shook his head sorrowfully at Gerald's 
 incorrigible flippancy, and held his peace. We tried 
 hard to get out of him where the cavern was situated, 
 but on this point he maintained a stubborn silence, 
 which neither our threats nor entreaties could induce 
 him to break. He told us, however, that the cave 
 was the resort of Adepts of the highest grade, who 
 performed there certain mysterious rites and functions. 
 As to who these Adepts were, and what was the nature 
 of their functions, we were left wholly in ignorance, 
 though I gathered that some severe initiatory ordeal 
 had to be undergone by all such as aspired to enter 
 thereon. Sucha Row himself was not of the number 
 of Initiates thus favoured, from which I inferred that 
 Leila, who had free access to the cave, occupied a 
 higher rank in the hierarchy of Mount Atlas than my 
 worthy Mahatma. Ali was of opinion that the 
 occupation of the Adepts in the Cave of the Elementals 
 related to the storing and bottling up of the akasa, 
 and conveying it down for use in the valley ; but this 
 was pure conjecture, and, as I thought, absolute non- 
 sense. The Persian, however, was successful in worm- 
 ing some interesting information out of his friend the 
 chela, which threw considerable light on the reasons 
 of the Mahatmas for prohibiting access to the cave, 
 and concealing its whereabouts. The atmosphere of 
 the cavern, the chela said, was highly charged with 
 odylic fluid (sublimated akasa), the currents of which 
 were so strong as to be very dangerous to life in the 
 case of inexperienced persons. Indeed, a legend 
 existed to the effect that once upon a time a peasant, 
 wandering on the mountains in search of some goats 
 which had strayed from the flock, had taken refuge 
 
236 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 in the cave for the night, and that, like Sennacherib 
 and his Assyrians, when he woke up next morning 
 he was a dead man. Overcome by the odic current, 
 he went off in a species of trance, during which his 
 spirit was withdrawn from its fleshly envelope, and 
 absorbed into the Absolute in the twinkling of an 
 eye. And the danger would be trebled, it was said, 
 if any two persons united by any bond of sympathy 
 or affinity, either, or both, of whom were unversed in 
 occult science, chanced to meet in the cave. For, 
 since the conditions prevailing therein were highly 
 favourable to the establishment of organic rapport^ 
 their magnetic attraction, mutually, though uncon- 
 sciously, exercised with tenfold power owing to the 
 odic currents, might cause the spirit to be drawn out 
 of the body against the will of its owner ; in which 
 case, the latter being unable to recall it without the 
 intervention of an Adept, death would almost in- 
 evitably ensue. Hence, none but Mahatmas of the 
 highest grade could with safety enter the cavern, and 
 the secret of its situation was jealously guarded from 
 the uninitiated. 
 
 All this was not particularly lucid or satisfactory, 
 and it may be supposed that we were far from resting 
 content with such meagre explanations. We deter- 
 mined, if ever the opportunity offered itself, to probe 
 the mystery to the bottom, but our researches were 
 of no avail, and for a long time we were forced to 
 remain in ignorance. It is always the unexpected 
 which happens, and how the secret was eventually 
 discovered, and our curiosity satisfied, the reader who 
 perseveres to the end of this volume, will learn. 
 
( 237 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 I DISMISS MY GOOROO. 
 
 As may readily be imagined, Gerald and I were left 
 a good deal to our own devices during the period of 
 Urquhart's occult courtship. We were not by any 
 means idle, however, and our studies in esoteric 
 science continued to make satisfactory progress. Our 
 minds were gradually yielding to that mysterious 
 fascination which occultism seldom fails to exercise 
 over those who come within the sphere of its attraction. 
 The passion for the marvellous and the inscrutable, 
 the desire of mystery, is universal among mankind, 
 and a craving after the supernatural, in one form or 
 another, is deep-seated in the human heart. We 
 chafe at the limited scope of our earthly vision, and 
 long to lift if it be but a corner of the veil which 
 shrouds from our ken the arcana of the unseen world. 
 And many there be who, less fortunate than myself 
 and my two companions, having failed to reach the 
 sources of the Hidden Wisdom, yet think they have 
 had communings with the Invisible. Even as our 
 physical gaze, after long straining to distinguish 
 distant objects, gives shape and form to the creations 
 
238 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 of fancy, so it often happens that the mind's eye, by 
 long dwelHng on what it desires to see and know, 
 cherishes the fantasies and chimeras of visions, and 
 what are termed " occult revelations," as though they 
 were living realities. For, with grief and shame be 
 it spoken, the occultism of the West has, at any rate 
 until lately, been little more than a vulgar passion for 
 so-called miracles, an unhealthy appetite, which grows 
 with what it feeds on, for " spookical " phenomena. 
 Hence it is that society from time to time falls a 
 prey to the machinations of spiritualistic charlatans 
 and manifestation-mongers. Popnhis vult decipi ; de- 
 cipiaUir. People believe such and such a thing to be 
 true because they wish it to be so ; and when the 
 public is on the feed for miracles and new religious 
 sensations, the wildest neo-nonsense is readily de- 
 voured, if only it bear the hall-mark and label of 
 occultism. 
 
 Not but what among the motley crew of charlatans 
 and occult impostors of every sort there are to be 
 found many sincere and ardent workers in the field 
 of theosophic research. The difficulty is to dis- 
 tinguish the true from the false, the base from the 
 sterling coin. To the hardened sceptic the investi- 
 gator of hidden truths can be but one of two things 
 — knave or dupe, arch impostor or transcendental 
 Juggins. Yet are these far from necessary alternatives. 
 Occultism in England has of late directed itself more 
 to the philosophical and ethical aspect of the subject, 
 and its devotees have become in a larger measure 
 weaned from " phenomena," leaving these to the 
 spiritualist and miracle-monger. Moreover, in the 
 universal craving for new forms of religious belief, 
 
/ DISMISS MY GOOROO. 239 
 
 which is so characteristic a feature of our day, 
 theosophy has attracted its full share of attention. 
 Just now doctrinal dilettantism is rife amonj^ the 
 upper classes of society. Ladies and gentlemen of 
 superior mental calibre are growing dissatisfied with 
 the old forms of belief, and are continually on the 
 look-out for some new thing in matters dogmatic. 
 Fashions nowadays change as rapidly in spiritual 
 affairs as they do in matters of dress, and every 
 person of "culture " is expected to be up in the latest 
 novelties of agnosticism. Hence, amid the wholesale 
 dispensing of doctrinal quackeries, and in spite of the 
 existing plethora of religions, there is surely room for 
 yet one more creed. In these pages the reader has 
 been introduced to the outlines of a new system. 
 It is not the system of Mr. Sinnett, or Madame 
 Blavatsky, or Mr. Laurence OHphant, nor yet of 
 Zadkielor Dr. Cummings, though it contains elements 
 common to all five. Such as it is, I confidently 
 recommend it to the notice of all who hanker after 
 " new thoughts." Perhaps some tired and hungry 
 searcher for fresh " isms," who has run through 
 Positivism, Esoteric Buddhism, Robert Elsmerism, and 
 the whole gamut of novel religio-philosophic fads, 
 may find at last a haven of rest in my Atlantean 
 Occultism. Should it bring balm to the soul, and 
 satisfaction to the intellect, of but one such " earnest 
 inquirer," my labours in the oasis of the Djebel 
 Kebeer will not have been wholly in vain. Mean- 
 while, it is time I returned to my narrative. 
 
 Our life at Mount Atlas pursued its even tenor. 
 Urquhart and Leila continued their intercourse, some- 
 times in our own house, sometimes in Seedy Aissa's 
 
240 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 charming cottage, I was bound to admit that I could 
 not regard the relations subsisting between them as 
 entirely satisfactory, and Gerald said he thought it 
 would be much better if they gave up the " sym- 
 pneumatic business," and went in for good old- 
 fashioned love-making. I fancied, too, that both of 
 them were beginning to find the forced suppression 
 of their natural impulses and affections a severe trial. 
 Leila looked pale and worried, and she sometimes 
 showed a tendency to irritability, which was by no 
 means natural to her ; while Urquhart himself wore 
 a harassed and careworn expression. 
 
 Nothing of note occurred for many weeks on end, 
 so, to avoid unnecessary prolixity, I subjoin a few 
 extracts from the journal which I kept regularly 
 throughout our sojourn in the oasis. 
 
 MarcJi 13. — Things all going wrong to-day. Leila 
 in a very bad temper, because she makes no pro- 
 gress towards attaining the Biune existence. She 
 finds her flesh " too, too solid " — it won't melt or 
 resolve itself into a dew ; in fact, as Gerald says, 
 she " gets no forrarder." Urquhart out of sorts, in 
 sympathy with Leila. My Mahatma, too, is getting 
 exceedingly trying. He has lately developed a bad 
 habit of going off into trance-states, and remaining 
 so for days on end. He turned up very late this 
 morning, presenting an exceedingly boozed appear- 
 ance. Asked him what he had been doing. He said 
 he had just emerged from a state of " ecstatic re- 
 sumption into the universal," wherein he had had a 
 radiant vision of En Soph, the All Wise (what on 
 earth's that?) Told him not to do it again. 
 
 15///. — Sucha Row more aggravating than ever. 
 
/ DISMISS MY GOOROO. 241 
 
 He won't keep still a minute. Whenever he is 
 wanted he projects himself on the astral current to 
 some distant part of the earth — a most annoying 
 practice. He has been three times to Thibet between 
 breakfast and lunch to-day, which, you will admit, is 
 a good deal too much even for an Adept. He is 
 just like a very lively flea which, whenever you try 
 and catch it, hops off goodness knows where. Am 
 afraid I shall have to give my Mahatma the sack. 
 He's eating his head off here, and does nothing for 
 his victuals. {Mem. Next time I engage a Mahatma, 
 shall let him find himself) An Adept ought not to 
 do himself too well, or he gets fat, which does not do 
 for a person who has to project himself on astral 
 currents and all that sort of thing. Besides, having 
 to find his own beer and washing (though the last 
 doesn't amount to much) exercises a distinctly sober- 
 ing effect, and helps to keep him about the premises. 
 i^th. — My Mahatma's bad example has to-day 
 been the cause of a ludicrous incident, which, however, 
 was rather nearly being attended with serious conse- 
 quences. Old All, fired with a noble ambition, tried 
 to attain moksha (spiritual progress) by getting out 
 of his rupa and absorbing himself into the Absolute. 
 The attempt was not a success, as the poor old man 
 fell down in a fit and had to be carried out and dosed 
 with akasa pills. Mohammed thinks that it serves 
 him quite right for making such an ass of himself, 
 and says that the wind has inflated Ali's brain and 
 that he carries his head much too high. 
 
 " Staferallah ! " said our cook, " if he does not have 
 a care he will become even as that father of all asses, 
 Sucha Row himself May the blessed Prophet and 
 
 R 
 
242 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 his saints keep and defend me from all such tom- 
 fooleries." 
 
 20t]i. — Have given Sucha Row a month's warning. 
 He is never to be found when he is wanted, and 
 persists in projecting himself on the astral current at 
 all times and seasons. It is useless his pleading that 
 he always leaves his rupa behind him when absent on 
 these expeditions, as my experience shows that a 
 rupa, apart from its linga sharira, is about as useful 
 for all practical purposes as a cast-off cobra-skin 
 would be to a snake-charmer. 
 
 2ist. — Am about to advertise in the Occult 
 Gazette of Mount Atlas for a new gooroo. The 
 Occult Gazette is the leading " daily" of the oasis, and 
 its circulation is much the largest of any paper in 
 these parts. In form and appearance it somewhat 
 resembles our English theosophical magazine, Z?/«y"^r. 
 The editor, who is a chela of one of the leading 
 Adepts, seems to have rather an easy time of it, 
 if Singmya Songo is to be believed. He just thinks 
 over what is to appear in his next issue, and then goes 
 to sleep in his arm-chair. When he wakes up in the 
 morning he finds his " copy " neatly written out by 
 invisible hands,^ and ready to go to press. 
 
 Running my eye down the advertising columns of 
 
 * Curiously enough, Mr. Sinnett records ("The Occult World," 
 p. 159) similar experiences on the part of Madame Blavatsky when 
 engaged on her great work, " Isis Unveiled." Sometimes when she 
 got up of a morning the "dear old lady" (thus irreverently does Mr. 
 Sinnett speak of our Western Sibyl) would find thirty slips added to the 
 manuscript she had left on her table overnight. Hence it is that 
 many good Christians are of opinion that "the old gentleman" must 
 have had quite as large a share as the " old lady " in the composition 
 of that remarkable work ! 
 
/ DISMISS MY GOOROO. 243 
 
 the Occult Gazette, I have just come across the 
 following : — " An experienced Mahatma, sober, in- 
 dustrious, honest, and tnitJiful" (he evidently makes 
 a strong point of the " truthful," no doubt on account 
 of its being so rare a quality), "seeks a situation as 
 gooroo to a single gentleman or small family. Un- 
 exceptionable references. Six years with his last 
 employer, who was finally absorbed into the Absolute. 
 Wages not so much an object as a comfortable 
 home." What on earth's the good of a comfortable 
 home, I should like to know, to a fellow who is always 
 flitting about in a disembodied state .-' However, it 
 looks like business, and I shall communicate with 
 him at once. 
 
 2yd. — Mahatma turned up to-day. Proved to be 
 none other than an old acquaintance of the name 
 of Ram Chutnee, whom we have met occasionally 
 in Singmya Songo's house. Have engaged Ram 
 Chutnee on the same terms as I did Sucha Row, but 
 gave him strictly to understand that he is not to go 
 gadding about in his linga sharira, but pay constant 
 attention to his duties as gooroo. 
 
244 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE END OF SINGMYA SONGO. 
 
 I don't know whether it was to be accounted for, 
 like the influenza, by the state of the atmosphere, but 
 a regular epidemic of astral flittings, trance-absorp- 
 tions, and other occult junkettings, set in among the 
 Mahatmas about this time. Quite the most important 
 and remarkable of these was the passage of Singmya 
 Songo's Ego-spirit to Nirvana, a feat which is only 
 achieved by the very highest Adepts, and which 
 frequently results, as I regret to say it did in this 
 instance, in putting an abrupt end to their earthly 
 career. That Singmya Songo was such an Adept, as 
 well by right of descent as by theosophic accomplish- 
 ments, will be gathered from the following particulars, 
 which I shall here take the opportunity of setting 
 forth concerning him. 
 
 It transpired that our worthy friend and host was 
 actually a reincarnation of the great Thibetan 
 Mahatma, Ihava Songto Singo, who was himself, as 
 occultists know, a material embodiment of the spirit 
 of one " Nabang Lob Sang, the sixth incarnation of 
 Tsong-kha-pa, himself an incarnation of Amithaba or 
 
THE END OF SINGMYA SONGO. 245 
 
 Buddha." ^ The records of all these incarnations, as 
 Mr. Sinnett informs us, "are preserved in the Gon-pa 
 (lamasery) of Tda-shi Hlum-po " in Thibet, and 
 Sucha Row had seen them with his own eyes. It is 
 well known that the Mahatmas have the power, when 
 they reincarnate, of guiding their spiritual Egos and 
 selecting the body into which they are about to enter; 
 and it was often a source of considerable wonder to 
 me how it was that Singmya Songo came to choose 
 such a stunted, wizened, insignificant, little fleshly 
 tenement as his own. No doubt he must have felt, 
 like Mr. Sinnett's Adept in a similar case, much 
 " cramped and embarrassed, and, as ordinary imagina- 
 tion might suggest, very uncomfortable and ill at 
 ease ; " and it is perfectly true that " re-incarnation of 
 the kind described is not a privilege which Adepts 
 avail themselves of with pleasure." 
 
 Singmya Songo was thoroughly aware of his 
 numerous distinctions, and comported himself with 
 the air of one who has to bear the burden of greatness, 
 but would willingly lay it down. Indeed, his self- 
 complacency was quite amusing at times, and he fully 
 justified Mohammed's remark that "the wind had got 
 into his brain." 
 
 The greatest pleasure in life is to be pleased with 
 one's self Conversely, the sharpest pangs are those of 
 mortified vanity. Hence, Singmya Songo, being 
 thoroughly satisfied with himself, and seldom or never 
 having his pride ruffled, was perfectly happy. Still, 
 the crowning achievement of his occult career had 
 not, up to this time, been attained. I allude once 
 more to the passage of his Ego-spirit into the 
 
 * "Esoteric Buddhism," p. 190. 
 
246 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 ineffable condition of Nirvana. Now, Nirvana, as 
 everybody knows, is the Buddhist Paradise, a sort 
 of state of negative bliss — not annihilation ^ by any 
 means, as some erroneously think, but yet a state in 
 which all individuality is lost and merged in the 
 Universal. Mr. Sinnett describes Nirvana as " a sub- 
 lime state of conscious rest in omniscience." Not a 
 very satisfactory definition, you will say, but I regret 
 that, my own Ego-spirit not yet having made the 
 passage in question, I am unable to improve upon it. 
 In Singmya Songo's case the thing happened in 
 this wise. He had for several weeks been getting 
 into a very sleepy, almost comatose, state. He was 
 continually going off into trances which sometimes 
 lasted several days, and from which his brother 
 Mahatmas found it increasingly difficult to awake 
 him. Finally, he became merged in so deep a state 
 of trance-absorption, that the unremitting efforts of 
 the Adepts to bring him round proved unavailing for 
 an entire week. Kikkuppa Row, his chosen friend 
 and associate, shook his head and expressed his 
 opinion that matters were getting serious, but it was 
 not till the eighth day that the truth dawned upon 
 them that the Mahatma's Ego-spirit had left its fleshly 
 tenement and gone off on a trip to Nirvana on its 
 own account. Now, as Mr. Sinnett points out, on 
 occasions like these " the resources of occult science 
 are strained " in order to protect the physical body 
 
 * "If any say Nirvana is to cease. 
 Say unto such they he ; 
 If any say Nirvana is to hve. 
 Say unto such they err." 
 
 The Light of Asia. 
 
THE END OF SINGMYA SONGO. 247 
 
 from decay. It was exceedingly hot, and by no 
 means good "keeping" weather, and it seemed to me 
 about even betting that the Mahatma would be 
 getting in a somewhat unsanitary state, to say the 
 least of it, before his Ego-spirit turned up again. 
 
 Kikkuppa Row acted with commendable prompti- 
 tude. He at once put himself in communication with 
 his friend's Ego-spirit, by means of the system of 
 astral telegraphy known to the Adepts, and sent him 
 an imperative summons to come back immediately. 
 But here again, as Mr. Sinnett explains, there is 
 always a great risk that, when once Nirvana is 
 attained, the Ego will be unwilling to return. In fact, 
 it is pretty certain that he will not do so unless he 
 happens to be a very self-sacrificing Ego, devotedly 
 attached to the " idea of duty in its purest abstrac- 
 tions ; " and I regret to say that Singmya Songo's Ego 
 was not of this superior sort. In reply to Kikkuppa 
 Row's summons he sent back a very flippant message 
 to the effect that (I am quoting from memory) he was 
 a jolly sight too comfortable where he was to think of 
 leaving. " Behold ! " he said, " I am luxuriating in 
 the bliss of Non-Being ! Let me tell you that living 
 in ' a sublime state of conscious rest in omniscience ' 
 is the best fun in the world. Hope you're pretty well. 
 Good-bye." 
 
 The heartless conduct of this unprincipled Ego 
 cannot be too severely reprehended, and I regret to 
 say that the consequences were all that we had feared. 
 The "resources of occult science" utterly failed to 
 preserve Singmya Songo's physical body from decay. 
 Accordingly, at the end of a fortnight his sorrowing 
 friends, fearing that if they delayed any longer they 
 
248 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 might incur a visit from the sanitary inspector of El 
 Medinah, were forced to carry him out and bury him. 
 If ever his Ego has a fancy to forego the ineffable, if 
 somewhat indefinite, joys of Nirvana, and revisits this 
 earth, he will find all that remains of his late abode in 
 the flesh beneath the green sod which luxuriates in 
 the shade of an umbrageous oak at the foot of Mount 
 Atlas. 
 
( 249 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 WE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 We had explored nearly all the environs of our 
 African home ; but the greatest expedition of all, and 
 the one upon which we had all set our hearts, yet 
 remained unaccomplished. It was obviously im- 
 possible for three Englishmen of roving and more or 
 less adventurous dispositions to live several months at 
 the base of a lofty and unknown mountain without 
 being seized with a burning desire to ascend it. We 
 had, in fact, only delayed making a start until the 
 season should be more favourable to the undertaking, 
 and the summer sun should have melted the snow 
 which, even in spring, descended far down the moun- 
 tain-side. From time to time we had made careful 
 surveys of the peak with our telescopes, and had fixed 
 upon the outlines of a route which we hoped would 
 prove feasible. The natives, of course, laughed to scorn 
 our presumptuous idea of scaling the mighty horn, as 
 natives always do laugh to scorn travellers from far- 
 off countries who come to conquer the mountains they 
 are incapable of climbing themselves. They told us 
 that a Mahatma might possibly project himself to the 
 
2SO THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 summit in his liuga sharira, but for ordinary mortals 
 to attempt such a thing- in their plain nipas, or 
 objective bodies, was little short of sheer madness. 
 None the less, we commenced to make our prepara- 
 tions, and instructed a mallcm, or blacksmith, in the 
 town to make us three ice-axes. When finished they 
 were not precisely the sort of weapons which Alpine 
 Clubmen are accustomed to use, but we had no doubt 
 about their serving our purpose sufficiently well. 
 
 It was one fine morning in June when Gerald, who 
 had long been chafing at our forced inaction, began 
 to urge upon Urquhart the desirability of our attempt- 
 ing the ascent. 
 
 " Look here, old man," he said, " it's about time we 
 began to think about making a start. The snow is 
 almost melted now, and the weather's splendid. ' II 
 faut profiter du beau temps,' as Peter Taugwalder 
 used to say to me at Zermatt ; so let's get under 
 weigh before it takes a turn for the worse." 
 
 Urquhart, who had been equally eager for the 
 expedition, was easily persuaded ; and we had made 
 up our minds to set forth early the following week, 
 when an unexpected obstacle arose. As soon as 
 Leila heard of our intention she protested strenuously 
 against Urquhart's embarking on so diflScult and 
 dangerous an enterprise. 
 
 " Surely ye are mad," she cried. " I will not have 
 you go. Verily, the mountain is sacred, and disaster 
 will surely befall him who would rashly dare to profane 
 its virgin snows." 
 
 As she spoke, the look of piteous entreaty and 
 terror upon her face was more eloquent than any 
 words could have been. It was plain that Urquhart 
 
PFE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 251 
 
 wavered in his purpose, and a look of irresolution, 
 such as I have seldom seen his features wear, passed 
 over his face. His eye wandered from the parted 
 sweetness of Leila's coral lips up to those dazzling 
 heights where the silver spear of Atlas pierced the 
 azure vault of the sky. Doubt was upon him. On 
 the one hand, there was his promise to Gerald, often 
 repeated, that he would make the ascent with him; 
 and, more potent influence still, there was the inborn 
 love of the mountaineer for his peaks, and the reluct- 
 ance to leave unattempted an ascent which would be 
 the climax and the crowning achievement of our 
 expedition. On the other hand, there was the 
 restraining force of Leila's soft, pleading voice and 
 her tearful face, which his growing love made it hard 
 for him to resist. 
 
 Gerald, seeing his friend's indecision, and being 
 himself in nowise disposed to give up the expedition 
 upon which he had set his heart, suggested a way out 
 of the difficulty. 
 
 " Look here, David," he said, " we don't want to 
 lay you under any constraint in the matter. If you 
 would rather not go, Jim and I will try Mount Atlas 
 by ourselves. I dare say we shall get on all right, 
 though of course we would much rather you came 
 with us." 
 
 " Not for a thousand worlds ! " cried Urquhart with 
 unwonted animation. " You know how particular I 
 am about there never being less than three people on 
 one rope Avhen crossing glaciers ; so don't imagine 
 I shall ever allow you two to attempt a peak like the 
 Djebel Kebccr alone." 
 
 In the end Gerald prevailed, and, in spite of Leila's 
 
252 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 tears and protestations, it was arranged that we should 
 all start together the next morning but one. The 
 whole of the following day was spent in making those 
 preparations for the ascent which are familiar to all 
 Alpine climbers. An ample stock of provisions, both 
 fresh and dried, was laid in, together with blankets, 
 cooking utensils, and other camping requisites ; and 
 two of the tents were subjected to a process of botch- 
 ing and mending, of which they stood in sore need. 
 A couple of mules were likewise ordered to be in 
 readiness for us, and we hired a \s\\o\q posse of porters 
 to carry our things up to the highest sleeping-place. 
 
 The sun had not yet topped the hills to the east 
 of El Medinah when our cavalcade started from the 
 town. Ali and two or three of our Mahatma friends 
 came to see us off, as also did Leila and her uncle. 
 Tears like big pearls coursed down her lovely cheeks 
 as she bid us farewell, and I began to think that 
 sympneumatic love could not be so very different 
 from ordinary love, after all. Old Ali was likewise 
 much moved, and, as usual, gave a minute description 
 of the state of his liver and other internal organs in 
 consequence of his emotion. He vowed that the 
 lovely Leila had made roast meat of his heart, and 
 joined his entreaties to her own in order to induce 
 Urquhart to desist from the enterprise. 
 
 " Try not the mountain, O my master ! " he cried, 
 and pointed to the northern arete of Atlas. " See 
 ye not where yon crag beetles over the dizzy gulf .-* 
 Wherefore would ye plant the footsteps of trepidation 
 upon the rocks of insecurity, and be hurled from the 
 peak of terror into the abyss of destruction .-• Verily, 
 the Father of the Nose is a rash and headstrong 
 
WE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 253 
 
 youth, who will not hearken to the dictates of 
 prudence and the promptings of ripe wisdom and 
 experience. Full well I know that my speech is but 
 as wind in your ears, and that ye will not be moved 
 thereby from your determination, for the heart of 
 obstinacy is hard and stubborn as the oak, and will 
 not readily yield to persuasion. Yet will the hour 
 come, yea, is now close at hand, when it shall repent 
 you that ye heeded neither the counsels of age nor 
 the entreaties of love. Of a truth, bitter are the 
 teachings of adversity, but by them alone can the 
 froward be guided along the paths of wisdom." 
 
 The old man's voice rose shrilly as he gave forth 
 these prophetic utterances, but they fell on deaf ears, 
 for our minds were made up. Gerald, mounting his 
 mule, bade Ali abandon the speech of imbecility, lest 
 he (Gerald) might be tempted to make black with the 
 fist of pugnacity the optics of senile garrulity ; and 
 then, the baggage animals being loaded, we prepared 
 to start. Leila turned away with a flood of tears, 
 and a deathly pallor overspread Urquhart's sunburnt 
 countenance. Seedy Aissa bade us farewell with an 
 air of grave and dignified solicitude ; the INIahatmas 
 poured their blessings on our heads ; the Moors be- 
 laboured their beasts, and we were off. Across the 
 verdant meadows, up through the myrtle groves and 
 forest glades, a long winding path led us by the cliffs 
 to the upland pastures, where sheep and cattle in- 
 numerable browsed lazily, or else lay down exhausted 
 by the heat. Two hours more, and we had passed 
 for the first time the region of vegetation, and entered 
 upon one of sterile and rocky grandeur. 
 
 The route we had selected, after a careful survey of 
 
254 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the mountain from below, lay along- the ridge of a 
 mighty spur which abutted on the north-eastern face 
 of Atlas. This spur formed the northern side of a 
 huge corral, or circular hollow, scooped out of the 
 mountain like a Pyrenajan cirque, over two miles 
 wide, and surrounded on its three sides by lofty 
 precipices crowned with jagged peaks piled one above 
 the other — Pelion on Ossa — the grim guardians of a 
 peaceful valley which nestled at their base. Above 
 these peaks, but masked partially by a screen of dark 
 rock, the region of snow and ice commenced, and the 
 water discharged therefrom leaped in a thousand 
 cataracts, pearly- white, like threads of finest lace, 
 down the cliffs of the corral. Here and there the 
 trickling streamlets were dissipated in mid-air by the 
 wind into spray, which, illumined by the sunbeams, 
 fell in a rainbow shower of ruby, sapphire, and emerald 
 hues. 
 
 Towards four o'clock the ground became too steep 
 and rocky for the mules, so, putting our tents and 
 other i7)ipediinenta on the backs of the porters, we 
 sent the animals back to El Medinah. Continuing 
 our climb upwards, we reached towards sundown a 
 bit of tolerably flat ground, and determined to pitch 
 the tents there for the night. 
 
 While the Moors busied themselves in preparing 
 for our bivouac we strolled to the edge of the cliff and 
 looked across the corral. Night was coming on, and 
 the shadows ran swiftly up the forests and the grassy 
 wolds, to where the sun shed his last roseate glow on 
 the vast snow-fields of the upper ice-region. Heavens ! 
 what a glorious spectacle ! What mountaineer could 
 gaze thereon and remain unmoved ? For " sunwards, 
 
WE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 255 
 
 lo you ! how it towers sheer up, a world of mountains, 
 the diadem and centre of the mountain region ! A 
 hundred and a hundred savage peaks, in the last light 
 of day ; all glowing, of gold and amethyst, like giant 
 spirits of the wilderness ; there in their silence, in 
 their solitude, even as on the night when Noah's 
 deluge first dried !"^ Sunset among the mountains 
 has never been described more beautifully ; and we 
 read that Teufelsdrockh (though the Herr Professor 
 was no mountaineer) " gazed over those stupendous 
 masses with wonder, almost with longing desire ; never 
 till this hour had he known Nature, that she was One, 
 that she was his mother and divine. And as the 
 ruddy glow was fading into clearness in the sky, and 
 the sun had now departed, a murmur of eternity and 
 immensity, of death and of life, stole through his 
 soul ; and he felt as if death and life were one, as if 
 the earth were not dead, as if the spirit of the earth 
 had its throne in that splendour, and his own spirit 
 were therewith holding communion," 
 
 To the true mountaineer such feelings are familiar, 
 even though he lack the eloquence to express them 
 in words. To him the peaks are a source, not only of 
 wonder, but also of " longing desire," which cannot be 
 satisfied until he has set his foot upon their snow- 
 crowned heads, and seen their glory face to face. 
 
 For a moment longer the western peak of Atlas 
 glowed like a volcano ; then, its fires suddenly ex- 
 tinguished, it stood solitarily forth in cold and grim 
 majesty. At our feet the precipice dropped some 
 thousands of feet into the corral, and far, far below 
 we could hear the tinkling of the cowbells and the 
 
 ' " Sartor Resartus," p. 106. 
 
2S6 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 voices of shepherds calling to their flocks. The brief 
 African twilight soon passed, and, as the life of day 
 ebbed rapidly away and the air grew chill and frosty, 
 we sought the shelter of our tent. Our aneroids gave 
 the height at something over I2,0(X) feet, and we 
 calculated that we had mounted nearly 5000 in the 
 course of the day. 
 
 After supper and a pipe we prepared to turn in, 
 but before doing so we went out and had a last look 
 round. The starry hosts slowly mustered in their 
 bright array, till they glittered like fire-flies in the 
 unclouded heavens, and the waterfalls gleamed like 
 sheeted ghosts in the pale moonbeams against the 
 sombre grandeur of the cliffs of the corral, and high 
 above all towered the silver glory of the horn of 
 Atlas. We could have lingered longer over this 
 sublime scene, but we had had a hard day's work, and 
 a still harder one awaited us on the morrow. The 
 torrents sang us a lullaby as we curled ourselves up 
 under our blankets, and in a few moments a chorus of 
 snores announced that, for the majority of the party 
 at any rate, the fatigues of the day were being for- 
 gotten in slumber. 
 
 For myself, no doubt owing to the exciting in- 
 fluence of the rarefied atmosphere, I could get but 
 little sleep. Urquhart, too, though as an old and 
 practised mountaineer he was less afl"ected by the air, 
 passed a restless and perturbed night, turning over 
 and over on his side and talking continually in his 
 sleep. When we got up, which was in the small 
 hours of the morning, and the Moors were preparing 
 our cocoa, Gerald rallied him on the subject, and 
 asked if he had been disturbed by nightmare. 
 
WE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 257 
 
 " No," he said after a pause ; " not nightmare — only 
 a very strange dream. What its meaning or import 
 may be I cannot say, though sure I am that it is a 
 presage of some approaching event affecting Leila 
 and myself. Methought I had wandered forth alone 
 upon the side of a lofty mountain, and I stood in a 
 vast cavern near its summit ; and as I stood there a 
 strange feeling came over me, and I was sure that I 
 was dying, though wherefore I knew not. I felt no 
 fear, and I even seemed to welcome the approach of 
 death. As life was ebbing away and my vital 
 faculties grew weaker, my psychic perceptions gained 
 abnormal strength and clearness, and my vision 
 strove to penetrate the veil which separates this 
 phenomenal world from the infinite beyond. Already 
 death seemed very near, and, standing thus at the 
 very threshold, as it were, of the astral world, I 
 became conscious of the presence of one whose 
 being was in union, and whose life-pulses vibrated in 
 harmony, with my own. I knew well that my soul's 
 mate was at hand, but it was some time before my 
 straining gaze was rewarded by the sight of the astral 
 shape of her I love. For awhile she, my life's lode- 
 star, my soul's beacon-light, stood afar off beckoning 
 to me. A strange, appealing look of love and sweet 
 sadness beamed in her eyes, and I struggled, but in 
 vain, to reach her. The magnetism which subsists 
 between kindred spirits drew me towards her, but 
 the fetters of the flesh still held me in thrall. At 
 last, as I struggled, something seemed to burst within 
 my brain, the link which bound me to the material 
 world snapped, and I was free to join her ; and our 
 twin souls were united and wafted far away through 
 
 S 
 
258 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 the outer cycles of the revolving firmament, out into 
 the furthest realms of infinite peace. And now in 
 some mysterious way we seemed each to be 
 having a double existence. In the invisible world 
 our psychic personalities seemed indwelling one 
 with another in closest communion, while on earth 
 our material bodies continued to live and move 
 and have their being as before. And I knew then 
 for a certainty, what I had only dimly conceived 
 before, that our earthly affections are gross and un- 
 satisfying compared with the true love which shall be 
 ours in the hereafter beyond the grave. All this, 
 however, appeared to me but vague and shadowy, as 
 in a dream, and I was striving to gain a clearer 
 apprehension of my strangely altered condition, when 
 you, Gerald, turning over on your side, gave me a 
 violent kick, and I awoke." 
 
 "Humph!" remarked Gerald sententiously ;"a very 
 remarkable dream, and not at all of the order of those 
 for which lobster or plum-pudding could be held 
 accountable — even supposing we had had the chance 
 of indulging in such luxuries. I am sorry my toe 
 should have brought it to a premature conclusion, as 
 the rest of it might have been more interesting still. 
 But here's the cocoa ready, and we've no time to talk 
 about dreams now." 
 
 It was two hours still before dawn, and our 
 appetites were not greatly tempted by the frugal 
 fare which was set before us. In less than half an 
 hour the meal had been finished, and then, leaving 
 the porters to carry our things back to El Medinah, 
 we three shouldered the bag of provisions, the rope, 
 and the other requisites for the final ascent of the 
 
IV£ ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 259 
 
 peak, and started alone. We had an hour's wearisome 
 tramp by lantern-Hght before a few faint arrows of 
 light, the welcome harbingers of day, appeared over 
 the desert behind us. The dull sapphire hue of night 
 yet lingered in the western sky, while a pale saffron 
 flush, which presently deepened into the orange light 
 of dawn, overspread the east. The peaks and glaciers 
 around us blushed at the first kiss of morning as the 
 sun rose and wooed all Nature with his shower of 
 golden beams. We would willingly have paused 
 awhile to gaze upon this glorious scene, but time was 
 precious, and we contented ourselves with once more 
 glancing at those tremendous heights above us, which, 
 a short time ago so cold and forbidding, but now 
 resplendent in the rays of the newly risen sun, seemed 
 to invite our footsteps upwards. With slow and 
 regular paces we plodded steadily on. Suddenly a 
 tiny white cloud, at first no greater than the puff of 
 smoke from a cannon's mouth, issued from the 
 opposing wall of the corral, and a long sullen roar, 
 like some salvo of Alpine artillery, broke the stillness 
 of the morning air and rolled reverberating round the 
 precipices. The cloud augmented in volume till it 
 shrouded half the mountain in a white veil of finely 
 powdered snow. When it dispersed we saw that a 
 huge avalanche of mingled ice and snow, detached by 
 the sun's heat from its moorings at the summit of the 
 cliff, had hurled itself some thousands of feet down to 
 the bottom of the corral, where a pile of debris, 
 heaped up against the rocks, gave us an idea of what 
 vast masses must have fallen. 
 
 Quitting finally the last traces of vegetation, we 
 crossed a desolate, rock-strewn plateau, and found 
 
26o THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 ourselves approaching a large glacier. The ice at its 
 lower end being much broken up, we took to the left- 
 hand lateral moraine, and followed its crest for a 
 considerable distance. The going was as bad as it 
 usually is upon such places, the loose crumbling 
 surface being studded with big boulders, which every 
 now and then became dislodged, and crashed down 
 the sides, threatening to carry us with them. Presently 
 the moraine terminated, and we were forced, by no 
 means unwillingly, on to the glacier, which for a short 
 time presented no manner of difficulty. After a while, 
 however, the surface of the vast frozen river grew 
 more and more broken by scracs, or hummocks of 
 ice, while higher up the ice-fall, which ran right across 
 the glacier, threatened to prove a serious obstacle to 
 our progress. At this point Urquhart called a halt, 
 and we were all tied together by the rope. The order 
 of our going was as follows : — Urquhart, as the oldest 
 and most experienced climber, had the place of honour 
 in the van ; I, being a novice in Alpine craft, was 
 placed in the middle ; and Gerald brought up the 
 rear. 
 
 Slowly and carefully we threaded our way upwards, 
 scrambling over the summits of hoary hillocks of ice, 
 or else traversing at their base, by means of steps cut 
 with the axes, the rim of yawning crevasses. In 
 these frozen valleys the outer world was shut out 
 from our view, and we seemed lost in a species of 
 equatorial polar region. All round was a wilderness 
 of icy spires and turrets, some of them hundreds of 
 feet in height ; pillars of unimaginable forms, curved, 
 straight, spiral ; long, winding grottoes and caves, from 
 whose recesses the running streams gave forth the 
 
IVE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 261 
 
 most extraordinary sounds, as though some huge 
 natural water-mill were working within ; chasms of 
 seemingly infinite depth, spanned by bridges festooned 
 with gigantic icicles, all tinged with that lovely, inde- 
 scribable glacial blue, which must be seen to be 
 realized, and which no painter has ever yet succeeded 
 in transferring to canvas. 
 
 After nearly two hours of this sort of work, during 
 which we advanced only a few hundred yards, we 
 emerged on to the upper plateau of glacier, and for 
 a time all was plain sailing. Higher up, however, a 
 second and more formidable ice-fall barred the way, 
 and, remembering the time which we had expended 
 on the lower seracs, we determined, if possible, to quit 
 the glacier and take to the rocks. On our right the 
 mountain rose in a series of precipices, some two 
 thousand feet in height, up to the final ridge, which 
 we trusted would lead us to the summit. After a 
 careful survey, we — that is, Gerald and Urquhart, for 
 I could lay claim to no mountaineering knowledge 
 myself — came to the conclusion that at one point 
 there was a feasible route up the face, and we deter- 
 mined to try it. But how were we to get off the 
 glacier ? Between us and the rocks ran a formidable 
 schriind, or chasm, of immense depth and several 
 yards in width. However, after following the schrund 
 for a short distance we were fortunate in finding a 
 natural bridge, formed by a huge boulder which had 
 fallen from the cliff and become wedged in between 
 the rocks and the ice. Here we rested half an hour 
 for breakfast, though what with the fatigue and the 
 rarefied air, it was very little that I could eat, and I 
 was surprised to see even so old a campaigner as 
 
262 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 Urquhart similarly affected. On the other hand, 
 Gerald's vigorous appetite, which rose superior to 
 every trial, was in no way impaired. 
 
 Scrambling over the boulder which bridged the 
 chasm, we tackled the rocks, and after some stifif 
 climbing, which, however, presented fewer difficulties 
 than we had anticipated, we found ourselves standing 
 on the crest of the ridge — arete, I believe, is the 
 more correct Alpine term. A magnificent panorama 
 here unfolded itself, and we had our first glimpse of 
 the habitable country on the western slopes of the 
 Djebel Kebeer, and the Great Desert beyond. The 
 mountain fell away less precipitously on this side, 
 and we looked down on a region of minor mountain 
 chains, intersected by numerous valleys branching out 
 in different directions. None of these valleys, how- 
 ever, appeared to rival in width or beauty that of the 
 Wad el Kebeer, which had doubtless been selected 
 by the Atlantean colonists on account of its superior 
 size and fertility. 
 
 After a few minutes' breathing time we began to 
 climb the arete. It was most uncomfortably narrow, 
 and broken in places by jagged teeth of rock, which 
 at times were exceedingly difficult to surmount. It 
 struck me that this sort of thing was all very well for 
 tight-rope dancers, but most unsuitable for respectable 
 middle-aged gentlemen like Urquhart and myself. 
 Here and there the ridge of snow was drifted up into 
 a knife-like edge, on which we had to maintain a 
 precarious balance. On our left was the dizzy cliff 
 which we had just ascended, on our right a frozen 
 snow-slope of extraordinary steepness descended to a 
 wide expanse of glacier over two thousand feet below. 
 
WE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 263 
 
 I felt horribly giddy at some of these places, and my 
 knees trembled so that at times I thought I must 
 fall. The feeling, however, gradually wore off, and 
 after a while I began to see that what I had imagined 
 to be giddiness was in reality nothing more than the 
 terror which is the natural result of inexperience. 
 
 Presently, our progress was barred by a rocky 
 pinnacle, which reared its head above the summit of 
 the cliff, like a turret from the battlement of a fortress. 
 To scale it was obviously impossible, for its sides were 
 smooth and almost completely vertical. On the other 
 hand, in order to turn it we should have to traverse 
 fully three yards of a perpendicular wall of rock which 
 beetled over a hideous abyss, clinging, like flies to a 
 window-pane, to such tiny foothold and handhold as 
 we could find. There was a miniature ledge, about 
 one and a half inches wide, running along the face of 
 the rock, and one or two crevices gave our finger-tips 
 something to hold on to, but it was a truly awful 
 place to pass. How we ever accomplished it I don't 
 know. I remember well, in the middle of it all, 
 taking a look down between my legs into empty 
 space, and catching a glimpse of the glacier which 
 swam in the dizzy atmosphere some thousands of feet 
 beneath us. I thought for a moment that that look 
 would have finished me. My brain reeled, and every 
 visible object seemed to dance before my eyes ; but 
 I pulled myself together, and with a desperate effort, 
 and a haul of the rope from Urquhart, who had 
 planted himself securely on the rocks above, I at last 
 found myself landed on the other side. 
 
 " A pretty nasty bit, that," Gerald sententiously 
 observed, as soon as we were all safely across. 
 
264 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 " Rather like the corner on the arete of the Zinal 
 Rothhorn — eh, David ? — only much worse." 
 
 I had never been up the Zinal Rothhorn, but I 
 thought to myself that if it was anything like the 
 place we had just crossed I would take care to give 
 it a wide berth. And yet, as my fears subsided, I 
 began now for the first time to feel the fascinations 
 of mountain climbing. I was excited and exhilarated 
 by the keen air, by the danger, by the sense of 
 obstacles surmounted, of difficulties overcome. Those 
 vast precipices, which but a short while since caused 
 a sinking of the heart, now moved me rather to awe 
 and admiration. Amid the splendours of the moun- 
 tains the mind after a time is uplifted, and becomes 
 attuned to the glorious Nature around you ; the 
 imagination is stimulated, the latent manhood within 
 you is called forth, and, the first natural sensation of 
 dread past, death itself seems to lose half its terrors. 
 In the desert I feared exceedingly to die. During 
 the simoom I contemplated the end which seemed to 
 be approaching with absolute horror. Not so here 
 among the mountains. If I slip, thought I, what a 
 glorious sepulchre is mine ! Yon silvery glacier for 
 my eternal tomb, and the vast pyramid of Atlas for 
 a headstone. It is curious, by the way, how reflec- 
 tions such as these serve to tranquillize the mind in 
 the presence of danger. Pompa mortis magis teiTet 
 qiiaui mors ipsa — "rob him of his ugly trappings and 
 circumstance, and you may regard death almost with 
 equanimity." 
 
 Surely, in these irreverent and over-busy days it is 
 something to dwell amid scenes where a sense of awe 
 and contemplation and reverence may be engendered ; 
 
WE ASCEND MOUNT ATLAS. 265 
 
 something to commune alone with Nature in those 
 sublimer aspects of hers, which, while they bring home 
 to us the utter insignificance and puniness of man, 
 engrave upon our hearts the majestic order and 
 beauty of the universe. The snow-fed cataract ; the 
 avalanche crashing down the mountain-side ; the 
 glacier creeping onwards with age-long, resistless 
 course ; the ice-spires toppling into the frozen gulfs 
 at their base ; the hurricane which sweeps around the 
 crags ; the thunder-rattle leaping from cliff to cliff 
 athwart the storm ; the lightning flash which threatens 
 to dash you from your dizzy eminence ; — all these, 
 and much more besides, seem like a reflection of 
 Omnipotence — of that Power in whose hands man is 
 but as dust and nothingness. The peak, too, which 
 soars above our heads, is it not, in a way, symbolical 
 of our best hopes and aspirations, the goal that we 
 may never reach, but the struggle after whose attain- 
 ment is at least elevating and ennobling ? 
 
 I may be lacking in the power to give expression 
 to these thoughts, but those who are true mountaineers 
 — I do not speak of climbers of the "greased pole" 
 order, but of men who love the mountains for their 
 own sake — will know what I mean. For to see and 
 to feel all these things in their true significance, 
 one must climb. At the time I am now writing of 
 I was no mountaineer myself. Nevertheless, though 
 deeply imbued with a truly British reverence for 
 every form of athletic prowess, I have always reserved 
 my chiefest admiration for the men who have dis- 
 tinguished themselves by feats of skill and daring 
 among the peaks. And this, not only because 
 mountaineering calls forth the highest qualities, both 
 
266 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 physical and mental, such as pluck, patience, nerve, 
 endurance, mutual and self-reliance, but also because, 
 almost alone among manly sports, it powerfully 
 stimulates the imagination. Wherefore, having now 
 been initiated into these Alpine mysteries, having 
 communed, so to speak, with the spirit of the 
 mountains, I say to each and all of my readers, "Go 
 thou, and do likewise." Do you desire health and 
 strength ? You will find them on the mountains. 
 Are you a man of lofty contemplation or desperate 
 imaginings.'' The peaks will supply you alike with 
 food for reflection and a field for adventure. Especially 
 is this so amonei" virgin snows and untrodden summits, 
 where the explorer is continually finding himself in 
 the presence of the unexpected and the unknown. 
 Wherefore, once more I say, "Go and climb." 
 
( 207 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 VICTORY ! 
 
 It was now getting on towards four o'clock, and we 
 were still far from the point where the arete terminated 
 in the final snow-slope which led up to the summit. 
 It was becoming more and more evident that, 
 whether we liked it or not, we were in for another 
 night upon the mountain — a night, too, which would 
 be spent under far less pleasant conditions than the 
 previous one. Any doubts we may have had on the 
 matter were speedily set at rest by the sudden appear- 
 ance of a blue-black cloud, which gathered rapidly 
 round the northernmost peak of Atlas. Soon the 
 whole sky became overcast. The wind sprang up, 
 and grew into a perfect hurricane from the N.W., 
 while a driving scud of mingled sleet and hail smote 
 our faces. A tremendous peal of thunder, followed 
 almost instantaneously by a blinding flash, caused us 
 to stop and see if any of our number had been struck. 
 Happily we had all escaped, but the electric fluid 
 could be distinctly felt playing about us, and causing 
 our axes literally to hum, which showed how real 
 had been our danger. We were evidently caught by 
 
268 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 one of those storms which come on with such terrible 
 suddenness in tropical regions. Our position on the 
 narrow arete, exposed as we were to the full force of 
 the blast, and offering a conspicuous target to the 
 lightning, was one of extreme peril. During the 
 more violent gusts we were forced to lie down at full 
 length and cling with might and main to the rock, 
 else we should inevitably have been hurled over the 
 precipice. Presently, Urquhart halted at a spot 
 where a jutting pinnacle of crag afforded some shelter 
 from the sweep and drift of the storm, and a narrow 
 ledge at its base just gave the three of us room to 
 stand together. As we took up our quarters on this 
 dizzy perch, an eagle rose scared from his eyrie, and, 
 with a rush and whirr of outstretched pinions, swept 
 by us so close as to almost brush our faces with his 
 wing-tips ; then, screaming, sailed upwards to the 
 crags on our right. 
 
 Dusk came on, and then night, but the storm showed 
 no signs of abating. The air was literally aboil with 
 driving mists and twisting, twirling snow-wreaths, 
 which eddied and danced in mad frolic about our 
 heads. The thunder roared and rattled, and the 
 lightning licked the crags with forked tongues of 
 flame, or else leaped in zigzag flashes athwart the 
 sky. Some of the lightning effects were marvellously 
 beautiful, and even the terrible nature of our situation 
 could not prevent us from expressing our admiration. 
 Now and again great rifts and chasms of fire would 
 appear in some heavily-charged cloud, and the electric 
 fluid slid down the centre in serpentine rivulets of 
 blue, eau-de-nil, or rose-coloured flame. Time after 
 time these wondrous natural pyrotechnic displays 
 
VICTORY'. 269 
 
 were repeated, and the chain, or ribbon, lightning 
 presented itself in ever-varying form and effect. 
 
 All night long we hung quivering and clinging to 
 the crag, drenched to the skin, and suffering torments 
 from the cold. We kept rubbing each other all over, 
 partly to keep up our circulation, partly as a means 
 of resisting the insidious feeling of drowsiness which 
 from time to time came over us. For from sleep 
 under such circumstances there would be no awaken- 
 ing. 
 
 For four long hours the tempest lashed us in its 
 fury, and, as we listened to the howling and moaning 
 of the wind, it seemed as though the wailing Genii of 
 the storm were issuing from their craggy caves bent 
 upon wreaking vengeance upon the rash invaders of 
 their mountain fastnesses. 
 
 Oh, the agony of that long night ! I thought 
 morning would never come. Towards midnight the 
 storm suddenly ceased, but our miseries continued 
 long after dawn had broken cold and grey on a world 
 of damp fog and trailing mists. Presently, as the 
 sun rose and gathered force, fragments of tremulous 
 vapour parted under his rays, like golden threads 
 unravelling ; and we looked down upon a billowy 
 ocean of cloud, its waves tipped here and there with 
 beams of golden light. Atlas, like a coy maiden, 
 still veiled its head ; but about its sides the mists, 
 broken up by the force of the gale, were tortured into 
 strange forms by the wind-wizard ; or else, gathered 
 in nebular masses, bank upon bank, they rolled slowly 
 up the flanks of the mountain. The air was full of 
 moisture, and the sun had not yet asserted his 
 sovereignty. From the highest horn of Altas 
 
270 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 diaphanous streamers of vapour, lit up with a pale 
 watery effulgence, floated away like pennons from a 
 ship's masthead. But their gauzy filaments gradually 
 parted asunder, and by eight o'clock all traces of the 
 storm had disappeared ; the clouds were in full 
 retreat, and the sun shone forth triumphant out of 
 a clear sky. Nevertheless, we still ached in every 
 joint, and our limbs were so stiff from long exposure 
 to the cold that we could with difficulty crawl from 
 our rocky shelf to a more comfortable resting-place 
 on the arete. Here we sat and basked awhile in the 
 sun, until our wearied bodies began to gain new 
 strength and vitality from his rays. Fortunately, 
 the " rucksacks " which contained our provisions had 
 successfully resisted the wet, and none of the food 
 was spoiled. 
 
 Continuing on our way, we found that the arete 
 grew easier as we advanced, and presently it came to 
 an end. We were now at the foot of the snow-slope 
 which formed the northern face of the final cone of 
 the mountain, whose slender, graceful outlines, like a 
 silvery spike cleaving the turquoise sky, we had so 
 often admired from below. At last we seemed to be 
 within reach of the goal of our hopes and ambition. 
 We calculated that the cone could not be more than 
 fifteen hundred feet high, and, though it was exceed- 
 ingly steep, we did not anticipate much difficulty in 
 ascending it. But we had reckoned without the 
 schnmd^ a huge rent or crack in the glacier running 
 along the base of the cone, which came very near 
 bringing our expedition to a premature end. A thin 
 cornice of snow, which partially bridged the chasm, 
 had concealed it from our view till we had arrived 
 
VICTORY! 271 
 
 almost upon the brink. It was five or six yards wide 
 at the narrowest part, and the upper lip was fully 
 three feet higher than the lower, so that, though an 
 active climber descending the mountain might perhaps 
 leap across, it was quite impossible to do so from the 
 lower side. 
 
 We searched diligently for some place narrow 
 enough to allow of our passing, but in vain, and we 
 were almost at our wits' end. True, the crevasse was 
 spanned in one or two places by white, treacherous- 
 looking snow-crusts, from which huge, jagged icicles 
 depended ; but these natural bridges were so thin 
 and rotten that we hardly dared to trust them with 
 our weight. Not knowing what to do, we sat down 
 and had breakfast. 
 
 " Look here, boys," said Urquhart, " one of two 
 things has' got to be done. Either we must turn tail 
 and make our way back to El Medinah as best we can, 
 or else we must see if any of these confounded bridges 
 will bear us. Which is it to be ? " 
 
 "Well, I'm not going back, anyhow, without having 
 a try," replied Gerard. Are you game, Jim?" 
 
 I protested that, as I knew nothing about moun- 
 taineering, I could not offer an opinion, but that I 
 placed myself in their hands, and would do whatever 
 they thought fit. 
 
 " In that case," said Urquhart, " as I am lighter 
 than you, Gerald, I will go first. Meanwhile, undo 
 the rope, you two, and leave the end long enough to 
 allow me to get across. And mind you are ready to 
 hold me tight, or else, if I go through, I shall drag 
 both of you after me." 
 
 In obedience to his instructions, we planted our- 
 
272 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 selves firmly in the snow, and, giving the rope a turn 
 round our wrists, stood prepared for all emergencies. 
 Throwing himself flat on his stomach in the snow, 
 Urquhart began to crawl slowly and cautiously over 
 the bridge. Every moment I feared to hear the 
 crack of breaking ice, and to see him disappear in the 
 crevasse ; but no, the bridge held, and in a few 
 moments he had his axe planted in the snow on the 
 other side, and was pulling himself up with it. My 
 turn came next. I experienced a curious creepy 
 sensation when I found myself over the centre of that 
 horrible chasm, crawling like a serpent in the snow, 
 with the rope tied tightly round my middle, and 
 expecting each instant to find myself suspended 
 thereby in mid-air. However, I was no less fortunate 
 than Urquhart, and passed over in safety. We were 
 more apprehensive about Gerald, on account of his 
 greater weight, and our fears proved to be not without 
 reason, for hardly had he got half-way across, when, 
 with a dull, scrunching sound, the treacherous crust 
 gave way, and he was dangling at the end of the rope 
 in the crevasse. Happily, the jerk came upon 
 Urquhart and myself simultaneously, though for a 
 moment I feared lest our united efforts should be 
 unequal to supporting his weight ; but Gerald, who 
 never once lost his presence of mind, managed to 
 get his toe in a small crevice in the ice, and so 
 lessened the strain and enabled us to haul him out. 
 
 Our troubles were now nearly over, so far as the 
 ascent was concerned, as the final snow-slope, in spite 
 of its steepness, was perfectly easy. The rarefaction 
 of the atmosphere however, combined with the sun's 
 heat, began to tell powerfully upon me. My heart 
 
VICTORY! 273 
 
 went thump, thump, against my ribs, and I was 
 forced to pause and take breath every few yards. 
 But, as at length we neared the summit, exhausted 
 as we were, we seemed to gather fresh strength at 
 this supreme moment when our long and toilsome 
 climb was about to be crowned with success. In the 
 last hundred yards the slope grew less steep, and the 
 sense of triumph lent wings to our worn-out bodies. 
 All sense of fatigue was forgotten in the delicious 
 consciousness that victory was within our grasp, and, 
 quickening our steps almost into a run, we arrived 
 breathless but exultant on the highest pinnacle of 
 Mount Atlas. 
 
 The top, which from the valley seemed like the 
 apex of a cone, proved on closer acquaintance to be 
 a narrow knife-like ridge of snow over a hundred 
 yards in length. The natural reaction from our great 
 exertions came over us, and, throwing ourselves on 
 the snow, we lay and basked in the sun, whose rays, 
 even at this vast elevation, tempered only by a 
 moderate breeze from the west, seemed to lose hardly 
 any of their power. On consulting our aneroids 
 we found that we were at a height of 18,950 feet. 
 Our spirits were bathed in a sense of profound con- 
 tentment, and, overcome by fatigue, we yielded 
 awhile to the soft influences of the sky, and sought 
 repose. But when the first feelings of lassitude had 
 passed away we rose, and, as we looked forth on the 
 indescribably glorious scene above, below, and around 
 us, fresh and more powerful emotions asserted them- 
 selves. Our hearts were full to overflowing, and, now 
 that the victory was gained, our pent-up feelings 
 burst forth, and we shouted aloud in an ecstacy of 
 
 T 
 
274 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 triumph. The romance and poetry of the peaks 
 flooded our souls, and a thousand thoughts and 
 memories surged tumultuously through our over- 
 wrought brains. All the various accidents and 
 adventures which had befallen us on our journey, the 
 scenes in desert, and mountain, and valley, passed 
 in rapid review before me. But with my exultation 
 there mingled a still deeper sense of gratitude that 
 we should have been spared to see and to accomplish 
 so much. For my own part, I had seldom aspired to 
 conquer peaks of the most ordinary description, but 
 to be among the first to stand on the virgin summit 
 of a lofty and hitherto undiscovered mountain sur- 
 passed my wildest dreams. 
 
 To describe the view from the summit is utterly 
 beyond my poor powers. Surely, never did the eye 
 of man gaze forth upon so glorious and wondrous a 
 panorama. The first things that arrested our eyes 
 were the two southern peaks of Mount Atlas, the 
 middle one a massive pyramid of snow, the other 
 triple-crested, with its eastern face falling sheer in a 
 terrific precipice of rock and hanging ice-wall. The 
 intervening space was filled by an immense glacier- 
 filled valley, or depression, whose snow-fields, dazzling 
 our eyes with their awful whiteness, and undefiled by 
 the foot of man, seemed like emblems of absolute 
 purity. We noted with delight the delicate curves of 
 the wind-drifted snow, which diversified the glittering 
 surface with faint and almost imperceptible shadows. 
 Westwards, we looked down upon a world of purple 
 mountains and forest-clad foothills, intersected by 
 complex ramifications of shadowy valleys and gorges, 
 fringed with shaggy wood, in whose depths the 
 
VICTORY! 275 
 
 streamlets glanced and glittered in the sunshine, as 
 they leaped merrily down to where the green meadows 
 lay nestling at the foot of russet-brown cliff's. 
 Turning to the east, our glance swept the crater-like 
 hollow of the corral, and between two opposing walls 
 of rock, which formed the portals of this vast natural 
 amphitheatre, we had a glimpse, as of some miniature 
 art-gem set in a dark, heavy frame, of a bit of our own 
 valley, with the white houses of El Medinah plainly 
 visible, and the Wad Kebeer winding like a silver 
 thread amid the emerald pastures and the yellowing 
 fields of corn. And beyond all this — beyond the 
 gleaming glaciers and the tall, snow-clad peaks, 
 beyond the rugged mountain ranges, and the pleasant 
 woods and meadows lying at their base, beyond our 
 lovely valley, and beyond El Medinah, with its learned 
 Brethren and its happy peaceful peasantry — illimitable 
 on every side, its vast expanses swimming in the heat- 
 burdened atmosphere, lay the huge, yellow, African 
 desert. Mount Atlas and our oasis stood forth like 
 some tiny, solitary islet, sparkling in the midst of a 
 shoreless ocean of sand, for in vain we strained our eyes 
 to discover some break or gap in its tawny waves. Far 
 beyond mortal ken they stretched away in never- 
 ending undulations, their billowy outlines and shim- 
 mering golden hues growing fainter and fainter in 
 dimly distant perspective, till they finally melted 
 away in the soft, luminous haze which veiled the 
 entire horizon. 
 
276 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE AVALA^XHE. 
 
 It was close upon mid-day, and though we were 
 sorely tempted to linger on the summit, time was 
 pressing, so we bethought ourselves of commencing 
 the descent. We had almost made up our minds to 
 take a new route down. In the first place, we dreaded 
 the risk of re-crossing the schrund, especially now 
 that the only possible bridge over it was broken. 
 Secondly, the desire of further exploring this most 
 interesting mountain was strong within us, and, 
 though we did not know what obstacles and difficulties 
 might lie below concealed from our view, we trusted 
 to the chapter of accidents to extricate us from them. 
 Fortune had always been on our side up till now, and 
 we trusted to her befriending us to the end of the 
 chapter. 
 
 Before starting, we made a careful survey of the 
 mountain. We noticed that the snow-slope on the 
 south-eastern face lay at a comparatively easy angle, 
 and if only there were no lines of impassable cliff 
 along the lower slopes, the descent on that side 
 seemed likely to present fewer difficulties than those 
 we had encountered on the way up. 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 277 
 
 Skirting the crest of the ridge of snow some little 
 distance from the edge, so as to avoid breaking 
 through the overhanging cornice, we passed on to the 
 western extremity of the summit and commenced the 
 descent. For some time all went smoothly enough. 
 The snow, of which large quantities had fallen in the 
 night, was exceedingly soft, and dissolved rapidly in 
 the fierce noontide heat. We sank in over our knees 
 in some places, while in others we were able to 
 glissade rapidly down some hundreds of yards at a 
 time. In this way we arrived in less than an hour 
 at a small plateau, which had hitherto masked our 
 view of the lower part of the mountain. Here we 
 halted a few minutes to make a fresh survey of our 
 route. The mountain appeared to be a good deal 
 escarped in places, but not more so than we had 
 expected, and we decided to make a detour to the 
 right, in order, if possible, to turn some cliffs and 
 rock-terraces which ran along the face. On the way 
 we crossed; a large couloir, or gully, half-filled with 
 snow. We could not see where the snow in this 
 couloir ended, but it evidently extended far beyond 
 the normal snow-line, which was now only a short 
 distance below us. The tempting prospect of a long 
 and easy glissade, thereby resting our weary limbs 
 and saving, much valuable time, induced us to ignore 
 the dangers which might be awaiting us at the lower 
 end of the couloir, and to trust ourselves to the snow. 
 It had been better for us had we decided otherwise. 
 What befell I will set forth in as few words as 
 possible. 
 
 We had not made many steps in the snow before 
 we noticed that it was abnormally loose and soft, and 
 
278 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 that, withal, it kept up a continual hissing, while 
 small fragments continually detached themselves from 
 the main mass and rolled down the slope. This circum- 
 stance should have been enough in itself to act as a 
 warning to us, had we been in a proper frame of mind 
 to exercise caution. But we were all too much 
 exhilarated by our successful ascent, too anxious to 
 get down with all possible speed, to pay due heed to 
 these premonitory signs of danger. Accordingly, 
 planting ourselves in the centre of the couloir we 
 made ready for a long glissade. Urquhart gave the 
 word, and we all three shot away simultaneously like 
 an arrow from the bow. We went at a rattling pace, 
 and must have covered over a thousand feet in a very 
 few minutes before we came to a stop. After a short 
 breathing-space we were off again, but we had not 
 gone far on our second venture before we saw that 
 below us the couloir dipped suddenly at a steeper 
 angle. The hissing of the snow grew louder and 
 louder as we drew near the edge of the dip, and the 
 weight of our bodies every now and then set large 
 masses in motion. Urquhart, who was in front, saw 
 our danger at a glance, and shouted loudly to warn us. 
 
 " Stop ! for God's sake, stop ! or we shall start an 
 avalanche and all be killed ! " 
 
 Digging the butts of our ice-axes into the snow, 
 we put on the drag with all the force at our command. 
 But it was too late, and our very efforts to check our 
 headlong career precipitated the catastrophe we were 
 endeavouring to avert. The pace was slackening, and 
 we had well-nigh brought ourselves to a halt, when 
 suddenly the hissing of the snow was momentarily 
 drowned by an ominous, dull, grinding sound, and a 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 279 
 
 large crack or fissure, extending from side to side of 
 the couloir, appeared in the snow a few yards behind 
 us. We were conscious of a curious undefinable 
 sensation, and, to our unutterable horror, we found 
 that the whole mass on which we stood was moving 
 slowly downwards. 
 
 " Oh, my God ! it's all over with us now," cried 
 Urquhart. As he spoke, he made a desperate effort 
 to pull himself up, but in vain, and, abandoning his 
 axe, he threw himself at full length face downwards 
 on the snow. 
 
 I can never forget that terrible moment. Over- 
 whelmed with a sense of my utter helplessness, I 
 made no attempt to stop myself, for I felt that I was 
 being borne onwards by an irresistible power to 
 certain destruction. There was a hissing sound as of 
 ten thousand serpents in concert, which latterly, as 
 the avalanche augmented in speed and volume, grew 
 into a dull, confused roar. Twice I was buried and 
 almost smothered by the falling masses ; twice I rose 
 to the crest of the snowy billow ; and, as I peered 
 through the cloud of powdery snow which, like wind- 
 tossed spray from a cataract, filled the air, the rocky 
 walls of the couloir appeared to be flying past us at 
 lightning speed. Faster and faster we sped, and I 
 performed one or two somersaults which I knew, if 
 repeated much oftener, must inevitably result in my 
 neck being broken. With a rush and a roar the 
 snowy mass swept onwards, mingled with falling 
 blocks of ice and stones. Once again I went under, 
 and again rose to the surface ; and then something 
 struck me a tremendous blow on the back of the 
 head, and I remembered no more. 
 
28o THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 When I came to I was lying on a bank of snow at 
 the foot of an overhanging rock. I tried to collect 
 my scattered senses, and to remember what had 
 happened to me, but it was some time before I could 
 gather any clear conception as to how I had come 
 there. Consciousness returned but slowly. I re- 
 member feeling a draught of cold air, which acted as 
 a cordial, and helped to bring my dazed faculties into 
 play. Then I heard Gerald's voice, and I experienced 
 an intense sensation of relief at the thought that my 
 companions were alive likewise, and that I was not 
 left alone upon the mountain, 
 
 " Oh, he'll soon be all right. The colour is coming 
 back to his face already. What a knock he must 
 have got ! It must have been one of those falling 
 stones that did it." 
 
 Then I remembered it all — our glissade down the 
 couloir, the avalanche, and the blow upon my head 
 which had caused me to swoon. 
 
 " Probably," replied Urquhart. " It's a wonder his 
 skull wasn't fractured. But look ! there are his eyes 
 opening. Hullo, Jim, old man! how do you feel 
 now ? 
 
 I replied faintly that I was all right, which was not 
 the strict truth, as I felt exceedingly weak and dizzy, 
 and my head pained me fearfully, I had received a 
 deep cut behind the right temple, and must have lost 
 a great deal of blood. However, by applying lumps 
 of snow and ice to the wound they had managed to 
 arrest the bleeding, and Urquhart bandaged it up 
 very skilfully with a couple of handkerchiefs. A nip 
 of brandy from his flask revived me considerably, and 
 I sat up and looked round. We were at the bottom 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 281 
 
 of a dark, narrow ravine, something like a Colorado 
 caiion, which trended in a westerly direction right up 
 into the heart of the mountain. Huge walls of cliff, 
 many hundred feet in height, towered above us on 
 either side, so sheer that in places they almost met 
 overhead, leaving only a thin streak of blue sky 
 visible between. The lower depths of the chasm 
 were enveloped in the profoundest gloom. From the 
 curious formation of the rocks we conjectured that 
 the fissure must have been the result of some tre- 
 mendous convulsion of Nature, by which the mountain 
 mass had been rent asunder. Shattered and con- 
 torted columns of granite, jagged aiguilles riven and 
 splintered into a thousand fantastic pinnacles, Titanic 
 buttresses carved by frost and sun and rain into the 
 most monstrous shapes, big boulders poised aloft, and 
 seemingly tottering to their fall, were tossed in wild 
 confusion about the sides of the ravine. To my 
 fevered fancy they appeared like mountain fiends 
 scowling at the rash intruders within their craggy 
 solitudes, and their terrific forms, coupled with the 
 intense gloom and the pain I suffered, caused a deep 
 feeling of despondency to weigh upon my spirits. 
 For a while I sat and brooded in silence, till I was 
 roused from my reverie by the sound of Gerald's 
 voice once more. 
 
 "Well, Jim, my boy, we've all had a pretty narrow 
 squeak, but you are the only one of us who has 
 suffered much damage. I hope you're feeling better." 
 
 " Oh, I shall be right enough in a minute," I said. 
 " But tell me what happened. I remember our being 
 carried down by the avalanche, but after that knock 
 on the head everything was a blank to me." 
 
282 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 " Well, I can't say I have a very clear idea of what 
 occurred myself," replied Gerald. " All I know is 
 that I seemed to be tumbling head over heels down- 
 hill like lightning-, and that what with the snow and 
 the rate at which we were going I was nearly 
 suffocated. I never lost consciousness, but my senses 
 were numbed so that I never felt afraid, and for a 
 time seemed to be, as it were, in a dream. When 
 I got to the bottom there was a tremendous weight 
 of snow on my chest, and I thought that I should 
 be crushed to death, but with a desperate effort I 
 managed to get myself free, and then I began to look 
 about for you and David. David's legs were sticking 
 out of the snow in a most comical way, his body 
 being covered up completely. I soon hauled him 
 out, and as soon as he had got his wind back we 
 started to find you, but not a trace of you could we 
 see. However, after a few^ minutes' search David 
 caught sight of your head appearing out of the snow 
 right up at the top of the avalanche. We had a 
 tough job to dig you out, you were so firmly em- 
 bedded ; and I can tell you it was just a stroke of luck 
 your landing head uppermost, or you would not be 
 here talking to us now," 
 
 There could be little doubt that I had had a most 
 providential escape, and I felt deeply thankful that 
 my life had been spared. Urquhart himself was 
 rather badly bruised in places, but none of his injuries 
 were serious. As for Gerald, he had escaped almost 
 scot-free. I have often noticed that if an English- 
 man, an Irishman, and a Scotchman get into a mess 
 together, it is always the Irishman that comes out 
 best. That delightfully happy-go-lucky way they 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 283 
 
 have seems to stand them in better stead than the 
 most deliberate care or prudence. 
 
 Looking up at the scene of our adventure, I saw- 
 that the lower end of the couloir down which we had 
 been shot was a steep slope of smooth, water- worn 
 rock, terminating in a drop of about ten or twelve 
 feet. Happily, the front part of the avalanche had 
 almost filled this up before we reached it, and the 
 snow had made us a comparatively soft bed to 
 fall upon ; otherwise we must all have inevitably 
 been killed. The couloir was one of many which 
 descended into the gorge on either side. They had 
 evidently been formed by the action of the water that 
 flowed down from the snow-fields above, and their 
 several rivulets united in a small stream, which trickled 
 between the boulders that lay heaped one above the 
 other at the bottom of the ravine. 
 
 It was a fortunate circumstance that Urquhart's 
 rucksack containing the bulk of our provisions, which 
 he kept firmly strapped on his back, had not been 
 lost in the fall. There was a tolerable supply of food 
 left, and for the present, at any rate, we were not 
 haunted by the fear of starvation. After partaking 
 of some of the contents of the sack, which had not 
 been rendered more savoury by the time they had 
 been kept there, we applied our minds to the problem 
 of making our escape from the gloomy prison in 
 which we were confined. Our first idea was to re- 
 ascend the couloir and make our way over the 
 shoulder of the mountain to the left of the ravine. 
 With this view Urquhart and Gerald, leaving me to 
 await their return, mounted the heap of snow and 
 debris left by the avalanche, and reconnoitred the 
 
284 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 lower end of the couloir. In a few minutes they came 
 back and reported the ascent to be utterly imprac- 
 ticable, owing to the smoothness and steepness of the 
 rocks. There was nothing for it, therefore, but to 
 descend the ravine and endeavour to find an exit 
 lower down. I was still weak from loss of blood and 
 the shock I had received, and the tramp over the 
 loose blocks of jagged rock, which every now and 
 then became dislodged and rolled thundering down 
 the gorge, was very painful to me. We had to pro- 
 ceed very gingerly, and in the steeper places par- 
 ticularly we all walked abreast so as to avoid rolling 
 stones on each other. It was necessary, moreover, to 
 keep a sharp look-out for those which now and again 
 fell of their own accord from above, and clattered by 
 us in the most alarming fashion. At the first sound 
 of these discharges of Alpine artillery we clung as 
 closely as possible to the sides of the chasm ; but one 
 stone which came leaping down and describing long 
 parabolas in the air, passed with a strange whirring 
 sound most unpleasantly close to my head. 
 
 We continued in this way for over an hour until 
 we reached a place where the gorge seemed to come 
 to an end, and far below we could hear the plash- 
 ing of water on the rocks, which told us that we 
 were on the brink of a cascade. We rolled a stone 
 over the edge, and from the sound as it fell we judged 
 the precipice to be perpendicular and of great height. 
 And now what were we to do? It was folly even to 
 think of trying to climb down the waterfall. The 
 cliffs still rose sheer on either side of the ravine, and 
 the nature of the rock in the lateral gullies which in- 
 tersected them gave little promise of their affording 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 285 
 
 US a means of escape. However, Urquhart and 
 Gerald started to try two or three of the least 
 formidable-looking ones. Being too faint and ex- 
 hausted to accompany them, I remained where I was 
 and awaited the result of their investigations. It 
 was with pain and difficulty that I had dragged 
 myself thus far, and I feared that, even supposing 
 that they found a practicable couloir, a climb up a 
 thousand or more feet of precipice would be utterly 
 beyond my powers. In half an hour my companions 
 returned, and a glance at their faces afforded me little 
 hope or encouragement. They had the same tale as 
 before to tell of precipitous rocks, worn glassy smooth 
 by the age-long trickling of the melting of the snows, 
 and affording no hold for hand or foot. And if 
 strong and active climbers like Gerald and Urquhart 
 had failed to scale them, what hope was there for me 
 in my enfeebled state ? 
 
 Gradually the horrible nature of our position 
 dawned upon us. We were prisoners in this fearful 
 natural dungeon, caught in a trap prepared of our 
 own folly, and face to face with the worst and most 
 lingering of deaths. We might, by dint of strictest 
 economy, eke out our provisions over two or three 
 days at the most, and then — the slow agonies of 
 starvation. It would have been something could we 
 have spent what brief span of life might yet be 
 allotted us in the open air, our brows fanned by the 
 breezes of heaven, and our last moments soothed by 
 the glad sunshine ; but the prospect of perishing 
 by inches in this cold and gloomy gulf, where no ray 
 of sunlight penetrated, added a new horror to our 
 situation. We shouted aloud, in the faint hope of 
 
286 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 being heard by some shepherd wandering upon the 
 mountain-side, but echo alone made jeering answer 
 to our cries. The rocks appeared to be closing in, as 
 it were, over our heads ; and their monstrous forms, 
 like petrified djins of the mountain, yet seemingly 
 instinct with life and expression, grinned down upon 
 us as though in mockery of our misery. 
 
 Two days passed, and, our food having been con- 
 sumed almost to the last crumb of stale and mouldy 
 bread, we were beginning to experience the first sharp 
 pangs of hunger. Poor Gerald, who, besides being 
 much the youngest, was also gifted with the largest 
 appetite, was becoming utteirly prostrated. His face 
 grew drawn and pinched, and great black hollows 
 appeared under his eyes. Urquhart, who never for a 
 moment gave way to despair, occupied himself daily 
 in a hopeless search for some means of exit from the 
 gorge, until sheer weakness compelled him to desist. 
 My own case was even more serious than theirs 
 owing to the injuries I had received, and I had 
 already made up my mind, ere the worst came to the 
 worst, to make a desperate effort to descend the 
 cascade. Better a thousand times, thought I, to be 
 dashed to pieces on those cruel rocks in the act of 
 striving to get free, than to surrender without an effort 
 to the slow harbinger of death. 
 
 On the morning of the third day, therefore, no sign 
 of relief or possibility of escape appearing, I an- 
 nounced my intention of reaching, alive or dead, the 
 foot of the cliff at the side of the waterfall, Gerald 
 approved of the idea, and prepared to act upon if. 
 with me. 
 
 "Yes, Jim," he said, "you are right; and I will go 
 
THE AVALANCHE. 287 
 
 with you. At least we can all die together. It is 
 practically suicide, I know, but, situated as we are, 
 there is nothing else left for us to do except to sit 
 here and die by inches of starvation. Don't you 
 think so, David '>. " 
 
 But Urquhart strenuously opposed our resolution. 
 
 "No," he cried, — "a thousand times no! There 
 may be hope yet, and in any case I for one will not 
 yield to despair, or seek in a self-inflicted death a 
 coward's refuge from misfortune. If no means of 
 succour presents itself, and if the moment arrives 
 when the last ray of hope shall have disappeared, I 
 will yet remain and meet, with such fortitude as 
 I may, the fate it pleases Heaven to send me." 
 
 The strong, steadfast, God-fearing character of the 
 man upheld him even in this hour of bitter trial. His 
 deeply religious nature shrank from the deed we pro- 
 posed, and his high courage and hopefulness impelled 
 him to continue the struggle with the grdat van- 
 quisher. Death, even to the end. 
 
 Gerald and I bowed our heads and held our peace, 
 awed into submission by our friend's quiet air of 
 authority and conviction. Yet in my heart I could 
 not help echoing Hamlet's soliloquy — 
 
 "Oh, that the Almighty had not fixed 
 His canon 'gainst self-slaughter ! " 
 
 It seemed hard, when no possible chance of escape 
 presented itself, to be compelled to prolong our 
 miserable existence in this living tomb, and to endure 
 sufferings which a single step forward might put an 
 end to. 
 
 And what those sufferings were can be more readily 
 imagined than described. The bitterness of death 
 
288 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 itself is less terrible than the anticipation of a doom 
 which the victim knows must be preceded by long, 
 lingering hours of agony. All I hoped for was that 
 the end might come as speedily as possible. At the 
 most, life could endure but a few days longer ; and 
 then we should sink into the last long sleep, our 
 miseries would be swallowed up in death, and our 
 bones would whiten in this vast rocky sepulchre. 
 
( 289 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 
 
 It was the evening of the third day. To add an 
 additional misery to the dreadful gnawing pains which 
 assailed our stomachs, a bitter cold wind sprang up 
 from the east, and whistled and moaned through 
 every nook and cranny of the gorge. In order to 
 gain some shelter from the blast we crawled a few 
 yards up a small gully in the right-hand wall of the 
 ravine, and lay down on a smooth slab of rock. 
 Night came on, and with it the most intense cold. 
 My strength was rapidly giving out, for the wound in 
 my head and the fatigues of our journey had left me 
 ill fitted to endure the cravings of famine. I was 
 seized all over my body with terrible cramps, and 
 suffered the most fearful agony, which lasted some 
 hours. Then, when worn-out nature could endure no 
 more, a feeling of numbness supervened, and I almost 
 lost consciousness. Indeed, I am certain that had it 
 not been for the exertions of my companions, who, 
 forgetting their own miserable plight, kept rubbing 
 me and supplying me with small doses of brandy, I 
 should never have lived to see the morning. 
 
 U 
 
ago THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 The night was dark, for there was no moon, and 
 the starlight was not sufficiently brilliant to illuminate 
 the recesses of the gorge. For hours on end we lay 
 huddled together on the cold slab, wondering when 
 the end would come, and longing for the time when 
 death should release us from our sufferings. It must 
 have been well past midnight, when Urquhart, who 
 was also beginning to suffer from cramp, got up and 
 began to walk to and fro in order to restore his failing 
 circulation. Suddenly he stopped, and, looking up 
 the gully, uttered a startled exclamation. 
 
 "What on earth is that? Quick, Gerald ! Come 
 here and look at that light." 
 
 Gerald with difficulty raised himself and joined 
 Urquhart, and, stimulated by curiosity, with their aid 
 I also managed to struggle to my feet. A strange 
 sight met my eyes. A film of mist had overspread 
 the sky, and it was almost pitch dark in the upper 
 part of our gully, but from the centre of a mass of 
 rock a few yards above us there issued a large irregular 
 globe of light. It was very faint, of a pale blueish 
 hue, and it shone fitfully, sometimes disappearing 
 altogether for a minute or two, like some gigantic 
 glow-worm or mountain will-o'-the-wisp. The effect 
 was peculiarly weird and awesome, and we continued 
 to regard this curious phenomenon, as long as it was 
 visible, with wonder and astonishment. 
 
 " What the deuce can it be ? " queried Gerald. 
 
 "What, indeed?" echoed Urquhart. "Probably 
 some kind of ignis fatims, though that sort of thing 
 is generally seen only in marshy land ; and, besides, 
 this light is such a curious colour. Why it should 
 appear in a place like this passes my comprehension ; 
 
WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELE MENTALS. 291 
 
 but we'll go and have a look up there to-morrow. 
 See, there it is again." 
 
 Once more for a moment the pale, mysterious light 
 shone forth, then slowly died away, and we saw no 
 more of it that night. 
 
 The morning was a great deal warmer, the cold 
 wind having dropped, and we all felt much better, 
 though still very weak. As soon as the circulation 
 was fully restored to our half-frozen bodies we 
 scrambled up the gully to the place whence the light 
 had apparently issued. We had little expectation of 
 solving the mystery of its origin, and were therefore 
 not a little astonished at the discovery we made. 
 About thirty feet above us the gully narrowed to a 
 perpendicular chimney, or crack in the rock, and at 
 the bottom of this chimney was a large circular hole 
 nearly five feet in diameter. On closer examination 
 the hole proved to be the mouth of a tunnel which 
 had been bored horizontally into the mountain. It 
 was evidently the work of human hands, and the 
 sharp edges of the rock, unworn by the action of 
 weather or time, seemed to point to its having been 
 made comparatively recently. 
 
 "Well," exclaimed Urquhart, " I should just like to 
 know what this can be. Somebody has been here 
 before us, for I'll lay anything that that hole was not 
 made by natural means. I vote we explore it." 
 
 " Yes. Why not ? " I remarked in a somewhat 
 moody way. "W^hile we are about it, we may just 
 as well die in a hole underground as down at the 
 bottom of that confounded ravine. It seems more 
 decent, anyhow." 
 
 "Come, cheer up, Jim, old man," Urquhart cheerily 
 
292 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 responded. " That knock on your head seems to 
 have depressed your spirits. For my part, I don't at 
 all see why we should take such a gloomy view of 
 the situation. That light came out of the hole. 
 Something must have caused the light, and what that 
 something is I mean to find out, if possible." 
 
 " Quite right, David," echoed Gerald, who, though 
 but a short time ago he had been overwhelmed by 
 despondency, now readily responded to his friend's 
 more cheerful mood. " Quite right. Don't let's throw 
 up the sponge yet. Who knows but what the tunnel 
 may lead us out somewhere ? Anyhow, I agree with 
 you that we may as well go and see. Have you got 
 the lantern ? " 
 
 Happily, the lantern was still intact in its case, so, 
 without further parleying, Urquhart lit it and led the 
 way into the bore-hole. The floor sloped gently 
 downwards, and by the light of the lantern we had 
 no difficulty in making our way along. The shaft 
 was bored straight into the rock, such windings as 
 there were being scarcely perceptible. Here and there 
 the roof was sufficiently high to enable us to walk 
 upright, but in most places we had to stoop slightly. 
 The walls were reeking with moisture, and an odour 
 like that from some old disused charnel-house per- 
 vaded the heavy air. Our footsteps echoed mourn- 
 fully down the long, natural corridor as we tramped 
 slowly on, and bats innumerable, scared out of their 
 sleeping-places in the rock-crevices, whizzed about 
 and fluttered, like winged imps of darkness, in our 
 faces. The further we advanced the more fearfully 
 close and oppressive grew the atmosphere, so that we 
 were forced to stop every few minutes and gasp for 
 
WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 293 
 
 breath, while the perspiration ran from us in streams. 
 Hardly could we drag our worn-out bodies along, to 
 such a state of exhaustion had famine and fatigue 
 reduced us ; yet, knowing that in the tunnel lay our 
 last and only hope of escape, we still struggled forward. 
 Sooner would we perish of suffocation here in the 
 heart of the mountain than retrace our steps back to 
 a worse and more lingering death in the ravine. But 
 the stifling heat grew greater and greater, my head 
 throbbed almost to bursting, and my brain reeled, 
 until at last, exhausted nature giving up the struggle, 
 I sank almost fainting to the ground. 
 
 " Leave me, for God's sake, leave me," I gasped. 
 " I can go no further. Do you two go on and 
 endeavour to save yourselves, and let me die here." 
 
 But the noble fellows would not hear of it, and, 
 each taking hold of one arm, they strove to place me 
 on my feet again. 
 
 " Come, pull yourself together, Jim," said Urquhart 
 in a hoarse whisper, for he could speak no louder. 
 " Try and struggle on a little further." 
 
 Thus exhorted, I endeavoured to raise myself with 
 their aid ; but all the strength seemed to have left my 
 limbs, and, my companions being unequal to support- 
 ing my weight, we all sank upon the floor of the shaft 
 together. 
 
 How long we lay there I know not ; but some 
 minutes must have passed, and I verily believe we 
 should never have risen again but for a lucky accident 
 which I shall explain presently. My strength was 
 ebbing fast ; I could scarcely breathe, and it seemed 
 as though death must be very near, when there fell 
 on my ears a low rumbling sound, which seemed to 
 
294 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 proceed from the very bowels of the earth. Almost 
 simultaneously, a puff of air from the inside smote 
 our faces, and, looking up, we saw issuing through an 
 aperture in front of us, which we took to be the 
 termination of the tunnel, a light similar to the one 
 which had attracted our notice during the night. 
 What lay beyond we could not make out distinctly, 
 nor could we see what it was that caused this strange 
 phenomenon. The air, however, revived us consider- 
 ably, and, struggling to our feet, we made our way 
 with faltering steps to the place whence the light 
 came. 
 
 Here our eyes encountered a most extraordinary 
 spectacle. We were standing at the mouth of the 
 shaft, and on the threshold of a vast cavern, dim, 
 silent, mysterious, like some ancient heathen fane. As 
 our gaze grew accustomed to the strange light which 
 pervaded the cave, we were enabled to take in the 
 details of what at first appeared to us like some 
 blurred, indistinct, and confused vision. The sides 
 of the cavern had been artificially hollowed out at 
 intervals into a number of chambers, or recesses, 
 which recalled to mind the chapels along the aisles 
 of Roman Catholic cathedrals. From the vaulted 
 roof, some seventy or eighty feet over our heads, huge 
 pointed stalactites depended. On the floor, and here 
 and there upon the walls were traced cabalistic circles, 
 triangles interlaced, pentagrams, zodiacal signs, and 
 other mystic devices. Facing us at the opposite end 
 of the cave, was another tunnel or passage, much 
 wider and loftier than the one in which we stood, 
 leading out into the open air. The daylight entered 
 by this opening, but its rays failed to penetrate the 
 
WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 295 
 
 dark recesses of the cavern, which was dimly lighted 
 by lamps of octagonal shape and quaint Oriental 
 design, suspended by long brass chaihs from the roof. 
 A fire was burning dimly in a small brazier in one of 
 the chambers at the further end of the cave, and by 
 the fitful glow of its embers we could distinguish four 
 or five white-robed figures grouped round about it. 
 Amidst their weird, unearthly surroundings they 
 seemed more like gnomes or spirits of another world 
 than mortal men, and for an instant or two we stood 
 irresolute, not knowing whether to move forward or 
 not. Urquhart, however, took the initiative on this, 
 as on most other occasions, and advanced boldly into 
 the middle of the cave. Hearing footsteps, the 
 Mahatmas — for such they proved to be — turned 
 round, and one of them, a tall, majestic personage 
 clad in a long woollen garment of spotless white, and 
 with a long grey beard sweeping to his waist, whom 
 we rightly supposed to be the chief Adept, rose and 
 came forward. 
 
 " Peace be with you," he said in deep, organ-like 
 tones, pronouncing his words slowly and with great 
 distinctness. "Who and whence are ye, and how come 
 ye within the hallowed precincts of the Cave of the 
 Elementals ? " 
 
 There was no longer any doubt, therefore, that, as 
 we had already guessed, we had found ourselves in 
 the mysterious cavern concerning which we had heard 
 vague rumours at El Medinah, and which had so 
 greatly stimulated our curiosity. We had little 
 dreamed that the mystery was destined to be solved 
 so soon and in so extraordinary a manner, 
 
 " We are three travellers from a far-off country," 
 
296 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 replied Urquhart, " and we have resided for some 
 time past in El Medinah. We lost our way upon the 
 mountain and were well-nigh starved to death, when 
 a happy chance conducted us here." And he briefly 
 narrated to the Adept the story of our adventures. 
 
 The White Brother (to call him by his proper 
 designation) listened attentively, and then, as soon as 
 Urquhart had finished his tale, he called one of the 
 subordinate Mahatmas and bade him attend to our 
 wants. At his invitation we seated ourselves on 
 couches of carved wood which stood in a corner of 
 the recess, and presently they brought us some flat 
 cakes of bread, and clear cold water in silver goblets. 
 
 Oh, the bliss of tasting that first mouthful of food ! 
 We could have devoured a dozen loaves apiece, but 
 the Mahatmas, than whom no women could have 
 shown themselves more kind and tender in their 
 ministrations, would only allow us to have a few small 
 morsels to begin with. One of them, noticing the 
 wound in my head, bathed it carefully and applied 
 some healing anodyne, which relieved the pain 
 instantly. As soon as I had eaten sparingly of the 
 bread I lay down on my couch, and, overcome by 
 weariness, soon sank into a deep sleep, which lasted 
 many hours. 
 
 It was night when I awoke. Near me were the 
 recumbent forms of my companions and two or three 
 of the Mahatmas, who, I noticed, snored as loudly as 
 any ordinary mortals could have done, the White 
 Brother in particular vying with Gerald in the 
 hideousness of the sounds he gave forth. I had lost 
 all sense of fatigue, and in its place an unaccountable 
 feeling of restlessness came over me, which impelled 
 
WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 297 
 
 me to get up from my couch. I did so as quietly as 
 possible, in order to avoid waking my companions, 
 and stole gently forth out of the recess, which was 
 strewn with Oriental rugs covered with a soft thick 
 pile, into the body of the cave. All the Mahatmas 
 (they were seven in number) were asleep except one, 
 a thin, wizened, wrinkled old man, who watched 
 beside a large brazier of peculiar shape and workman- 
 ship, which, though it stood not far from the mouth 
 of the shaft by which we had entered the cave, had 
 hitherto escaped my notice. It was three-sided, each 
 side being formed by a grinning demon's face beaten 
 out in high relief, and it stood upon three curved legs 
 terminating in feet moulded into the semblance of a 
 lion's paws. A large circle intersected by two tri- 
 angles had been traced in the rock floor, and the 
 brazier stood exactly in the centre. In it there 
 burned some substance which shed arojjnd a vapour- 
 ous glow of a pale, ghastly, blueish tinge ; and every 
 now and then, as the attendant Mahatma stirred it, 
 the flame leaped up into sudden brilliancy, illuminating 
 with its weird radiance the vast rock walls and roof of 
 the cavern. The mystery of the light we had seen 
 the previous evening was now explained, and I was 
 enabled for the first time to take in the details of our 
 new surroundings. The main entrance to the cave 
 was covered over with a heavy curtain which swayed 
 gently to and fro in the draught, and I now saw that 
 the mouth of our shaft was partially closed by a 
 massive sliding oaken panel let cunningly into the 
 rock. It was the rolling back of this panel which 
 had caused the rumbling sound we had heard in the 
 tunnel, and admitted the draught of air which saved 
 
29S THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 our lives. The shaft itself, as we afterwards learned, 
 had been bored for the purpose of vcntilatinfr the 
 cave, and the panel was kept open or shut according 
 to the temperature inside. Happily for us, at the 
 same moment that we were being almost suffocated 
 in the tunnel, the Mahatmas in the cave were also 
 getting uncomfortably hot, and so the panel was slid 
 back to admit the air. The passage was also used by 
 them sometimes in order to draw water from the 
 stream which flowed down the gorge wherein we had 
 been imprisoned. 
 
 What, thought I, are all these cabalistic signs and 
 portents ; of what nature these mystical rites per- 
 formed by the Mahatmas? What strange alchemy 
 lies hid in yon brazier with its mysterious fuel burning, 
 like the fire in Vesta's temple, night and day? It 
 was long before I was destined to become acquainted 
 with the solution of these problems, and the extra- 
 ordinary events which were soon about to be brought 
 to pass effectually banished for awhile from my mind 
 all curiosity on the subject. 
 
 The spasmodic flashes passed quickly away, leaving 
 only a faint half-light remaining, and as the flame 
 fell there rose from the brazier a thick vapour that 
 diffused throughout the cave a faint subtle odour, 
 which at first almost overpowered me with its fumes. 
 I felt weak and dizzy, my knees tottered, and I 
 thought that I should swoon. Meanwhile, the form of 
 the aged Mahatma loomed dim and indistinct as he 
 stood, like some mediaeval alchemist or necromancer, 
 beside his brazier. Denser and denser grew the fumes. 
 The figure of the Mahatma was now scarcely visible. 
 The mists curled and eddied slowly upwards, seeming 
 
WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 299 
 
 to gather form and consistency by degrees, and finally, 
 to my horror and astonishment, wreathing themselves 
 into all manner of horrible shapes — phantoms of 
 fiendish aspect, aerial monsters with leering diabolical 
 faces, and eyes glaring with malignity and hate. 
 Now one would melt away and its place would be 
 immediately taken by some other and more grotesque 
 spectre, which writhed and coiled awhile in the 
 vapour, yet seemingly formed out of it, now growing, 
 now diminishing in size, until it faded away like its 
 predecessor. These were the visualized elementals, 
 or larvae, of the cave, immaterial and impalpable, yet 
 clearly perceptible by my eyes, which the magnetic 
 currents had in some measure rendered clairvoyant. 
 I stood spell-bound gazing intently upon the appari- 
 tions. My heart grew cold with terror and the blood 
 almost froze in my veins. I thought that my imagina- 
 tion was playing me a trick, until the old Adept, who 
 likewise seemed aware of their presence, suddenly 
 turned round and, with a wave of a wand he carried 
 in his hand, caused the whole crew of shadowy ogres 
 to vanish into the vapours whence they sprang. 
 
 Presently, as the phantoms did not reappear, my 
 terror subsided, and, the former feeling of faintness 
 and dizziness having entirely passed away, I became 
 conscious of a new sensation of buoyancy and ex- 
 hilaration such as I had never yet experienced. My 
 vitality seemed higher and stronger than I ever 
 remembered it to have been before. Strange thrills 
 and prickings and tinglings, somewhat similar to those 
 produced by galvanic currents, pervaded my whole 
 organism, and my nerves were strung to their highest 
 pitch. These symptoms were, no doubt, attributable 
 
30O THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 to the odylic currents which permeated the cavern. 
 The atmosphere was charged to an extraordinary- 
 degree with magnetism, which seemed to arouse 
 faculties which had hitherto lain dormant within me. 
 My brain was filled almost to bursting with thoughts 
 and ideas utterly different from any that I had ever 
 conceived before. My imagination overleaped the 
 limits of the phenomenal world, and my mental vision 
 seemed to rove over the boundless realms of the ideal. 
 I almost felt inclined to emulate the feats of the 
 Adepts, and to try an excursion into the unseen world 
 in my astral body, and I verily believe that in the 
 intoxication of the moment, if I had not called to 
 mind the ridiculous figure cut by poor old Ali when 
 he made a similar attempt, I should have endeavoured 
 to absorb myself into the Infinite. Fortunately, 
 however, the remembrance of what happened on that 
 occasion had a distinctly sobering effect upon me, 
 and no doubt saved me from making an idiot of 
 myself. Anyhow, I gave up the idea and crept 
 quietly back to bed, and once more slept soundly 
 until long after dawn. 
 
 I got up feeling as fit and as fresh as possible, and, 
 withal, most uncommonly hungry. My head had 
 ceased entirely to pain me, and the wound appeared 
 to be healing rapidly, doubtless owing to the magical 
 properties of the balm which the Mahatma had 
 applied to it. My companions seemed no less re- 
 freshed by their long sleep, but Urquhart's face wore 
 the grave, thoughtful expression which I had seen 
 it assume on other occasions when anything had 
 occurred to perplex or trouble him. He told me that 
 he had had a repetition, in a slightly altered form, of 
 
WITHIN THE CAVE OF THE ELEMENTALS. 301 
 
 the stranee dream which had disturbed his slumbers 
 on the night of our bivouac on the side of Mount Atlas. 
 
 " What this vision may portend," said he, " I know 
 not. Yet I have in my inmost heart the same sure fore- 
 boding as before that it is a warning of some impend- 
 ing catastrophe or event that immediately concerns 
 Leila and myself What do you make of it, Jim ? " 
 
 For reply, I could only disclaim all power or faculty 
 of expounding visions, whether other people's or my 
 own, and Gerald and I both did our best to reason 
 away these gloomy notions from Urquhart's mind. 
 As for Gerald, he simply laughed at the whole thing, 
 and I think Urquhart was a little hurt by his levity 
 about what he himself considered a very serious 
 matter. In any case, nothing could shake his convic- 
 tion that the vision had been sent to him for some 
 purpose, and that it was the presage of some ap- 
 proaching disaster. At the time I am now writing 
 about I was not a believer myself in dreams or 
 dream-stories, but subsequent occurrences, with which 
 the reader will shortly become acquainted, have gone 
 far to modify my scepticism. 
 
 Nothing of note happened that day. The atmo- 
 spheric conditions prevailing in the cave operated 
 with no less force upon my companions than myself 
 They both experienced the same tingling, pricking 
 sensations, and Gerald told me that he felt as though 
 a galvanic battery was being continually turned upon 
 him. Remembering the fate, as related by Ali, of 
 the shepherd who had taken refuge' in the cave, and 
 had had the soul drawn out of his body, we were a 
 little nervous lest we might be overtaken in sleep by 
 a similar catastrophe. 
 
302 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 " I vote we get out of this beastly cave as soon as 
 we can," Gerald remarked to me. " There is some- 
 thing uncanny about it all, and I don't relish the 
 society of these Adept magicians with their mystical 
 rites, and that blue light from the brazier gives me 
 the jumps. It may be all very well for an occult sort 
 of chap like David, but it is no place for plain, 
 commonplace folk such as you and I." 
 
 However, when we announced our intention of 
 taking an airing outside, the Adepts interposed and 
 prevented us leaving the cave. The secret of its 
 situation, said they, could not be allowed to transpire, 
 and for the present we must consider ourselves as 
 prisoners within its walls. When the time for our 
 departure arrived we should be blindfolded and led 
 down to a place whence we could easily find the road 
 to El Medinah. I must admit that our captivity was 
 not of a particularly irksome nature, as the Mahatmas 
 spared no pains to make us comfortable, and all our 
 wants were strictly attended to. 
 
 The day passed and the shades of evening were 
 beginning to fall. Gerald and I were standing 
 together, thinking of nothing particular, when sud- 
 denly a shadow darkened the entrance to the cavern. 
 Looking up, we saw a ghost-like figure in long, white, 
 flowing raiment, crossing the threshold. It was im- 
 possible in the dim twilight to make out the features, 
 but something in the gait and bearing of the new- 
 comer, whom at first I took to be one of the 
 Mahatmas, attracted my attention, and impelled me 
 to go and see who it was. 
 
 Judge of my unutterable astonishment when I 
 found myself face to face with Leila. 
 
( 303 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE RE-UNION OF THE SVMPNEUMATA. 
 
 I SPOKE to her, but she heeded not my greeting, and 
 in fact seemed quite unconscious of my presence. 
 Her eyes were fixed and glassy, and she stared 
 straight in front of her like one who gazes and sees 
 nothing. Her face was very pale, and her features 
 were set rigidly and void of expression, and the dark, 
 violet-coloured hollows beneath her eyes seemed to 
 tell of great fatigue or mental anxiety. I thought 
 that her figure had lost somewhat of its old grace and 
 suppleness as she walked, or rather glided mechanic- 
 ally forward, towards a small group, composed of 
 Urquhart and Gerald and three of the Brethren. 
 Her movements and appearance were those of a 
 person entranced, and being drawn onwards by some 
 invisible power, or of one who, being hypnotized, 
 obeys unconsciously the mesmeric summons. 
 
 I shall endeavour to set forth the extraordinary 
 occurrences of this evening as shortly and as distinctly 
 as possible. Yet, when I try to recall all that 
 happened, my memory seems faint and blurred, like 
 that of a person who has received some severe shock 
 
304 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 to his nervous system, and tries in vain to gather a 
 definite impression of the cause. Even now, as I 
 think over it, the whole thing seems like a dream, 
 and if I had not the most absolute proof of the reality 
 of what I saw I should certainly have supposed 
 myself to be the victim of some strange hallucination. 
 On reaching the group in which Urquhart stood, 
 Leila, uttering not a word, nor looking to right hand 
 or left, gilded straight up to him, and, placing her 
 hands upon his shoulders, gazed steadfastly into his 
 face. She was evidently in one of those ecstatic 
 trance-conditions in which she was often absorbed, 
 and during which the secrets of the unseen world 
 were revealed to her. I knew that to her physical 
 senses her occult lover was all the time invisible, and 
 that if she saw him at all it was with the eye of the 
 clairvoyant. Yet to my fancy her love seemed to 
 shine through the mesmeric veil, and, all unconscious 
 as she was, there was something infinitely pathetic in 
 her mute, wistful gaze, like that of some dumb animal 
 that would speak could it but find the power of 
 utterance, upon the man on whom her heart was 
 fixed, and whose being was destined to form part of 
 her own. 
 
 Gently removing her arms from his shoulders, 
 Urquhart led her to the largest of the three couches 
 which stood in the recess, and bade her lie down and 
 rest. She obeyed automatically, and as she reclined 
 upon the soft cushions Urquhart arranged the pillows 
 beneath her head, and then stole gently awa)', I 
 noticed that he was deadly pale, and a look almost 
 of anguish came over his face. 
 
 "Be silent, all of you," murmured the White 
 
THE RE-UNION OF THE SYMPNEUMATA. 305 
 
 Brother ; "the maid Leila is entranced in the ecstatic 
 sleep which ye of the West call mesmeric. Albeit, ye 
 are ignorant of the true nature thereof, Let her be 
 now ; it were well she rest awhile undisturbed. In 
 due time I will exercise my occult art upon her, and 
 recall the wandering spirit to its home. Verily we 
 are in the presence of a great mystery, whereof ye 
 shall learn more hereafter. What is to be, shall be, 
 and the issue, whatsoever befall, may not be averted." 
 
 Night set in, and the pendant lamps cast their soft 
 light upon Leila's recumbent form, revealing the 
 exquisitely chiselled features, now pale and still as in 
 death, and, through the clinging folds of her white 
 drapery, the delicately curving contours of her slender 
 figure. Her eyes remained open, and she lay perfectly 
 still, and, but for her heavy breathing, like one dead. 
 Meanwhile the flame leaped high in the mystic 
 brazier, and the spasmodic jets of blue fire shed their 
 ghastly glow around. The atmosphere literally 
 coruscated with the magnetic emanations, causing 
 our hearts to leap, our veins to swell, and our pulses 
 to beat high. I do not know how far it was owing to 
 the tension of our nerves resulting from the strange 
 things we had seen and experienced, but the odic 
 currents seemed to be playing upon us with tenfold 
 force, and the strange sensations of lightness and 
 buoyancy became more intense than ever. 
 
 For a long time — I should think it must have been 
 fully two hours — we sat without speaking a word. 
 Then the White Brother rose, and, going over to the 
 couch where Leila lay, proceeded to awaken her. 
 What he did I do not know, as his back was turned 
 to us, but I did not see him make any of the passes 
 
 X 
 
3o6 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 which ordinary mesmerists make use of in order to 
 bring their subjects out of the trance-state. In any 
 case, the process, whatever it may have been, was 
 effective and almost instantaneous in its result. Her 
 eyelids moved, a faint flush of pink overspread her 
 cheeks, a strong tremor convulsed her frame, and she 
 awoke. For a moment she appeared dazed, and knit 
 her brows, and covered her eyes with her hands, as 
 though striving to collect her thoughts. 
 
 Urquhart had moved forward in the interval, and 
 when she looked up he was standing over her. With 
 a sudden cry, she raised herself to a sitting posture 
 upon the couch, and, taking his hand in hers, she 
 bent a glance full of unutterable love and yearning 
 upon him. 
 
 " Oh, heart of my heart, and soul of my soul," she 
 cried, "what is it brings thee hither? Is blind 
 chance the cause, or is the destiny which hath linked 
 our souls together now hastening to its accomplish- 
 ment? Behold, six nights ago I saw thee in a vision, 
 and thy spirit summoned mine to meet thee, and for 
 two days I wandered forth upon the mountain seeking 
 thee, but could not find thee. And yester even again 
 I saw the same vision, and I knew that thou wert 
 here, and lo ! I have come to thee." 
 
 Her voice, which was pitched high when she began 
 to speak, gradually died away in exquisitely musical 
 cadence. A cloud of doubt and perplexity settled on 
 her brow, and she once more buried her face in her 
 hands. When she removed them we saw that she 
 was deadly pale, though her features wore no expres- 
 sion of suffering. Her eyes had regained their rapt, 
 ecstatic look, and, as with outstretched arms she 
 
THE RE-UNION OF THE SYMPNEUMATA. 307 
 
 gazed intently upwards, they seemed to pierce the 
 material veil which limits our mortal vision, and to 
 penetrate the arcana of the spiritual world. Never 
 had she seemed so radiantly, so indescribably lovely 
 as now. There was something in her face not of this 
 earth, which recalled to mind those pictures of 
 mediaeval female saints and martyrs that one sees 
 in the Italian galleries. When she spoke again it 
 was in a faint, far-away tone, so low that we could 
 scarcely hear what she said. 
 
 " Oh, David, David, hold me ; I feel faint and cold. 
 Surely, some great change is come upon me. Slowly 
 it steals over my being, and even now I seem to be 
 on the threshold of another world, there to await the 
 coming of my love. Night wraps me in her sable 
 pinions, and soon I shall fall into the last, long sleep. 
 Be it so. I am ready. Fare thee well." 
 
 It was evident that, overcome probably by the 
 odylic currents of the cave, she was once more sinking 
 into the mesmeric trance. For a moment her body 
 grew rigid ; her pupils dilated, and there was a con- 
 vulsive twitching of the eyelids. Then a violent 
 trembling overcame her, her frame relaxed, and she 
 sank back upon the pillows. As she did so, her jet- 
 black hair escaped its encircling fillet, and, half veiling 
 the shapely neck and throat, fell in a raven cloud 
 about her shoulders, intensifying by contrast the 
 marble pallor of her countenance. 
 
 Urquhart, seeing her on the point of swooning, was 
 about to support her with his arms, when suddenly a 
 great change came over him, and he was smitten by 
 the same mysterious force which had overcome Leila. 
 His body swayed and reeled. His face became ashen, 
 
3o8 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 and a spasm of agony, short but sharp, passed over 
 it like a cloud, and he clutched convulsively the head 
 of the couch to save himself from falling. For a 
 moment he seemed to be resisting the spell with the 
 full energy of his potent will, but all in vain. The 
 mesmeric, or magnetic, influence, whatever its precise 
 nature may have been, was being exerted upon him 
 with a force which no human organism unfortified by 
 a knowledge of the higher occult sciences could 
 withstand. His knees gave way beneath him, his 
 grip relaxed, and he fell forward prone on the edge 
 of the couch. 
 
 Gerald, seeing his friend's plight, would have sprung 
 forward to his assistance had not the Mahatmas 
 restrained him. And indeed it was apparent that 
 Urquhart was beyond all ordinary human aid. At a 
 sign from the White Brother one of the Adepts 
 placed his now almost inanimate body on the couch 
 face upwards beside that of Leila. 
 
 And now a strange and awe-inspiring spectacle 
 presented itself to our gaze. Side by side the lovers 
 lay, perfectly motionless save for the heavy breathing 
 with which their bosoms rose and fell in unison. 
 Presently their respiration grew quicker and more 
 difficult, and at length it almost ceased. In an agony 
 of fear I cried out that they were dying, and, for- 
 getting the injunctions of the Adepts, I was about to 
 rush to their aid. But when I tried to move I found 
 that some invisible force held my limbs in thrall, and, 
 powerless to stir hand or foot, I stood rooted spell- 
 bound to the spot. For a few minutes I remained 
 thus, struggling vainly with the irresistible force, and 
 gazing intently at the sleepers, when lo ! the breath 
 
THE RE-UNION OF THE SYMPNEUMATA. 309 
 
 of their mouths seemed to gather shape and substance, 
 and hovered in mid-air above their recumbent bodies. 
 Was I dreaming? Did my senses deceive me, or 
 were those two shadowy figures, faint simulacra of 
 the human form, that I saw emanating from the 
 slumbering pair ? I rubbed my eyes and looked 
 again. There could be no doubt about it. Two 
 mystic shapes, vague, shadowy, undefinable in outline, 
 yet plain to my vision, and clearly recognizable as 
 the ethereal duplicates of Urquhart's and Leila's 
 earthly bodies. 
 
 Once more the brazier shed its gruesome glow on 
 rocky wall and floor, on vaulted roof and hanging 
 stalactite, and illumined with its weird effulgence the 
 astral figures, making apparent their identity with 
 their material prototypes. Yet were they transfigured, 
 withal, into an aspect of supernatural beauty, which 
 was awesome to behold. Again the glow almost died 
 away, and for a brief space the two spirits lingered 
 lovingly over the sleepers, as though loth finally to 
 quit their earthly tenements ; then, parting from 
 them, they slowly floated obliquely upwards towards 
 the further end of the cave. As they neared the 
 gloom which enshrouded the lofty roof the mystic 
 figures were wafted closer together, till to our strain- 
 ing eyes they almost seemed to blend, and at last, 
 marvellous to relate, they melted one into another. 
 Then did it seem as though, in Tennyson's words — 
 
 ** The mortal limits of the Self were loosed 
 And passed into the Nameless, as a cloud 
 Melts into heaven. 
 
 For fainter and fainter grew the mingled shapes, until 
 finally they faded away in the encircling darkness ; 
 
3IO THE BliETIIREy OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 and thus floating through the gates of the visible 
 world, these twin spirits of the astral ether, radiantly 
 beautiful, their union now made complete, passed out 
 into the infinite ocean of the Unseen. 
 
 For a moment I stood dazed and bewildered. I 
 felt as though I had been in a swoon, or had received 
 some severe mental shock. My faculties were 
 stunned ; my mind was a blank, and I strove in vain 
 to shape clearly in my mind what had occurred. A 
 thousand wild, confused ideas were conjured up in 
 my fevered brain. My temples throbbed almost to 
 bursting, and I felt that unless something occurred to 
 relieve the strain I must go mad. One burning desire> 
 and one only, possessed me — namely, to get out of 
 the cave as soon as possible, and I was utterly 
 oblivious of what was going on around me. I 
 was roused from my stupor by a sound of sup- 
 pressed sobbing behind me. It was Gerald, who, 
 burying his face in his hands, had burst into an un- 
 controllable fit of weeping. He had loved his friend 
 with more than a brother's love, and the parting, 
 which he feared was for ever, was more than he 
 could bear. 
 
 Seeing his distress, the White Brother approached 
 him, and, laying his hand gently upon his shoulder, 
 spoke as follows : — 
 
 " Be comforted, my brother. Our friends are not 
 dead ; they do but sleep for awhile. When their 
 spirits shall have accomplished their appointed course 
 in the astral spheres they will return to finish their 
 earthly probation, and reinhabit their tenements of 
 clay. The re-union of the twin souls whereof ye 
 
THE RE-UNION OF THE SYMPNEUMATA. 311 
 
 have been witnesses is but temporary, and needs 
 must they be again dissevered in order to complete, 
 in this ephemeral world of causes, what span of life 
 may yet be allotted them. Behold, their hour is not 
 yet come, nay, shall not come until Destiny, with whom 
 Death himself cannot war, shall have marched with 
 slow foot to its end. Till then the bodies cannot 
 perish, but will await hefe the return of their quicken- 
 ing spirits." 
 
 So saying, he led Gerald gently by the arm, and 
 bade him lie down upon his couch and repose awhile. 
 Gerald obeyed like a child, and, indeed, it was 
 apparent that, as he told me afterwards, he was 
 stupefied like myself, and hardly knew what he was 
 doing. I, too, prepared to seek the rest which I felt 
 I sorely needed, but before doing so I turned to cast 
 one last glance upon the entranced forms of Urquhart 
 and Leila. There they lay, pale and still as the dead, 
 yet was there nothing else death-like in their appear- 
 ance. The bodies were not stiff, and Leila's in par- 
 ticular seemed to retain all its former pliancy and 
 willowy grace. The look of suffering had vanished 
 completely from Urquhart's face, and his rugged 
 features, now calm and peaceful in the mesmeric 
 slumber, appeared almost beautiful in their placid 
 serenity. Leila's lips were parted, and the faint, 
 sweet semblance of a smile yet lingered on their 
 tender curves. The great lustrous eyes were now 
 veiled beneath the drooping, satin lids. Her snow- 
 white arms were half bare and crossed upon her 
 bosom, and the dark masses of hair lay heaped in 
 glossy waves about the pillow, forming a splendid 
 setting for the pale, almost unearthly, beauty of her 
 
312 THE BRETHREN OF MOUNT ATLAS. 
 
 upturned countenance. I thought of the lines in 
 Shelley's fantasy — ^ 
 
 "And there the bodies lay, age after age, 
 Mute, breathing, warm, and undecaying, 
 
 Like one asleep in a green hermitage, 
 
 With gentle sleep about its eyelids playing, 
 
 And living in its dreams beyond the rage 
 Of death or life." 
 
 And as I gazed upon them I tried to form in my 
 mind some coherent notion of what had happened, 
 and to find, if possible, some explanation of the mar- 
 vellous phenomena we had witnessed. The severance 
 of soul from body I imagined to be due, in some 
 mysterious way, to the magnetic action of the currents 
 of odylic fluid. I remembered, too, that All's chela 
 friend had told him how the force of their emanations 
 would be augmented tenfold in the case of persons 
 united, like Urquhart and Leila, by strong ties of 
 soul-affinity. But the final melting of the two astral 
 shapes one into the other — what could have been the 
 true cause or import thereof ? Was this the blending 
 of spirit with spirit — the consummation of the sym- 
 pneumatic wedlock, as explained to us by the Brethren 
 of Mount Atlas, and foreshadowed in Urquhart's 
 dream ? Had we beheld with our very eyes the 
 re-union of the complementary essences, the twin Egos 
 disjoined temporarily in earth-life, into the biune 
 man-woman of the earliest days of the human race ? 
 It seemed useless to conjecture, and my wearied brain 
 was unequal to the task of following out the train of 
 thought which these mysterious occurrences suggested. 
 Accordingly, worn out by the fatigues and the 
 
 ' "The Witch of Atlas." 
 
THE RE- UNION OF THE SYMPNEUMATA. 313 
 
 harrowing experiences of the last few days, I stretched 
 myself on my couch and sought to forget them in 
 slumber. 
 
 It was early morning, and the soft grey light of 
 dawn was creeping into the cave, when I was aroused 
 by one of the Brethren, who bade Gerald and myself 
 rise and come forth with him. I got up mechanically, 
 my eyes filled with sleep, and hardly knowing what 
 I was doing. Gerald was already up, and it was with 
 intense relief that we learned that we were to be 
 allowed to leave the cave and return to El Medinah. 
 At the mouth of the cavern bandages were placed 
 over our eyes, and we were led forth blindfold far 
 down the mountain-side. After we had continued in 
 this way for some hours we turned suddenly to the 
 left, and then, our bandages being removed, we found 
 ourselves on a path leading down a narrow glen, 
 which, the Mahatma told us, would conduct us to the 
 valley of the Wad Kebeer. Here we rested awhile ; 
 then, bidding our guide farewell, we proceeded on our 
 way, and arrived late in the evening at El Medinah. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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