It Is
Believed That When The Mourners Have Retired Seven Paces From The Grave
Two Angels Enter Upon Inquisitorial Functions.
When death is seen to be
approaching, the dying person is directed to repeat a short form of
confession of his faith in the unity of God; and if he is unable, it is
recited for him.
The offices of washing and shrouding the dead are
religious ceremonies, and are performed by one of the officials of the
mosque. The influence of the great Prophet of Arabia is wonderfully
enduring.
This letter, which began among sun-birds and butterflies, has got into
a dismal groove, out of which I must rescue it, but it is difficult to
give any consecutive account of anything when the fascinating Eblis
murmurs ouf! ouf! sits on my writing book, takes my pen out of my hand,
makes these scrawls which I fear will make my writing illegible, and
claims constant attention.
The Royal Elephant is a noble animal. His docility is perfect. He
climbed up and down places so steep that a good horse would have
bungled at them, pulled down trees when he was told to do it, held
others which were slanting dangerously across the track high above our
heads till we had safely passed under them, lifted fallen trees out of
his way, or took huge steps over them, and slid down a steep bank into
the Perak with great dexterity. He was told to take a banana tree for
his dinner, and he broke off the tough thick stem just above the ground
as if it had been a stick, then neatly stripped the eight-foot leaves,
and holding the thick end of each stalk under his foot, stripped off
the whole leaf on each side of the midrib, and then, with the dexterity
of a monkey peeling a banana, he peeled off the thick rind from the
stem, and revelled in the juices of the soft inside.
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