An Arabian Druid in Paris

1905

Strange mystics are discovered in Paris every now and again. The latest is described as an Arabian Druid who inhabited the Rue de la Michodiere, a street in the center of the city.

His neighbors were startled at midnight to hear weird and discordant sounds issuing from the dwelling of Ali Bonem, followed by ritualistic incantations and liturgical chantings, alternatively plaintive and fierce. The reflection of flames was also observed.

When the door was burst open by the police a man of huge stature was seen, clothed in a long white sheet, his eyes rolling wildly, and in his hand a bloodstained knife. Around him a number of wax candles shed a mystic light, and on a piano, which had served as an altar, lay a disemboweled lamb. As a measure of precaution Al Bonem, the high priest, has been taken into custody. — London Globe.


Honesty Carried to Extremes

An American millionaire while driving an automobile in France ran over and killed a dog. Near the scene of the accident was a peasant, presumably the owner of the dog. To him the millionaire gave a bank note. But the peasant was not the owner of the dog and he was honest, but before he could make up his mind to return the money the automobile and its driver were beyond recall.

None the less the peasant would not keep the bill, and when the automobilist next rode past that place some months later he discovered the dog's skeleton at the side of the road with the bank note attached to it and a penciled line calling attention to the mistake.

Arab Horses

1900

So much has been written about the respect of an Arab for his horse that it is natural to think of the Arab steed as peculiarly delicate and sensitive to adverse influences. This is not the case. The wants of an Arab horse are few, and he will maintain his health and spirits under conditions which other horses could never endure.

Indeed, not only can he put up with hardships at a pinch, but he actually deteriorates if too carefully tended. This has been proved again and again by purchasers who have refused to believe the usual three feeds of grain a day to be too much, or the morning hour of walking exercise too little.

The fact is that an Arab is naturally so high-spirited, and so difficult to tire, that even a single feed of corn is excessive unless he is being subjected to exceptionally hard work. He will answer every requirement as a hunter, if his food is restricted to hay, or even to grass. In the summer he thrives best when he has the run of a paddock, and can regulate his own food and exercise.

These remarks apply to the ordinary Arab horse in every-day life. What a picked animal can do when put upon his mettle is almost beyond belief. An officer recently returned from the Sudan says that after a ride of eight hundred miles his horse showed no signs of overwork, although he had cast all his shoes before a quarter of the journey was accomplished. Many of the camels had died on the way, and others had suffered severely, but the Arab horse was unhurt.

It was an Arab that, at Firozpur, carried one hundred and forty-six pounds and won a ten-mile race in twenty-five minutes, a feat of endurance rarely, if ever, equalled. — Youth's Companion.