. The Ansons in Asiatic temples. me. That crescent is worth, so tliey say, fifty IN MOSLEM LANDS. 271 thousand dollars in gold/ remarked ^ What does the crescent mean ? askedBertie. ^^About four hundred years before, the Mace-donians had besieged the city of dark night they intended to take the cityby surprise. Just as they had commenced theirassault, the clouds parted, and by the light ofthe crescent moon, the soldiers on the wallssaw the enemy approaching. Thenceforth itbecame their symbol. When the Turks con-quered Constantinople, they adopted it as theirsymbol.^ Dis
. The Ansons in Asiatic temples. me. That crescent is worth, so tliey say, fifty IN MOSLEM LANDS. 271 thousand dollars in gold/ remarked ^ What does the crescent mean ? askedBertie. ^^About four hundred years before, the Mace-donians had besieged the city of dark night they intended to take the cityby surprise. Just as they had commenced theirassault, the clouds parted, and by the light ofthe crescent moon, the soldiers on the wallssaw the enemy approaching. Thenceforth itbecame their symbol. When the Turks con-quered Constantinople, they adopted it as theirsymbol.^ Dismissing the carriage, they descended to thewaters edge, and crossed in a small boat toScutari, to the Ronfai Convent, where theWhirling Dervishes reside. It was just a littlebefore one oclock when they had arrived. TheDervishes entered and seated themselves in acircle, and prayed a short prayer five timesover. Then rising, they began, at first slowly 272 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. then more rapidly, to say, ia ilah illallah/. THE WHIRLING DERVISHES. meaning, there is no God but God/^ Theypronounced it thus: ^^La-i-lah-il-la-lahJ^ At IN MOSLEM LANDS. 273 the first syllable they bowed forward, at thesecond stood straight, at the third bent back-ward, and so on. Kapidly and yet more rapidlythey seesawed up and down. Then the sheik,or leader, began to stamp. At once they seemedto increase their motion four-fold, and began towhirl round and round, and bend up and downlike crazy men. All this time they cried outtheir sentence, which now sounded like one/aA, interrupted occasionally by ^hoo! yahhoo! meaning, He, He is God. By-and-bythey joined hands and swung to and fro, withtheir long hair flying like a cloud. Finally,some fell down foaming at the mouth, otherssw^ooned and were carried out. It became morethan the Ansons could stand; Berties headseemed to be dizzy. When they reached the hotel, Mr. Anson wasmet at the door by a servant, who told him thatMrs. Anson had been so ill t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectmissions, bookyear188
