  B ekri Mustafe, who lived during the reign of Sultan Selim, was a celebrated toper, and perhaps at that time the only Moslem drunkard in Turkey. Consequently, he was often the subject of conversation in circles both high and low. It happened that his Majesty the Sultan had occasion to speak to Bekri one day, and he asked him what pleasure he found in drinking so much raki, and why he disobeyed the laws of the Prophet. Bekri replied that raki was a boon to man; that it made the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the poor rich, and that he, Bekri, when drunk, could hear, see, and walk like two Bekris. The Sultan, to verify the truth of this statement, sent his servants into And the blind man replied: "I can see him; it is an enemy who seeks our destruction." The lame man asked where he was, saying, "Show him to me, and I will quickly despatch him." And the poor man called out: "Don't be afraid to kill him; I've got his blood money in my pocket." Just then a funeral happened to pass by the Palace buildings, and Bekri got up and ordered the solemn procession to stop. Removing the lid of the coffin, he whispered a few words into the ear of the dead man, and then putting his ear to the dead man's mouth, vented an exclamation of surprise. He then The Sultan asked him what he had said to the dead man, and what the dead man replied. "I simply asked him where he was going and from what he had died, and he replied he was going to Paradise, and that he had died from drinking raki without a mÉzÉ." Whereupon the Sultan understanding what he wanted, ordered that the mÉzÉ should be immediately served. ON THE FACE OF THE WATERS.By FLORA ANNIE STEEL,Author of "Miss Stuart's Legacy," "Flower of Forgiveness," "Red Rowans," "Tales from the Punjab," etc., etc. 12mo. Cloth. $1.50."We have read Mrs. Steel's book with ever-increasing surprise and admiration. It is the most wonderful picture. We know that none who lived through the mutiny will lay it down without a gasp of admiration, and believe that the same emotion will be felt by thousands to whom the scenes depicted are but lurid phantasmagoria."—The Spectator. TALES OF THE PUNJABTOLD BY THE PEOPLE.By MRS. F. A. STEEL.With Illustrations by J. Lockwood Kipling, C.I.E., and Notes by R. C. Temple. 16mo. Cloth, Gilt. $2.00."A book that will be welcomed no less eagerly by the children than by students of folklore from a scientific standpoint is Mrs. Steel's collection of Indian stories, entitled 'Tales of the Punjab.' They were taken down by her from the very lips of the natives in some of the most primitive districts in India. Yet these tales, handed down solely by word of mouth from one generation to another, could hardly be distinguished from those in a Teutonic collection like that of the Brothers Grimm; and even closer examination serves only to impress upon us more strongly than ever before the unity of the great Indo-European family of nations."—Nashville Banner. UNIFORM EDITION OF THE STORIES AND POEMS OF RUDYARD KIPLING.Seven Volumes. 12mo. Cloth. $1.25 each.PLAIN TALES FROM THE HILLS."Mr. Kipling knows and appreciates the English in India, and is a born story-teller and a man of humor into the bargain.... It would be hard to find better reading."—The Saturday Review, London. THE LIGHT THAT FAILED."'The Light that Failed' is an organic whole—a book with a backbone—and stands out boldly among the nerveless, flaccid, invertebrate things that enjoy an expensive but ephemeral existence in the circulating libraries."—The AthenÆum. LIFE'S HANDICAP. |
|
