Joyous
songs were sung, and, on the grand square before the mosque, men and
women assembled for a dance.
The tambourine rang out merrily, and cymbals and flutes filled the
air with sweet sounds.
A sail on the water was arranged for the afternoon, and the boats
were gayly decked with flags for the occasion.
In the first large boat the sheik, the ulemas, and the leading men
of the village, were reposing on carpets. Two boats containing the
musicians followed; and then came, in four gayly-adorned ones, the
women of the village, enveloped in their white veils, and greeting
the men in the other boats with their bright eyes only. It was a
beautiful spectacle. The sea itself seemed to rejoice over it; it
murmured softly, and curled its waves caressingly upon the beach.
The governor, accompanied by his distinguished guest, Cousrouf
Pacha, had come down to Praousta. Both were saluted from the boats
with shouts of applause; handkerchiefs and caps were waved, and the
blessing of Allah and of the prophet invoked upon their heads. But
curses also resounded from time to time from their midst.
"These two gentlemen are kind-hearted. They saved us, and Mohammed
Ali alone was the cause of all our trouble and anxiety. Woe to the
traitor! He wished to make himself a name, to mount to honor and
power upon our shoulders, though we should be ground down in the
dust.
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