New-York tribune. [volume], August 28, 1921, Page 4, Image 48

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TALES OF THE GOOD
CALIPH HY-LAN
By Frederic F. Van De Water
HO YE of Bagdad who bow the fore?
head to the east at the coming of
day. draw near. Merchants and
warriors and fellaheen all and the
holy Hadji among ye who wear the sacred
green turban, give ear to the thousand and
seventeenth tale of the good Caliph Hy-lan of
the Ruddy Countenance and his fortitude in
the face of multitudious afflictions.
Now it came to pass that in the fourth year
of the Profit that distress and discontent
stalked through the streets of the city with
the boldness of a gunman in a cigar store.
And even to the palace of the good Caliph
penetrated they, so that silence and heavy
sighings sounded in halls that had once echoed
with laughter and jest and rang to the clash
of Aldermen and emirs of the Board of Esti?
mate engaged in trials of arms.
In the bazaars and coffee houses and khans
the people of the city gathered and muttered
one to the other of the dark days that had
come upon them. Of the Emir Kuran they
spoke and of the revolt he headed against the
good Caliph, of the Sheik Meyer and his host
that compassed the city round about. But
most greviously they complained that .or
seven days the voice of their Caliph had been
hushed. For Hy-lan, returning from the tent
of the Sheik Meyer, where the servants of the
Sultan Nathan had striven to measure the
limits of his mind and had failed, sat alone
and gloomy in his innermost chamber.
And rumor went abroad in the land that he
spake ever and again to himself, saying:
"I don't know. That is not a fair ques?
tion. I had no idea. Ask the Comptroller."
Then the rumors bred of the Caliph's silence
stalked up and down the land. And ?nie man
spoke that the revolt of the Emir Kuran would
prevail and another hinted darkly that the
Mullah, the spiritual counselor of Hy-lan,
even the great Mur-fee, the servant of Allah,
tottered on his throne.
But while the people murmured, the good
Caliph. Hy-lan of the Ruddy Countenance,
sate alone in his chamber and read from a
scroll on which was inscribed the tale of his
trial before the hosts of the Sultan Nathan.
And he spoke strange things beneath his
breath as he read and passed his hand through
his hair until it resembled an aurora in far
northern lands.
Then, at length, came a messenger to his
door, treading delicately as did the Sheik
Agag, and filled with fear, for the good Caliph
had that morning ordered a fresh gross of
bowstrings and hired two new bastinado
w ?elders.
And while he waited upon his courage at
the door, he heard a terrible voice cry from
wiihin.
"Behold, the scribe whom I trusted hath
betrayed me. Even as I stood on the thresh?
old of the judgment tent pitched by the in?
fidel Sheik Meyer, he whispered to me that if
I read the statement he had prepared, and
refused thereafter to recollect anything, I
should pass through the ordeal scatheless.
"By the holy gates of Medina, he hath
turned traitor, for having submitted to the
ordeal as he directed, now the servants of the
sheik bandy my innermost secret and pro?
claim that I know naught of the manner in
which this my city is governed. Whafare sink?
ing funds in the eyes of a Caliph which are
ever turned to the face of the holy Mullah
Mur-fee or fixed upon the writings of Willi
ibn-Hearst, the Sheik-ul-Islam? Alas? My
scribe hath betrayed me!"
Then clapped Hy-lan his hands and the
messenger entered. Yet when the Caliph saw
him, he waited not for the word he brought,
but cried in a voice as terrible as the sound
of a municipal bus:
"Give orders to the captain of the palace
guard to seek out my false scribe and
reprimand him for his neglect. Correct him
with the bastinado, censure him with the bow?
string and wash away his transgressions with
boiling oil."
And the messenger, trembling gasped:
"Aye, Sheik of a Billion Sunrises, it shall be
as thou eommandest, but Son of the Comet
and the Moon, 1 have tidings for thee. I
come straight from the encampment of the
Sheik Meyer and his host where Abu-ihn
Craig, the wiseacre, hath striven mightily with
the champion of the pagan horde. El Brown
Effendi."
Then cried the good Caliph:
"Bismillah! Fraise bo to Allah and to his
servant and mine, Abu-ibn-Craig! For since
El Frown Effendi hath consented to go out
against him I know that the wiseacre hath
prevailed. Have I not myself clashed w.-.h
him in debate and been as well nigh worsted
as such a person as the Caliph may be? To
Ihee, messenger of joyful tidings, I give the
title of Bey and a place on my right hand as
?.ward for the news thou bringest me."
Then cowered the messenger to the floor,
until he bore resemblance to the rich carpets
of Turkistan with which the chamber of the
Caliph was bedecked, and he strove to spe .k
so that Hy-lan, mistaking his emotion for
gratitude, quoth :
"Nay, fear not, bearer of good new^! Sa;,
v hat trembleth on thy lips."
And the messenger, panting brokenly,
spake.
"Lord of the Incendiary Visage, never in
the history of Islam hath so mighty a war?
fare been waged. Arme?! with statistics ami
panoplied with numbers, the two champions
met. Behold, the clash of the conflict shook
thc city, for millions were hurled back and
forth as arrows at the hands of bowmen
"And Abu-ibn-C'-aig could throw them
more swiftly than could the infidel El Brown
Effendi."
Then smote Caliph Hy-lan his thigh and
cried in an exceeding joyful voice:
"Allah Akhbar! Ya Allah illah Allah!"
But the messenger, writhing on the floor
before him gasped :
"But hear, thou Flame Crowned One!
Cong raged the contest and through the cloud
of numbers that envelope?! the contestants
like a dust storm on the desert, those who
watched could see little of how the tide of
battle went.
"And at length, the tumult died away and
the figure of the mighty Abu-ibn-Craig could
b( seen, weary and dishevelled from n of
The excavation for the new Court House provideth ashes for the Caliph's sor*
row-bowed head
fort, and through the settling cloud came the
form of El Brown Effendi to view, and he
reeled and clutched at his throat.''
Then shouted the good Caliph:
"Mohamed Din! The infidel is overthrown."
But the messenger, backing hastily on his
stomach toward the portal, gasped:
"Nay, Prince of the Three Alarm Fire, El
Brown Effendi fell not, but quoth:
" 'The hearing is adjourned over the Sab?
bath.' "
Then rate down the good Caliph suddenly
and gazed with a bleak and bitter visage on
the messenger, and when he spake his voice
was as soft and deadly as the asp's, and he
said:
"Messenger Bey, convey the order that I
gave thee to the captain of the Palace Guard
and add that it is my pleasure that you share
with my scribe in the correction to be admin?
istered to him."
And the messenger moaned and departed,
and for a long time the Caliph sate deep in
thought, turning the pages of the wisdom of
Willi-ibn-Hearst the Sheik-ul-Islam.
At length there sounded the clash of arms
without and the challenge of the Mameluke,
who stood before the door of the chamber, and
Hy-lan, rousing from his reverie, quoth:
"Whazza matter there?"
Then entered the sentry and saluting, said:
"Heaven-born one. a herald stands without
and would have speech with thee."
And Hylan, his mind dark with foreboding,
said:
"Whence ccmes he?"
To which the herald replied:
"From the encampment of the infidel Sheik
Meyer, with a personal message for thee."
And the good Caliph m a voice weak and
husky quoth :
"Let. him in."
Then unrolled the herald his scroll and read:
"To the Caliph Hy-lan, self-styled the Good.
By order of the Sheik Meyer and his master,
the Sultan Nathan, thou art commanded to
present thyself at the encampment on the first
of the week, there to undergo further ordeals."
Then Hy-lan clapped his turban on his head
and rose from his throne, crying:
"Lemme outa here, quick 1"
And the sentry presumed to ask: "Cousin
of the Noonday Sun, whither goest thou?" and
the Caliph replied :
"To the Captain of the Guard to withdraw
my order censuring my scribe, for Allah know
eth I will have need even of him."
But the sentry, salaaming low, quoth:
"Lord of the Borealis, he hath already felt
the weight of thy criticism, and even now sit
tcth with the houris in" Paradise."
Then sank the Caliph into his chair and,
with an exceeding bitter cry, rent his kaftan
from throat to hem and, sobbing bitterly, said
to the sentry :
"Bring me here ashes, that I may pour them
upon this sorrow-bowed head."
Am! the sentry hesitated, asking:
"Where, Stepfather of the Milky Way, shall
1 find ashes?" to whom, Hy-lan of the Ruddy
Countenance replied :
"The excavation i'm- the new courthouse is.
full of them, fathead."
Ami it was as the good Caliph had com?
manded.
A VISIT TO VILLA,
THE "BAD MAN"
(Continued from page tico)
drawers; and we looked at the three ugly, ir?
regular scars, and both agreed, on something
of which we knew nothing, that in time it
Would stop aching. Then, after a moment:
"It has leen wonderful, mi general, hearing
about the cave. Will you not tell me of other
brave things?"
I had made a mistake. This silenced him.
"A man does not talk of brave things, se?o?
rita. He does them."
"Your last ride from Chihuahua to Muzquis
?that must have been hard to endure."
"The endurance was my men's. And they
endured it for my pride. That I might not be
dictated to, but be free to state my own terms.
For this they rode one hundred and eighty
leagues across what you call desert?fifty
leagues without water?going out of their
minds, some of them. These men whom you
see all around working?they made that ride
with me."
?Supper time once again.
To-night the Jefe asked ? r a cup of
chocolate to bear us company, ft was brought
t?> him with a fly in it.
"Throw this out!" Soon he was brought an?
other cup.
"Throw that out, too. Throw it all out. Do
you suppose we can eat of it after such a
thing?"
The se?ora looked her distress. He turned
to her kindly.
"Don't cry, livola (pretty one.) It is not thy
fault, but of those stupidities in the kitchen.
Women in the kitchen are no good?too care?
less. And now that you may feel better I shall
tell you of a surprise I have for you. I have en?
gaged a man to cook. For dependability al?
ways choose a man. He arrives to-morrow?a
very good, a very fine cook, and, above all,
most clean. You will be pleased, pretty one."
4 GAIN the evening hour in the patio. Again
the stars coming so near, the silence
stretching so far. From a distant doorway a
square of yellow light lies on the darkness.
Beyond, a small dull red fire dimly shows the
face of a bending Indian woman. Near us,
the children, walking around and around in
a sedate circle holding hands, their pretty
voices singing softly.
Augustin suddenly dropped the others'hands.
came to his father.
"I do not care to play any longer, papacito."
"Esta bien. What dost thou wish to do?"
"1 wish to do a turn in the night alone."
"Esta bien. Do a turn in the night alone,
my little son."
Augustin started off somberly into the dark.
The other children, without him, lost interest
in play and came to hang about the knees of
the se?ora, looking at us shyly.
"My son is like me," said the Jefe. "He likes
to be alone in the night."
An old man drew near, and after being
recognized by the J?fe's usual "What dost
thou wish, friend?" he asked for orders for
the morning, and got them with the J?fe's
usual swift decision. Then:
D? .-?' thou want anything further, friend?"
* nd the old man's voice, quavermg with age
--==^
but strong with respect and carino:
"Nothing more?except?only to serve ~y
general."
\NOTHEP sleep in the great brass bed.
Eyes nardly closed, it seemed, when the
Jefe, holding high a lighted lamp, stood in tha
door.
"Se?orita, I am sorry, but it is the hour."
Three o'clock. Time to get up and move
fast to catch the 7 o'clock train from Rosario
Villa's voice :
"If you will permit me, I shall light your
lamp for you."
He came like some kind woman to the bed?
side and lit the lamp on the chair there.
"My se?ora is rising t i bid you jtoodby,
but she is not yet ready. And ti e ?-?ervar-ts
are not about befo.e 4. With your permis?
sion, se?orita."
He went out, going softly in Ids sandals
limping as he must always.
?T'HE self-starter was working beautifully on
the Ford that early morning. We hacked
out swiftly from the archway that leads into
the patio of the house of Villa.
"Good by, Don Francisco. Good by. mi gen?
eral."
"Good by, se?orita. Good by, amigo. R<
member here you always have your house
Until soon. Hasta lui go. A
We turned into the black before dawn
Back to the town of Rosario, to the train U
Jiminez, to the main line to the capital. Adioi
Canutillo; adieu. Villa.
VES, I believe in Francisco Villa; 71 fhi
sincerity of his feeli 1:7 for I is ceuntr
and for his people ' , ?? ?pic, . 1 poor, thi
ignorant, the helpless ef Mexico.
The history of his country offers no parade
to his career. Of ignorant men come t
power there have been plenty. Of n
arios, plenty. Of generals, pi. Ru
there never has been one of these willing t.
lay down his arms for the good -^ all, an
to retire in peace to an inglorious lif? toi
San Antonio, the whole
a hotbed of discontenten "patriots" ? -? .Ivm
themselves in every sort of ph t I tt
present victors. In Havana, Paris, Madrii
New York, others of thinner 1 b
cause of fatter purse squand? e-ofits <
former power. Villa, alone, stays - h h
land?and works!
And I, for one, feel thai nt a:
being wasted. I, for one, feel that
of his ignorance, his profound? ignora
has great gifts, extraordinary gifts,
amounting to genius?for organization, f
order, for command. This and a supreme i
stinct for handling common men.
1 tan see him at. the head of a national c
ganization cf rurales, of mounted polic
making Mexico to its furth ra saf
to travel in than Central Park al r
yes?by a whole lot.
I. for one. know of no man 70 whose i
tegrity to protect and to whose power
fend I would more confi lently intrust eith
"my money or my life."
Viva Villa!
7
Whv Not
r
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?y ?s
_o ?
-_!?*__ a 1 i o
Only bald salemen in sporitng goods department.
Li
:_d_ ^_
Side whiakers an essental to selling ladies' waist?'
Call-down of a clerk by the head of piano department
''Yes, sir.
Th
ant? yvu,