a
gift, which was seldom refused. Stories are told of swift judgments
overtaking bold Moslems who slighted the wish of the holy man, and
equally thrilling accounts of deliverance from peril to the Faithful who
granted his desire.

Sidi Ali Ben Jaber once met another Arab, Sidi Ben Faraji, dragged him
into a neighboring shop and insisted on his buying a large and expensive
block of marble with which to embellish the "saint's" house, for that
happened to be the holy man's craze for the time. On his way home Sidi
Ben Faraji had to pass under a bridge, which fell, severely crushing his
left arm, and now was apparent the virtue of his gift to the holy man;
for had he refused to buy the marble as requested, the bridge would
assuredly have fallen, not on his arm only, but on his whole body, and
he would have become a shapeless mass. Our "Halfouine saint" was
sometimes in a violent state of mind. Then, as he approached, the
butchers would quickly hide their meat, the confectioners' display of
cakes became suddenly scanty, while other shops appeared equally bare.

The "saint" might enter a shop, turn the contents into the street, and
work general havoc; the owner not daring to say him nay, but cherishing
the hope of recompense in Heaven to atone for present loss. In cases of
illness, Sidi Ali would be taken to the house of the sick one, and his
presence was said invariably to bring blessing and relief.

He is also said to have foretold the introduction of electric trams, but
this appears to have been only thought of when they had already made
their appearance in the city.

For months the poor old man had been growing feebler, and in the month
of January last he passed away. His death caused general mourning and
lamentation, many women weeping bitterly. The corpse was escorted to the
mosque and thence to the cemetery by various sects displaying colored
silk banners, emblazoned with Koran verses. Crowds pressed round the
bier fighting for a chance of seizing it for a moment and thus securing
"merit" in heaven, and it was only a strong force of police which
prevented the whole being upset. Fumes of incense filled the air,
dervishes swayed in their wild chants till one and the other fell
exhausted, and when the tomb was finally reached the bier was broken
into fragments and distributed amongst eager claimants from amongst the
thirty thousand Moslems assembled.

Such, dear readers, is a Moslem saint, and their name is legion. It