Traveller.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 429, 11 August 1904, Page 2

Traveller.

ousroMS. sgfi£2 MOSLEM funeral, especially ia the large? town of Western Asia |K3k! IB * n imposing sight The dead ace wrapped in grave clothes of green or white, and mourned over by she professional monrning women They axe carried in solemn procession through the streets, with embroidered banners fifing, and the tar bash, their sign of rank, displayed. With chanting of creed and readings from the Koran they are taken to some mosqne, where prayers are offered. The soul of a Moslem mnat spend one night with the body after burial. With ' face turned towards Mecca, and sitting upright on the other side of the vault from that set apart for his soulless women* folk—even in death divided—he answers the questions of the two recording angels Nekir and Muokar. And there his body waits the awakening trumpet call oi the tngel of the resurrection, when the Mabdi shall come again and Christ Bhall make Islam prevail,

Five times a day, at the hour of prayer, doeß the devout Moslem take off hia shoes, or sandals, turn his face Meooa-w&rds, prostrate himself, and pray. In the courtyard of every mosque is a fountain. Here it ia the duty of every worshipper' to perform his ablutions before entering. It is a curious sight to see a pious congregation sitting in dignified silence along the marble edge of some tank whilst the running water fl >ws about the row of bare feet. Moßt dignified, most" mysteriously superior of all are those who wear the green turban, the prophet's color. They are those who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. They have walked round the Kiba, where Adam was united to Eve. They have kissed the black stone, the color of Adam's tears; and in the valley of Mina have cast stones at Satan.

The only midnight call to prayer is in the city of Aleppo. A quaint legend gives the Origin of this rare custom. Alter the capture of Aleppo under Omar, the Christian Church of S. Zicharius was turned into a mosque. A musdheu, when chanting to the corqaerors the first call to prayer, fell from the belfry and was killed. A second muadhen met his death in the same way. A third, fearing a similar fate, preferred remaining at a lower level, and gave the call from the foot of the towtr. Hia respect for the startling methods c! conversion adopted by the vanquished saint was rewarded by a vision of S. Zicharms himself, who told him his desecration of this most hoi; church would bo forgiven on condition that, when night came, he also cried from the top of the minaret, ' The Holy God, the holy Mighty One, the holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.'

This he did. And we are told this Christian call 'has been repeated ever since, but unknown to the faithful of Aleppo, who hear it, but do not distinguish the words." THE MUSCOVITE SOLDIER,

'The Russian s>ldier,' says a French writer, 'is brave, docile and gay by nature, and it is a pleasure to see a detachment of improvised musicians marching at the head of cavalry (this in addition to the regimental band), singing with the full strength of their lungs to the accompaniment of flageolets and clarionets ' Music, to be sure, plays an important part in the life of the Baseian soldier, from the regimests o! the guard and the famous Preobraschenski Regiment, with their bands over 100 strong, to the regiments on service in remotest Asia and the dreary Pamirs, with their improvised choirs (they oan scarcely be called band?) of a score or so of amateur musicians.

The impression made by a Bas3ian regiment on the march, or the impression which it is encouraged to convey to the village*, is that service with the colors is by no means the wearisome, soul-depresßing i flair that Nihilists would paint it. In addition to these improvised bands, each regiment has at least one ' fanny man,' who with his caperings and jests beguiles the tedium of the march. In camp the national dances are danced, and a spirit of rivalry in song and breakdown prevails amoeg the different regiments. It is said the Russian infantryman prefers to do without his instrumental music rather than his singing men. Tbat is not surprising, considering that, with the exception of the guards and a few favored regiments, the music of the drum is the sole instrumental music ho is privileged to hear. 11l humor and exhaustion on the march are charmed away when the word goes out, 'Singers to the front.' Weariness, hunger, thirst and foul weather are alifce forgotten. It is the same in camp and barracks. The ofS. i ers take as much pleasure in listening to the regimental choir as the simplest soldier. At banquets and other celebrations the singers receive copious libations of brandy to incite them to the highest exhibition of their prowess. The Bussian soldier's day on duty ends at a quarter-past eight, after the evening roll call. The • Oar Father' is then said, or sung, by the whole company. The custom is as impressive as it is edif jisg. Tho rHle which bars the intrusion of unauthorised persons in the barracks is striotly enforced. The object of this is chiefly to prevent the dissemination of revolutionary literature. In theatres and other places of public resort the common soldier is excluded from specified parts of the building, aad is not allowed to approach the refreshment buffet, nor may he seat himself anywhere outside the auditoriam between the acts. Begulations like these seem to show that the social status of the Bussian soldier is not cffiaially regarded as a high one. With the exception of the exclusive guard regiments and some crack corps, or special arms of the service, e.g, the artillery and the engineers, the Russian officer by no means necessarily belongs to the upper class of society Shortly before the Crimean War it was found necessary te promote a larger number of non-com-missioned officers. Many of these were illiterate, and the faot was made the subject of a letter of complaint from the War Minister to the Czar. This resulted in the establishment of military colleges. Duels between officers and' between officers and civilians are regulated by courts of honor composed of officers, and these courts have also jurisdiction to decide whether an officer is worthy to be retained in the service. In favorable circumstances the Bassian infantry cover the ground at the rate of two and a half miles an hour, the cavalry three times that distance in the same time at the trot, horse artillery the same as the cavalry. As a rule, 12} to 15$ miles is reckoned a day's march for infantry with artillery; for cavalry, in normal conditions, nineteen to twenty-two miles. Twenty-one to thirty-one miles is considered a good test of cavalry marching powers. In normal circumstances, five marching and two rest days ge to the week