The Amir, Who Was Chary Of Words, Bent Towards The Gerad, Who
Briefly Ejaculated, "The Reply Will Be Vouchsafed:" With This
Unsatisfactory Answer The Interview Ended.
Shortly after arrival, I sent my Salam to one of the Ulema, Shaykh Jami of
the Berteri Somal:
He accepted the excuse of ill health, and at once came
to see me. This personage appeared in the form of a little black man aged
about forty, deeply pitted by small-pox, with a protruding brow, a tufty
beard and rather delicate features: his hands and feet were remarkably
small. Married to a descendant of the Sherif Yunis, he had acquired great
reputation as an Alim or Savan, a peace-policy-man, and an ardent Moslem.
Though an imperfect Arabic scholar, he proved remarkably well read in the
religious sciences, and even the Meccans had, it was said, paid him the
respect of kissing his hand during his pilgrimage. In his second
character, his success was not remarkable, the principal results being a
spear-thrust in the head, and being generally told to read his books and
leave men alone. Yet he is always doing good "lillah," that is to say,
gratis and for Allah's sake: his pugnacity and bluntness--the prerogatives
of the "peaceful"--gave him some authority over the Amir, and he has often
been employed on political missions amongst the different chiefs. Nor has
his ardour for propagandism been thoroughly gratified. He commenced his
travels with an intention of winning the crown of glory without delay, by
murdering the British Resident at Aden [39]: struck, however, with the
order and justice of our rule, he changed his intentions and offered El
Islam to the officer, who received it so urbanely, that the simple Eastern
repenting having intended to cut the Kafir's throat, began to pray
fervently for his conversion.
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