And
When Held, He Swayed His Body, And Waved His Head From Side To Side,
Like A Chained And Furious
Elephant, straining out the deepest groans.
The Africans appear unusually subject to this nervous state which, seen
by the ignorant
And the imaginative, would at once suggest “demoniacal
possession.[FN#18]” Either their organisation is more impressionable, or
more probably, the hardships, privations, and fatigues endured whilst
wearily traversing inhospitable wilds, and perilous seas, have exalted
their
[p.176] imaginations to a pitch bordering upon frenzy. Often they are
seen prostrate on the pavement, or clinging to the curtain, or rubbing
their foreheads upon the stones, weeping bitterly, and pouring forth
the wildest ejaculations.
That night I stayed in the Harim till two A.M., wishing to see if it
would be empty. But the morrow was to witness the egress to Arafat;
many, therefore, passed the hours of darkness in the Harim. Numerous
parties of pilgrims sat upon their rugs, with lanterns in front of
them, conversing, praying, and contemplating the Ka’abah. The cloisters
were full of merchants, who resorted there to “talk shop,” and to vend such
holy goods as combs, tooth-sticks, and rosaries. Before ten P.M. I
found no opportunity of praying the usual two prostrations over the
grave of Ishmael. After waiting long and patiently, at last I was
stepping into the vacant place, when another pilgrim rushed forward;
the boy Mohammed, assisted by me, instantly seized him, and, despite
his cries and struggles, taught him to wait.
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