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At the top he looked out upon further knobs and hollows and aimless depressions, just as he had expected. Half a mile or so away there drifted a thin spiral of smoke, from the kitchen stove of the Señora Medina, he guessed. But there was no other sign of human life anywhere within the radius of many miles, or, to be explicit, within the field of Starr's vision.
There was little to be seen here now of native Egyptian life; it looked as though some magician had transported a part of Medina itself to the shores of the Nile.
The four most illustrious emirs held a canopy of crimson silk over the head of their mistress; and the sheik of Medina cooled her with a fan of peacock feathers. Thus awaited the sultana her husband and son; the latter she had never looked on since his birth, but significant dreams had so plainly shown her the object of her longings, that she would know him out of thousands.
Among the Arabs the tendency of progress has also been favorable to women in many respects, especially as regards inheritance. Before Mahommed, in accordance with the system prevailing at Medina, women had little or no right of inheritance. The legislation of the Koran modified this rule, without entirely abolishing it, and placed women in a much better position.
"Seetzen," says M. Vivien de Saint Martin, "was the first traveller since Ludovico Barthema who visited Mecca, and before his time no European had even seen the holy city of Medina, consecrated by the tomb of the Prophet." From these remarks we gather how invaluable the trustworthy narrative of this disinterested and well-informed traveller would have been.
Moreover, the Duke of Medina dissatisfied with the want of discipline and of good seamanship hitherto displayed in his fleet now took occasion to send a serjeant-major, with written sailing directions, on board each ship in the Armada, with express orders to hang every captain, without appeal or consultation, who should leave the position assigned him; and the hangmen were sent with the sergeant-majors to ensure immediate attention to these arrangements.
A few of the lighter craft having been taken by the patriot cruisers, the alarm was spread through all the fleet. Medina Coeli, with a few transports, was enabled to effect his escape to Sluys, whence he hastened to Brussels in a much less ceremonious manner than he had originally contemplated.
Recaldo finding his vessel much battered, rejoined his chief with difficulty and Medina re-collecting his scattered vessels held on his course. For two hours the fight continued, and then Lord Howard thought best to retire to await the coming of other ships which had not yet left the harbor.
At the first encounter he even succeeded in repulsing this considerable army, which lost 1200 warriors; but in a second engagement the Mohammedans were victorious Moseilama was slain and Kaled, "the Sword of God," carried back to Medina the news of his own triumph, and the spoils of the defeated enemy.
"By Mecca and Medina!" cried the caliph, "it would be a pretty piece of business if I had to remain a stork all my life! Try think of the stupid word; I can't remember it." "We must bow three times towards the East, and say, Mu Mu Mu ." They turned to the East, and bowed away till their beaks touched the ground. But, alas!
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