Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1898 — A Summer Evening in Morocco. [ARTICLE]

A Summer Evening in Morocco.

From the little mosque of the village arises the watchword of Islam, and with long-sustained musical notes the “mueddin” calls the faithful to prayer. In the gathering gloom one sees the Arabs congregating at the mosque, and a minute later the monotonous buzz of their prayers Is heard. Then for a moment the sky is illumined, and the strange after-glow, a gauzy mist of golden film, enwraps the whole scene. The plain becomes crimson once again, and the heavens are ablaze with shafts of light. Black and gloomy against the glowing sky stands the outline of the stone village and its gardens. The owl ceases her already commenced hoot, hoot, and silence reigns. It is but for a few moments, and then night fal|s so swiftly, so surely, that it seems as though a veil were drawn over the scene. The cattle cease their lowing and the flocks and herds their bleating, and in their place the watchdogs bark. Where but a minute ago the tents were visible there is naught distinguishable now but the glow of the camp fires. The falllhg heavy dew brings forth the pent-up fragrance of the earth, and the night air is heavy with the scent of the orange blossom In the gardens near by. For an hour the stars reign over the world, the deep sapphire sky ablaze with their myriad fires; then they In turn fade before the moon as through the steamy mist of the plain she rises in the east. Then all the world is sliver, and silence reigns supreme except for the little owls in the olive trees.