not pardon us, we fear, if further space and consideration be here given to its contents. Suffice it to say, however, that Khalid comes to church on that fatal day, takes the foolscap sheet down from the door, and, going with it to the town-square, burns it there before the multitudes.
And it came to pass, when the Bull is burned in the town-square of Baalbek, in the last year of the reign of Abdul Hamid, some among the multitudes shout loud shouts of joy, and some cast stones.
Then, foul, vehement speaking falleth between the friends and the enemies of him who wrought evil in the sight of the Lord;
And everyone thereupon brandisheth a stick or taketh up a stone and the battle ensueth.
Now, the mighty troops of the Sultan of the Ottomans come forth like the Yaman wind and stand in the town-square like rocks;
And the battle rageth still, and the troops who are come forth to part the fighting multitudes, having gorged themselves at the last meal, can not as much as speak their part:
And it came to pass, when the clubs and spades are veiled and the battle subsideth of itself, the good people return to their respective callings and trades;
But the perverse recalcitrants which remain—and Khalid the Baalbekian is among them—are taken by the aforesaid overfed troops to the City Hall and thence to the vilayet prison in Damascus.
And here endeth our stichometrics of the Battle of the Bull.
Now, Shakib may wear out his shoes this time, his tongue, too, and his purse, but to no purpose. Behold, your friend the kaimakam is gloomy