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 and impassive as a camel; what can you do? Whisper in his ear? The Padres have done that before you. Slip a purse into his pocket? They have done that, too, and overdone it long since. Yes, the City Hall of every city in the Empire is an epitome of Yildiz Kiosk. And your kaimakams , and valis , and viziers, have all been taught in the same Textbook, at the same Political School, and by the same Professor. Let Khalid rest, therefore and ponder these matters in silence. For in the City Hall