West Side High School - Legenda Yearbook (Saginaw, MI)

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To the editor of the “Annual.” As I have been requested to make a contribution to the ■“Annual,” it gives me much pleasure to send to you these notes from Cairo and its surroundings. About three weeks ago, we reached Alexandria on the “Fuerst Bismarck, one of tin finest steamers of the Ham- burg-American-Line. On our arrival in the harbor many small boats, representing the various tourist companies and hotels, flocked around us and offered the first glimpse of genuine Oriental life. Animated with a desire for our patronage and with a keen spirit of rivalry with one another, they sur¬ rounded us and made it rather difficult to land. Finally we succeeded in having our baggage taken into one of the boats, and effected a landing near the Custom House. Apart from the fact that it is an Or iental town, Alexandria, with its dirty streets and filthy inhabitants, offers little of interest. Pom- pey’s Pillar, a fine specimen of the Corinthian order in red granite, standing among the ruins of the Serapium, is the most important monument of antiquity. We took the after¬ noon train for Cairo, arriving early in the evening. The following day we visited the Muski, the chief commer¬ cial street of Cairo, on donkeys. The latter afford the best means of communication, as they easily find their way in the narrow streets, some of which are not over three feet wide. In the Muski, the Brass Bazaar, the spice and perfumery markets, and the Turkish and Persian Embroidery Shops are the most interesting features. The noisiest of all the noisy Mohammedans is the auctioneer, who runs up and down the narrow streets with his goods over his shoulders. He in¬ cessantly shouts “Narag, narag,” always adding the latest bid he has received. No matter how great the uproar is, he never fails to detect and announce a new bid. His powers of endurance are extraordinary; for he keeps this up till late at night. It almost seems that his jaw never gets tired. It is also amusing to watch the carpenters, who are equally skill¬ ful with hand and foot. Their dexterity, as displayed in the elegant inlaid work that they turn out, is remarkable.

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JUNIOR PROPHECY —Continued. Ne’er could see a youth so hand¬ some, And perhaps ' twas better so. Edna Roberts as I told you Journeyed on a foreign strand, Fell in love with a poor native, And to him she gave her hand. Edna B. and Ella Ainsworth, Both a fortune have received, And were courted for their money But they never were deceived. Julia Blank had gone to England, Very famous she was then. And her hand was sought in mar¬ riage, B}‘ the wisest, noblest men. Robert Craig, the wealthy farmer, Fed his stock at break of day. And believed in the old maxim. When the sun shines make the hay. Anna and her sister Ida Lawyers now had come to be, And their sign “Otto Otto,” On their door-plate one could see. Elizabeth, a public lady, Advocated woman’s rights, And upon a platform spacious, Raged about on summer nights. Eda Stobbe was a poet, And great wealth has she at¬ tained. Lived in comfort by her fire-side, And as “Queen of Verses” reigned. Hugh McPhillips loved a lady. With blue eyes and gentle tone, He proposed but was rejected, And forever lived alone. Laura Gerber now was married, To a lawyer from the south, With red hair and great green glasses. And a most enormous mouth. Josie Sullivan in Cuba O’er a poor farm did preside, Having found this to her liking More than anything she’d tried. Pearl McKellar with her outfit Travelled o’er the country wide, And upon a piece of canvass Painted things of beauty spied. George McLellan on a corner Dealt out peanuts by the glass, Took the pennies from the child¬ ren Who from school did have to pass. And our Scottish lassie Mabel, Then had gone upon the stage, And the people of the country. Of her wondrous talent raged. Elsie Zander was the mistress Of a little country school, Though she never punished any No one disobeyed the rule. Edyth Jackson then was noted For her talent far and near. She’d become a public singer, And was hailed with many a cheer. Hattie Anschutz told the fortunes Of her used-to-be . clroolmates, Some were grieved and some were happy As she read to them their fates. Last not least our smiling class¬ mate, Minnie Schwartz she used to be, Spent her winters in the city And her summers by the sea. I awoke. The things around me Were the same as they had been But it seemed to me prophetic, All these things that I had seen. All the future of my class-mates, All the deeds upon life’s sea. May their after life be brighter— Brighter far than shown to me.

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Iii the Orient, business principles are vastly different from those prevalent in America. Time is considered of no con¬ sequence. This accounts for the fact that bargaining comes so natural to the shop-keepers. They ask from two to four times the amount that they expect, and then come down on a graduated scale fo the sum really wanted. Cheating is re¬ garded merely as an exceedingly valuable accomplishment. The best way in purchasing is to go into the store and price the goods, then to visit an adjoining shop, and finally to return to the first one, where the dealer is now ready to sell at fair prices. One of the merchants in the Brass Bazaar wanted to sell us a lamp for eight dollars, my father offered four, and my mother three and a half. This was too much for the shop¬ keeper, he turned towards me and said: “Now you say two.” After much parley we bought it for three. We concluded the day’s sight-seeing with a visit to the Gamiael Azhar, a mosque built in 973 A. D., but now con¬ verted into the largest Moslem school and university. It has 12,000 students and 450 teachers. In the door way we were stopped and slippers were tied over our shoes, lest we profane the sacred edifice. This constitutes another peculiarity of the Oriental. Instead of taking off his hat he removes his shoes on entering the house of a friend, or on visiting a mosque. In the open court several hundred Mohammedans are engaged in prayer, kneeling, bowing their heads, and kissing the ground. Most of the columns in the side colonnades were stolen by the Arabians from Roman temples. On the left is a huge water-basin, where by a sanitary regulation of the Prophet, the worshippers must wash their feet before prayer. A pulpit for preaching and an elegantly adorned niche for prayer, facing Mecca, are provided for the “faithful.” Most of the students are natives of Egypt. Consequently the divisions alloted to these are the largest. Each pupil has a locker for his bread, books, and clothes, which are supplied to the poorer ones by the state. This however entails no great burden on the government, as our guide informed us that the ordinary Egyptian lives for about ten cents a day. No fees