Of
course it cannot be supposed that this effects a cure, or that it
is in any way superior to the prescriptions of a thorough-bred
English doctor; the only advantage possessed by the system is
complete innocence, in which it may perhaps claim superiority. If
no good result is attained by the first holy dose, the patient
returns with undiminished confidence, and the prescription is
repeated as "the draught as before," well known to the
physic-drinkers of England, and in like manner attended with the
bill. The fakeers make a considerable amount by this simple
practice, and they add to their small earnings by the sale of
verses of the Koran as talismans.
As few people can read or write, there is an air of mystery in
the art of writing which much enhances the value of a scrap of
paper upon which is written a verse from the Koran. A few
piastres are willingly expended in the purchase of such
talismans, which are carefully and very neatly sewn into small
envelopes of leather, and are worn by all people, being handed
down from father to son.
The Arabs are especially fond of relics; thus, upon the return
from a pilgrimage to Mecca, the "hadji," or pilgrim, is certain
to have purchased from some religious Faky of the sacred shrine
either a few square inches of cloth, or some such trifle, that
belonged to the prophet Mahomet.
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