Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 199 (Color Image)

0199	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. VII.

TURFAN. 163

Hajji. Mohammed himself was not, I daresay,

very different either in his appearance or his

manner. And I could imagine a man of strong

personality and great magnetic influence, and

with the fiery zeal of an Eastern race so

impressing his ideas upon those about him,

as to produce an effect which may carry on

for centuries after. Asiatic people live more

together than inhabitants of colder regions.

They constantly meet with one another. Half

their day is spent in talking, and they naturally

collect round a man who shows a commanding

influence. They hang upon his words and

lethargically accept the authority he insidiously

exerts upon them. Men like this Arab Hajji

exert but a passing influence. Others, like the

so-called Mandi in the Sudan, for years sway

hundreds of thousands. Mohammed for twelve

centuries has influenced millions of the human

race. It is but a question of degree.

I had read in some book that at Turfan it

was so hot that people lived in holes under-

ground. I never quite believed it, but to-day

I found it was a real fact. Here in the inn

yard was a narrow flight of steps leading under-

ground. I went down them, and found a room

M 2

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