66
MEDJEL.
whether,  if  they  chose  to  hide  their  money  under  ground,  they
would  be  so  imprudent  as  to  inform  strangers  where  it  lay?  The
opinion,  however,  is  too  strongly  rooted  in  the  minds  of  many  of
the  country  people,  to  yield  to  argument  ;  and  this  was  the  case
with  the  Sheikh  of  Medjel.  Having  asked  me  very  rudely  what
business  I  had,  I  presented  to  him  the  Pasha’s  Bouyourdi  ;  but  of
twenty  people  present  no  one  could  read  it  ;  and  when  I  had  read
it  to  them,  they  refused  to  believe  that  it  was  genuine.  While
coffee  was  roasting  I  left  the  room,  finished  copying  some  inscriptions, ¬
  and  rode  off  in  a  torrent  of  rain.  On  the  left  side  of  a  vaulted
gate-way  leading  into  a  room  in  which  are  three  receptacles  for  the
dead  is  this  inscription  :
HLLeLg  H  MELATH  AEXIE  ANEQLE  AVTIUXIIo
LE  IIIT  ENI  ETAATIH  KAELE  EIAETETA  TAEKATE.  HE
M.INLE  ETAAIMN  KAI  TAIANEE  ATE  HIAIAE,
EKTILaV  AVTIUXDIDKA  .  A..  AATHNAEII  ..  ALAIE
ILTALAN  DOPE  HIEADINTE  Q  HIAPA  HIATPI  BA
And  opposite  to  it,  on  the  right  side  of  the  gate-way,  in  large
characters,
IIAPATE  TAHIIH
QHUNE
Over  the  eastern  church,  or  mosque  gate,
MAZIMOC  CAIMATO  TGA  eN  XOPE
ATTO  KAI  ATAPM.  AAcX(OT  ..
KONXHINIIPOTTAPOIOENEXQNCQPON
ENOAAETHACOCMENOCARONIOCAN
CCOAHC  EK  CTPATIg  EKTEOIIONIHC
AOTXIKOC  THNTAZeHIeTeI
Ke  CTCQANON  NIIHC  NOIOICATO
MAX
OTTOC  RENTHINAgU