The Afghan Martyrs — Page 157
"FROM THE ABSOLUTE AMIR" by: F. R. Martin Sirdar Nasrullah Khan, who was, of course, obliged to remain in his city palace since the Amir did not go away into the country, spent most of his time on his prayer-carpet, so I was told by those who were with him, and when his favourite wife got cholera and died, he was described as being almost mad with grief at her loss and fear of the disease attacking him next. The prince's fear, as also that of the Amir, had a reason however, which intensified their usual dread of the disease, and it came about in this way. One of the chief and most influential of the moullahs in the country started on the Raj (holy pilgrimage to Mecca) in the beginning of that year, and while going down through India, on his way to the sea-port where he intended embarking for Medina, he heard of a holy man who preached the second coming of Christ - one who said that he, like another St. John, had been sent on to prepare the way, and make Christ's coming known. The moullah went to see this man, of whom many and wonderful things were told by the natives about, and the words of the self-styled prophet were so convincing that the moullah was converted, and came to believe in the man being what he said he was. One day, it being known that the moullah was going on the Raj, the "prophetll took him into an inner room, and there, the moullah afterwards stated, the two together visited Mecca, and he saw himself one of the multitude of pilgrims at the holy shrine, and visited the inner court, and sawall there was to see, and said all the prayers prescribed in the different places before reaching the inner sanctuary. Whether mesmeric, or other influence, would account for this hallucination of the moullah is 157