Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 43.djvu/197

Rh can be testified by the following quatrain, which is taken from one of their patriotic songs:

 There is no rest for the sovereign, And glory requires many toils and pains. For me, I would not exchange my poor attire For all the universe!"

The Ottoman Government has often tried to stop their wandering life, and many severe edicts have been issued for this purpose.

The Sultan's idea was to destroy their tents, so as to confine them in one place where they might apply themselves to agriculture. The nomads submitted for a time, but their cattle in many places suffered so much from the sterility of the soil that the authorities were obliged to grant them again a permit for emigration.

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