He conducted
the devotional exercises fairly well, but when he came to deliver his
sermon, on the text, "I am the Light of the world," he had forgot what
he intended to say, and continued to repeat these words, until an old
man called out, "If thou be the light o' the world, I think thou needs
snuffin' badly."
[26] The Khoja was contemporary with the renowned conqueror
of nations, Timur, or Timurleng, or, as the name is
usually written in this country, Tamarlane, though there
does not appear to be any authority that he was the
official jester at the court of that monarch, as some
writers have asserted. The pleasantries ascribed to the
Khoja--the title now generally signifies Teacher, or
School-master, but formerly it was somewhat equivalent
to our "Mr," or, more familiarly, "Goodman"--have been
completely translated into French. Of course, a large
proportion of the jests have been taken from Arabian and
Persian collections, though some are doubtless genuine;
and they represent the Khoja as a curious compound of
shrewdness and simplicity. A number of the foolish
sayings and doings fathered on him are given in my _Book
of Noodles_, 1888.
To return to the Turkish jest-book.
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