ouphrontis: “I was about to take my leave when Suleiman the guest-master hurried in and whispe
ouphrontis:“I was about to take my leave when Suleiman the guest-master hurried in and whispered to Feisal, who turned to me with shining eyes, trying to be calm, and said, ‘Auda is here.’ I shouted, ‘Auda Abu Tayi’, and at that moment the tent flap was drawn back and a deep voice boomed salutations to our lord, the Commander of the Faithful: and there entered a tall strong figure with a haggard face, passionate and tragic. This was Auda, and with him his young son, Mohammed, a child of eleven years old.He had married twenty-eight times, had been wounded thirteen times, and in the battles he provoked had seen all his tribesmen hurt, and most of his relation slain. He himself had killed seventy-five men, all Arabs, by his own hand in battle.His face was magnificent, even to its lines and hollows, and showed how true it was that the death of Annad, his favourite son, had cast sorrow over all his life. He had large eloquent eyes like black velvet in richness. His forehead was low and broad, his nose very high and sharp, powerfully hooked: his mouth rather large, and his beard and moustaches trimmed to a point, in the Howeitat style.He saw life as a saga, and all events in it were significant, and all personages in contact with him heroic. His mind was stored with tales of old raids, and epic poems of fights. He had no control over his lips, and was therefore terrible to his own interest, and hurt his friends continually. He spoke of himself in the third person and was so sure of his fame that he loved to shout out stories against himself. At times he seemed taken by a demon of mischief: and yet with all this he was really modest, as simkple as a child, direct, honest, kind-hearted, and warmly loved even by those to whom he was most embarrassing - his friends.” - Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. LawrencePhoto shows T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi, the inspiration for the character of the same name in Lawrence of Arabia (IWM) -- source link
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