After the price has been agreed upon, the sturdy cameleer spreads his ample cloak on the ground and pours the golden grain in a heap upon it. The _keyyal_ kneels by the little hillock of wheat, and, naming the Holy Name, thrusts the _midd_ (a wooden measure) into the precious wheat. The grain is sacred; therefore, the language of the _keyyal_ must be pious. As he tosses the first measure into the buyer's bag, or the skirt of his cloak, he says, "Blessing!" that { 266} means "One"; "From God" means "Two." Then the counting is continued in the ordinary language--three, four, and so on.
After it is first thrust into the heap of wheat, the _midd_, about half full, is whirled around on its bottom, lifted slightly from the ground and dropped several times. The _keyyal_, constantly repeating the number of the _midds_ he has already measured, "lest he forget," pours the wheat into the measure with his hands, packs it down with his palms, and all his strength. He whirls the _midd_ round again, shakes it, presses it, and again heaps the wheat, pyramid-like, above the rim. The circular shower of the golden grain falls gently over the edges. The artful _keyyal_ pours small handfuls of wheat with his right hand into his left, which is formed into a funnel over the apex of the heaped _midd_, until the point is "as sharp as a needle's." Then with swift deftness, which elicits the admiration of the spectators, he lifts the heaped measure and tosses it into the bag, without allowing a single grain to fall outside.
With what telling effect and rich simplicity does the Master allude to this custom of measuring grain in the Eastern markets. In the sixth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, the command and the promise are, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." But the word "bosom" here somewhat weakens the sense of the text. I do not know why the English translators used it in place of the original word "lap." The Oriental does not carry grain in his _bosom_, but in the skirt of his ample garments, much as a woman carries things in the fold of her apron. Again the word "lap" is used here in another and a more significant sense. It is the symbol of plentifulness; just as the "bosom" is the symbol of affection. The generous measure, even though it be poured into one's bag, as a _blessing_, may be said to be given into his _lap_.