Page:Domestic Life in Palestine.pdf/192

Rh to Hâifa, in a very weak state, while riding along the sands, he was thrown from his horse, and so much injured that he was carried home, and died in three days. My brother went to the funeral, and in a letter to me he spoke of it thus:

"I never in this neighborhood saw a funeral so numerously attended. The church, as well as the court without, was completely crowded. Seven priests—four of whom had come from a considerable distance for the purpose—chanted the appointed psalms, and the burial service was performed as usual. After the Epistle, Gospel, and Absolution had been read, the chief priest said to the congregation, 'Dear brethren and children, Khalil Sekhali was a man who lived very long in this world. He has had a great deal of business, and has been in communication with a great number of people. It is possible that in certain transactions he may have given cause for offense. Some people may have felt themselves insulted, some may have been grieved or offended, either with or without reason. This now is the time for pardon, and I hereby beseech you all present, and by the blessing of God I implore you all, to pardon him fully, to forgive him all offenses as you hope to be forgiven.' The whole congregation then answered, "May God pardon him!'"

This ceremony of asking pardon of the living for the dead is observed in a slight degree at all burials among the Greeks, but it is not generally so emphatically expressed or so enlarged upon as in the case of Khalîl. He was a man of great influence. He was the founder of the Greek Church in Hâifa; and the only good houses in the town belonged to him or to members of his family.