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242 to intone the Koran and to write a little. But the women believed that boys possessed some peculiar faculty which enabled them to study and to understand the mystery of unspoken words. Even Selim and Saïd, my little guides, were surprised, and said, "Mashallah! the stranger knows the writing of our language."

At about three o'clock, which they call the ninth hour, some black women, almost hidden in white sheets, brought in dinner. The first woman carried a little low wooden stand, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. She put it down on the floor opposite to me. Then another woman placed on it an old, round, heavy metal tray, engraved with sentences in Arabic from the Koran. A large towel, enbroidered with gold thread, was handed to me. After these preparations I was glad to see something to eat, for I was very hungry. The tray was soon quite covered with the following dishes: a small metal dish of fried eggs—a wooden bowl of lebbany, or sour milk—a bowl of sweet cream made of goat's milk—a dish of very stiff starch, like blanc mange, sweetened with rose-leaf candy, with almonds and pistachio nuts chopped up in it—a large dish of rice boiled in butter, with little pieces of fried mutton all over the top—and a plate of walnuts, dried fruits, sugared almonds and lemon-peel.

A black slave girl, with short scarlet cloth trowsers and scarlet jacket, silver necklace, armlets and anklets, stood by me, holding a silver saucer in her hand, filled with water, ready for me to drink whenever I wished for it. There was not a knife nor even a spoon to be seen, and I could find no plate for my especial use. I washed my hands and was invited to take up the food from any of the dishes, with a piece of a large flat loaf, very much like leather. They soon perceived that I was not much accustomed to that mode of eating, so they brought me a large wooden cooking spoon, at which the little ones laughed heartily. I wished the ladies to eat with me, but they would not. They allowed Selim and Saïd to do so, how-