Page:Domestic Life in Palestine.pdf/384

Rh servant, had returned to Bethlehem; so I trained a young girl of Hâifa to take her place.

I had not time to visit the harem of Saleh Bek till August 11th, which was the first day of the Feast of Bairam, when all Moslems are to be seen in holiday costume. I went to the house attended by a kawass, who waited for me in the inner court while I was led up a crooked, uncovered, stone stairway to a small square court, and thence into a large and lofty but rather gloomy room. In a moment I was surrounded by my well-remembered friends of Arrabeh. The children came forward shyly, and Helweh led me to a cushioned seat on the floor, saying, "We have been longing to see you, O light of our eyes; let us see you often. You are not like us; you may come to us whenever your heart tells you to come, but we may not go to you. When we first came here, and found ourselves in a strange place, and heard that you were not yet arrived, our hearts sank within us."

The house which they occupied was in the castle square, and was not so comfortable or so well built as the one in which I had seen them at Arrabeh. Narrow mattresses were ranged all round the chief room of the harem where I was received, and the floor was covered with matting. The ceiling was vaulted, and all the windows which looked out on to public places were blocked up, so that the light only came from the door and window which opened to the half-covered private court. Mattresses, pillows, and wadded quilts were piled up in an arched recess, and a thin muslin curtain was drawn in front of it. Two red boxes and a red cradle stood at one end of the room, and a charcoal brazier with all the requisites for making coffee and preparing narghilés were close to the door. A large embroidered camel’s-hair cloak, and a sword, gun, and spear, were hanging against the white cemented walls. Coffee flavored with ambergris, and delicate sherbet made of almonds and rose leaves, were handed to me. The servants who were present were the same whom I had seen at Arrabeh.