Page:Domestic Life in Palestine.pdf/71

64 before holding it to her bosom she reverently kissed a small silken bag, embroidered with gold, and then pressed it to her forehead. In answer to my look of inquiry, she explained, partly by words, and partly by signs, that the little bag, which hung from her neck, contained a piece of crumbling white stone, from a grotto near to Bethlehem, sanctified by the milk of the Blessed Virgin, which once overflowed there, and mothers eagerly procure it, to place in their bosoms as a charm.

The room in which we sat was very simply furnished. It was nearly square. The floor was of stone, and the walls were whitewashed. On a broad, high shelf running round three sides of it, many articles of native crockery and earthenware, drinking cups, jars, lamps, and metal dishes, were ranged. A mat of reeds, a carpet about as large as a hearth-rug, and several pillows or cushions were on the floor. A large red box, with brass hinges and ornaments, served as the wardrobe of the family. The red cradle, a large metal basin and ewer, and a few small coffee cups, on a low stool or stand, of inlaid mother-of-pearl and dark wood, garnished the room. In a deep, arched recess, opposite to the door, a number of mattresses and wadded quilts were neatly piled up. In genuine Arab houses no bedsteads are used, and consequently no rooms are set apart expressly for bedrooms. Mattresses are spread any where, in the various rooms and courts, or on the terraces, according to the season, or to the convenience of the moment; and the beds and bedding are rolled up and put away during the day, in recesses made for them. Thus, with a pretty good stock of mattresses and lehaffs, a large number of guests may be entertained any night, at a moment's notice. The room was well ventilated by two large square openings, near the ceiling, opposite to each other, one being just over the door, and the other over the recess for the mattresses. I took a cup of coffee and some sugar-plums,