Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/223

Rh among them the two wives of the host, the wife of the elder son, two married daughters and, finally, the little ones of the younger generation, all of them dressed like dolls in velvet bodices embroidered in gold and silver, full trousers, muslin turbans, colored sandals and great quantities of jewels. They greeted us very courteously, giving us their hands, which were small, hard and rough and painted with henna. The women said nothing, but only smiled and looked us over very attentively, touching our dresses, hats and shoes and even our shoulders and necks. The children were most attractive, especially the little granddaughters with curls as black as ebony and amber eyes. One of them developed a very evident fancy for me, took hold of my dress and followed me everywhere on her little henna-painted feet.

"After this visit to the harem we returned to the terrace, where Sidi Abia awaited us with tea and sweets. Then another old patriarch came in, who had the head of a prophet and whose shoulder every one in the household kissed with respect. After he had hurled at us in Arabic a quantity of compliments and wishes for our health and felicity, we began sipping our tea with mint, which is very agreeable and refreshing, if only it is not too hot or too sweet. Moreover, it is served in cups without spoons or saucers and must be drawn in through the teeth with loud smackings of the lips, if one would observe the finesse of custom. Cakes with almonds and figs fried in honey were as far as I went into the list of sweets, as the other dainties were too hard, too sweet and too rich for me, so that I could only make believe I was sampling them.