Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/344

328 that Chinese who is bringing in a clean napkin for the guest three tables down wipe his perspiring brow with the end of it?"

In the caravanserais of the world, be they in some small Oriental port or in one of the greatest metropolises of the West, there may be cleanliness and even splendor, but the constant passage of men through their courts and the monotonous repetition of stereotyped service robs them of an element which one longs for in life. We were consequently ripe for enjoying the contrast of perfect culture that reigned in this home of the Pariels, the cleanliness, the fine, silent service, the evening dress and the intellectuality which revealed itself at every step—in speech, in movements and in the considerate attitude toward one another.

After the dinner, at which all of the official associates of the Colonel and their wives were present, we talked for a long time, and I was again impressed with the fact that these men, flung by the sowing hand of Chance to the very edge of the Sahara, once more exemplified the fact that those left to depend on themselves for their intellectual life come to possess a broader and deeper knowledge than their seemingly more fortunate brothers who are set down in the centers of civilization and have to pay the price which constant distraction imposes upon their mental life. How these pioneers knew their country—its geology, zoology, botany, history, ethnology and language! All these were studied carefully and in scholarly detail.

In the course of the evening my wife played various violin selections for our hosts, among them some of her