and flocks and herds fed in the neighborhood, guarded by shepherds fully armed. The rain ceased, and the sun shone out for a few minutes, with a red glow, over a waving field of wheat, and then went down. We desired the guide to halt at the next village. We rode on southward, and in about twenty minutes reached a place called "Khubeizeh," on account of the abundance of mallows growing wild in the neighborhood. A barricade of mud surrounded the village. The houses were so low that even I could not have stood upright in any one of them. Some were merely hollow cones of earth, others were square and roofed with brushwood. Some were like burrows, scarcely above the ground, and all were desperately dirty. The narrow streets, or paths between the houses, were mud and slime and standing water. The wretched-looking inhabitants followed us about or peeped at us from their miserable abodes, and a troop of dogs barked in loud chorus as we traversed the village in all directions. We found no spot suitable for a halting-place, so we hastened onward and soon arrived at Mehâf, a crowded hamlet, quite as uninviting as Khubeizeh.
The guide assured us that we should find safe shelter at Kefr Kâra, a Moslem village about three miles further south. No Christians inhabit any of the villages in this district. We decided to go on, although it was already very dark. Red, blinking watchfires could be seen here and there on the hills around, and rain began to fall as we rode across the plain as quickly as the darkness would let us. We sent our kawass on before, to announce our approach to the sheikh of Kefr Kâra. When we arrived he was at the entrance of the village, attended by a lantern bearer, ready to receive us, and he said, "Welcome, and be at rest, we are your servants, all that we have is yours."
We found Kefr Kâra larger and rather superior to the other villages. There was only one stone house in it, however, and to that we were immediately conducted. We gladly dismounted at the open door, within which we could see the glow and smoke of a large wood fire. I found that
