and they made a great noise, and I rose and went to the door of my house, and a man named Yusef came that way, and I said, 'What was the reason of that noise?' and he replied,'Only two women disputing and fighting; but they have now made peace, and they have sworn to each other a friendship like unto the friendship of the English Consul and his sister!'" I said, "Is it then in this land reckoned a strange thing that a brother and sister should be great friends?"
Another guest, a thoughtful and intelligent man, to whom my question was repeated in Arabic, replied, "People in this country are naturally surprised that you can journey with the Consul, share his pursuits and the dangers to which he may be exposed, and be really and truly his companion. It is a thing not understood here, where the education of men and women differs so greatly, and where brothers and sisters see but little of each other after their childhood, except when the father of a family dies—for then the eldest son becomes the guardian of his widowed mother and of his brothers and sisters. But the latter are married early, and then he has no more charge concerning them. Our women marvel greatly among themselves that you have left your country and your home to travel with the Consul, while your parents are yet living, and they conclude that you must have a strong friendship for each other."
And a third spoke and said, "Thou hast spoken truly, yet let it be known also to our English sister, that our women and girls rejoice greatly when they have many brothers, and it is their pride and delight to hear their friends say, 'Happy art thou, O sister of seven men; may they soon be married, and may you live to see their children's children!' And it is said that a woman sometimes regards the life of her brother as more precious than her own, or than that of her husband, or her son.
"When Ibrahîm Pasha, the son of Mehemet Ali, ruled in Palestine, he sent men into all the towns and villages to
