my presence till sunset, pretending that he thought that no evil spirits could approach him there.
I was told by a "true believer" that bad angels have, on that particular day, full power to carry out all the mischief which they may have plotted during the year. In Constantinople all the public offices are closed, in consequence of the prevalence of this impression!
On Thursday, the 4th of December, the Feast of "Sainte Barbe" was celebrated by all the Christians of the Latin Church at Hâifa. I went early in the morning to see Madame Aumann. I found her planting grains of wheat, barley, and millet, and seeds of lentils and grass, in plates and ornamental saucers and large shells. She merely covered the grain or seeds with water, and then ranged the dishes in the sun. "This," she said, "is always done on the fête-day of Ste. Barbe, and by Christmas-day the grass and the grain will have grown." But she did not know what it was intended to signify.
She invited us to meet all the Europeans at the French Consulate that night, and we went. We found every one full of fun and merriment, and one of the guests, a Mons. Jullien, who had lately arrived from Algiers, and had served in the army there, appeared with mock solemnity, in a scarlet robe and white cardinal cape, in the character of the priest of Ste. Barbe. To my surprise, the most devout Catholics present did not seem to be shocked. I asked one lady, whom I knew to be very earnest in the performance of what she believed to be her religious duties, if it gave her pain to see such mockery, but she simply said, "It is custom; there is no harm in it."
When we were all assembled, we were led into a room, in the center of which was a low stool, on which was a very large dish made of wood. It was filled with wheat, boiled in honey or sugar, and mixed with pomegranate seeds. Over the surface sweetmeats and bleached nuts were sprinkled, and round the edge of the dish twelve tapers were burning, and a flag was stuck in the middle.
