A large party was soon assembled in the tent and on the sofa under the opposite tree. After a luncheon of fruit and bread, olives, and cheese, Mrs. Gobat smoked a narghilé, evidently enjoying it, and I date the taste which I acquired for tumbac from the experimental pipe which I smoked with her. Coffee, mulberry sherbet, and bon-bons were handed around by Abyssinian servants in Arab style. Mrs. Gobat's fine, hearty-looking children, and the fair little Crawfords, seemed thoroughly to enjoy tent life. They showed me their swing in the mulberry-tree, and their attempts at architecture with the heaps of stones around. They led me eagerly from tent to tent, the kitchens, pantries, and school, and to the neat little bed tents, and then pointed out some of the finest points of view. Neby Samuel, the tomb of the "Prophet Samuel," was conspicuous on the summit of a conical hill, rising abruptly in the distance on one hand, and in another direction the wide spreading valley, with a little village and its surrounding fields, vineyards, and thrashing-floor could be seen. A beautiful white goat followed us wherever we went. It was the goat which Mr. W. Holman Hunt used as his model while finishing his well-known picture—the Scapegoat. Two had died in his service, but this one became quite tame, and would answer to his call; he gave it to these children when his picture was completed. The loud, shrill cry of the cicalas was heard from every olive-tree, and I was assured that at night their noise is loud enough to keep people unaccustomed to it awake.
I spent several pleasant days in this retreat on various occasions; such as a social dinner-party at the Bishop's, when he presided at a long table under the trees, or a cheerful tea-party at the Crawfords', in their tents, partly by the light of the moon, and partly by the light of lanterns hanging in the trees, or round the tent-poles. In these réunions, and at similar entertainments at Mr. Finn's, I made the acquaintance of most of the European members of the Protestant community of Jerusalem. Some
