206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



greet the other guests at the luncheon. Her kmcheon, like 

 everything else that has anything to do with the Arabs, was 

 late. It was not ready until a quarter of three. After having 

 donned all of this magnificence, I went out with eight or ten 

 other ladies equally gorgeously dressed. When the luncheon 

 was announced we sat down around the board, and the 

 gentlemen were admitted. There were seven gentlemen invited 

 to this luncheon with my husband. He had not come in 

 before. When they came in each gentleman was presented 

 to her, and in my husband's turn he was presented, and 

 passed along, but he did not recognize me. I saw him as he 

 looked along this line of fourteen Arab ladies, and I tried to 

 meet his eye for an instant. I did catch it sufficiently long to 

 see an intensely amused expression upon his face. Soon after 

 I managed to get his eye, and he said, " Well, I wish I could 

 speak Arabic, because English does not do any justice what- 

 ever to this occasion." I told him what had transpired. 



Let me tell you a little of the detail of serving that luncheon. 

 In front of each was a pile of plates. The first course was 

 brought in and put upon the top plate. There were something 

 like twenty courses served in all, and each one was brought in 

 and placed upon the top plate, and you were expected to par- 

 take from that. It was very difficult for us at first but after 

 we got through with the first few courses, of course, the pile 

 of plates was reduced because after each course was served 

 the plate was taken out, and then the next course was put on 

 the top, and then that was taken away, and so on until the last 

 course was served. I wish I could tell you the things that 

 we were given to eat. It would be impossible for me to de- 

 scribe that meal in detail. There were meats and other things 

 cooked in a very peculiar way, and some of which were ex- 

 ceedingly delicious. Then there were stringent pickles, I do 

 not know that they were pickles, but I took them for 

 such, which the native ladies ate with great relish, but 

 which did not appeal to me. There was a great variety 

 of native fruits, among which were fresh figs which 'were 

 most delicious. The meal was exceedingly well served. 

 Then at the end came, as is usual, some very nice Turk- 

 ish coffee. The luncheon took about three hours to serve. 

 After we passed from the house we noticed that the south 



