i88i] A JOURNEY IN THE HEjAZ 585 



administrators there which may be repeated here. A 

 new Cady and Muhafiz with their company had arrived 

 from Constantinople. The great men of the town laid 

 their heads together and resolved that, as the Turks 

 came only to feed on them, it would be wise to show them 

 the cold shoulder, settle all disputes by arbitration 

 among themselves, and abstain from calling regularly, 

 as is the custom, on the new dignitaries. The Turks soon 

 found themselves isolated. Day by day they took their 

 seats and expected visitors, but no one came. At length 

 they took counsel, and a shrewd man among their followers 

 said &quot; Make a great feast and invite all the notables of 

 the town, but first let me go to the bazaar and buy some 

 spoons to cost a dollar each.&quot; &quot; How absurd,&quot; they 

 replied, &quot; you can have very good spoons for two or three 

 piastres.&quot; &quot; Ah, yes,&quot; was the reply, &quot; but I want long 

 spoons with great handles, and I wish the guests to sit 

 so close that with these long spoons they cannot possibly 

 feed themselves.&quot; The plan was carried out, the notables 

 arrived and were set down round the dinner tray. &quot; But 

 how can we reach our mouths with long ladles like 

 these ? &quot; &quot; Oh no,&quot; replied the hosts, &quot; you are not to 

 feed yourself. Do you,&quot; pointing to a man on the 

 other side, &quot; feed me, and I will feed you.&quot; The hint 

 was taken, cases again flowed into the Turkish court, 

 and in the division of the spoils the native notables 

 were not forgotten. 



I spoke in rny last letter of differences that are observ 

 able in marriage customs, and generally in the place of 

 women, between the Hejaz and Yemen. In travelling 

 between Jeddah and Suez, I obtained some additional 

 particulars on this head from the Waly of Yemen, who 

 was my fellow -passenger. Mustafa Pasha is a very 

 superior type of the official Turk a man of good educa 

 tion and observant habits, who has served in Syria as 

 well as in Yemen, and appears to have made a careful 

 study of the habits of the people over whom he rules. 



