en. XX.] A A fail of Breeding. 99 



Ferhan spent the morning with us talking, and 

 answering the many questions we bored him with, 

 most agreeably. It was pleasant, too, to see the 

 way in which he exerted his authority over his 

 people in keeping them from boring us. Not that 

 they did anything which was impolite, but the right 

 of gazing is one which is liable at all times to abuse 

 in a Bedouin camp ; and, when the youths and boys 

 edged in too closely round our tent, he would send 

 them about their business with a good-humoured 

 word or two which they did not venture to dis- 

 regard. His manner to them was exactly that of 

 an elder l^rother keeping order in an unruly house- 

 hold. We should have liked to stay longer with 

 Ferhan than this one night, but, now that our di[)lo- 

 matic mission is seriously decided on, we shall have 

 to visit one or two more of the principal sheykhs, 

 and so about ten o'clock we struck our tents, in- 

 tending to go on to the Gomussa, who were close 

 by. Ferhan, as we wished him goodbye, seemed 

 really sorry to part with us, and made us promise, 

 not unwillingly, that, if ever we come again into 

 his neighbourhood, w^e will make his tent our home. 

 I hardly know whether it is their misfortunes and 

 present poverty which make them so, but these 

 Moayaja and their sheykh are certainly the nicest 

 people we have met this side of the Euphrates. A 

 touch of misfortune is doubtless an excellent thing 

 for us all. 



