tight-fitting coat brought forth many a 

 fervent "All-a-a-h !" 



They asked me, too, how many chil- 

 dren I had ; how old I was ; if there were 

 many women in Amerique, and inquired 

 eagerly how many wives my husband 

 had, and wanted to know how I had man- 

 aged to get out of the harem alone. 



PITY FOR AMERICAN WOMEN 



When I told them I was a Christian — 

 a "Kaffir," they call it — and that in my 

 country men have but one wife, and that 

 she may go and come as she likes, they 

 spoke aloud their disappointment and 

 pity for me ; for these women do not 

 wish to leave the harem. It would shock 

 them to walk alone, unveiled, in the 

 street. These women will not even ex- 

 pose themselves to the chance sight of 

 passers-by in looking from the latticed 

 windows — if there happen to be any win- 

 dows — in the houses where they live. 

 They count it immoral to be seen by other 

 men than their husband. 



"America must be a poor country," 

 said one, "if your husband can keep but 

 one wife ; a Bedouin keeps but one wo- 

 man — and all the Bedouins are poor, be- 

 cause they live on the barren desert." 

 From their viewpoint, the multitude of 

 a man's wives, slaves, and retainers is 

 the measure of his greatness. 



Love, except that of the mother for 

 her child, is undoubtedly an emotion 

 absolutely unknown to these women ;. 

 whence it follows that jealousy, too, must 

 be but an infrequent disease. 



Yet, poor in mind as these imprisoned 

 women seemed, and painfully inquisitive- 

 as they were, kindness cloaked all their 

 curiosity, and their every act displayed 

 a friendly feeling for the strange wo- 

 man — the heretic — in their midst. They 

 brought in a great tray of dried fruits, 

 baked gourds, toasted pumpkin seeds, and 

 fresh pomegranates ; they brought me 

 wine, too, made from the juice of dates. 

 They offered me long Arab cigarettes, 

 called "Bagdaddies," when the repast was 

 finished ; and when I declined to smoke 

 they found new cause for wonder, for I 

 lied for my country and told them that 

 American women never smoke. 



It was a great day for me, reared in 

 the normal quiet of an old Missouri town. 

 If only my knowledge of Arabic had. 



574 



