KIDD’S OWN JOURNAL. 
keep both accounts correctly, with this stipu- 
lation, that, at the end of a year, I am to 
retain all I can save of the ten pounds, and 
to return to you all that remains of the 
twenty pounds.” 
“Tt is agreed. I will pay quarterly, 
beginning to night.” And he took out his 
purse, and counted seven pounds ten shillings 
into his wife’s hands.” 
And how did the bargain turn out? Our 
readers have, no doubt, guessed it already. 
Jane continued, during the year, to supply 
her husband with cigars, and, at the end, 
rendered in her account; by which it ap- 
peared, that Mr. Morris had smoked away 
twenty-two pounds, while his wife had spent 
only eight pounds on gloves, handkerchiefs, 
and shoes—the two pounds she had saved 
haying just enabled her to keep her husband’s 
cigar-box full, without calling on him for the 
deticiency till the year was up. 
Mr. Morris paid the balance, with a long 
face, but without a word of comment. He 
has ever since given, of his own accord, the 
ten-pound allowance to his wife. 
Husbands who think their wives waste 
money on gloves, SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO 
WASTE NONE ON CIGARS.” 
We repeat it—there is a good moral in 
this sketch from life; and we hope each one 
of our fair readers will make ample use of it 
for her own particular benefit. Men are 
little better than semi-savages, and must be 
well looked after. 
LIFE AND BEAUTY IN DAMASCUS. 
AN AMUSING BOOK has just been issued, 
entitled ‘The Turks in Europe.” It is from 
the pen of Mr. Bayle St. John—a writer not 
much known, but an accurate observer of 
life. We have been looking carefully over 
his pages, and find two racy extracts that are 
likely to amuse our readers ; and at this sea- 
son, when “ heavy writing” is at a discount, 
they will be considered quite in place. The 
first scene that we will direct attention to is 
A SYRIAN FEAST. 
Let us, says the author, introduce those who 
may be strangers to their customs, into the house 
where the farah (feast) is to be held. Women 
are busily occupied washing out and sweeping the 
court-yard ; the flowers and other plants are fresh 
watered; the marble fountain is decorated with 
colored lanterns and festoons of flowers; carpets 
are spread, and divan cushions ranged against 
the walls; the mistaba is tastefully lighted, and 
a highly inflammable torch, composed of the fat 
wood of fir, resin, and other ingredients, is planted 
in each of the four corners. 
In the smoking apartment of the mistaba, pre- 
parations are making on a grand scale. Large 
bags of ready-washed and prepared timbac are 
hung upon nails in the wall, to filter and to be fit 
for immediate use when the narghilies are called 



75 
into requisition. Tobacco-pouches are filled. Two 
additional mangals of charcoal-fire and some ad- 
ditional coffee-pots are prepared. Decanters are 
filled with arraki, wine, liqueurs, orange-flower 
and rose water; and the cut-glass saucers are 
replenished with candied preserves; whilst two 
maid-servants and a boy, assisted and superin- 
tended by the mistress of the house, are busy 
grinding coffee and decocting huge bowls of deli- 
ciously-iced lemonade. 
In addition to all this, a side-table is groaning 
under the weight of plates of sliced oranges and 
picked pomegranates, with numerous other fruits, 
and a great variety of pastry. By the time all 
these arrangements are completed, the night sets 
in; the whole yard is illuminated; the members 
of the househoid and the servants are busily 
engaged donning their best attire, and the com- 
pany of hired musicians arrive. ‘The music strik- 
ing up is the signal for the nearest invited neigh- 
bors to make their appearance. They arrive; the 
men clad in long, loose silken robes, the women 
enveloped in their white izars. But these latter 
are speedily thrown aside at the invitation of the 
lady of the house, who assists in helping the 
guests to disrobe, and then confides their zzars to 
the trusty care of the handmaiden. Now these 
veils are all of the same make, and they have no 
initials or other distinguishing mark. Notwith- 
standing this, no confusion ensues on the breaking 
up of a party as to identification; every lady is 
quick to recognise her own peculiar izar from the 
mass of white sheets that are folded and piled, one 
above another, upon the divan in the upstairs dres- 
sing -room. 
Soon the whole party have arrived; and the 
amusements of the evening commence with vocal 
and instrumental music. After this, some of the 
gentlemen stand up and go through the graceful 
attitudes of the Syrian dauce. Then, some others 
volunteer the sword dance, or the Bedouin dance ; 
some of the married ladies then take courage; 
but it requires coaxing and threats to induce the 
timid damsel to display her skill. Persuasion being 
out of the question, some old gentleman gets up 
and pretends that he is going to dance instead of 
her, and he goes through a few steps till he comes 
close up to some girl that he has singled out from 
the circle. Seizing her arm with no very gentle 
force, he whirls her into the centre of the yard; 
and meanwhile, some one who has watched the 
manceuvre acts the same part by some other blush- 
ing maiden. These are confronted face to face, 
and there is now no escape; so they commence, 
at first timidly and bashfully, but, getting gradu- 
ally excited by the music, they lose all this pre- 
tended bashfulness, and do their best to outshine 
each other; and truly there is rarely a more 
graceful sight than two beautiful Damascene 
girls, elegantly dressed and bespangled with 
jewels, displaying their graceful figures to the 
best advantage, to the slow but becoming mea- 
sures of the dance. 
This is an important ceremony, at which 
we should dearly love to assist. It is so very 
different from our English ceremonies, that 
it would possess a delicious freshness,—an 
indescribable charm. Such a contest, and 
between two such lovely performers, must 
