women as compared with that of their Western
sisters. In another page it is true he no
longer exalts the advantages of the veil, and
speaks of its abandonment as a sign of
civilisation; but this is evidently a concession to
our prejudices. He has remained an Eastern
in heart; and exerts all his cleverness to
justify his preference. He even tries to
persuade us that love-marriages do occur:
the opportunity for their occurrence being
that up to the age of ten or eleven, girls are
visible by their future husbands.

The story of the Jinn and the Scolding Wife
is worth telling. Yusuf of Aleppo married
Ankafir for her beauty, and found her to be
a very shrew. They fell to quarreling at
once, and to fighting as a matter of course.
The husband generally got the worst of it;
and at length was obliged to call a council
of sage friends to deliberate what was to be
done. They shook their beards and scratched
their noses, and decided that parting was the
only remedy. The oracle had the character
of the enigma; but Yusuf enlightened by
misery, understood that the largest body of
water in the neighbourhood was the Euphrates.
So he invited his darling gently to take
a row over that fine river, and unmoved by
her unusual graciousness, seized the first
opportunity, tipped over the boat, sent her to
the bottom, and leaped on shore, feeling a
better because a happier man. He walked
along, looking calmly at the silver tide, and
wondering how many omers of mud had been
necessary to stop Ankafir's mouth for ever.
Suddenly a damp-looking old customer
appeared coming up the river looking very
grumpy. " Salam Alaykam!" quoth Yusuf.
"Hold thy tongue, son of a ram," said the
stranger. " What did you send her down
there for? " Yusuf felt uncomfortable. He
knew now that this was the Jinn, or spirit of
the water, who had come to complain of
having had such a vixen sent into his country.
The Jinn offered Yusuf the choice of three
modes of death as a punishment—hanging,
tearing to pieces, or impalement. " Great sir,"
said Yusuf, humbly, " if you who are
possessed of so much power cannot keep her quiet,
how can a miserable mortal such as I, your
slave? " This remark even made the Jinn
smile; he determined to keep out of his own
dominions, to join fortunes with Yusuf, and to
take him by magic to Bagdad. What was
resolved was done. On arriving at the great
city the Jinn heard that the caliph had a
daughter as beautiful as the morning star; so
he carelessly said to his new friend: " Would
you like to have her for a wife?" Yusuf was
obliged, but knew not how the matter could
be accomplished. The Jinn showed him it was
easy. " You pass yourself off for a great
hakeem," said he. " I will coil myself round
the girl's neck in the shape of a most venomous
snake with two heads. No one shall be able
to approach but you. Burn this bit of written
paper, and throw it into the fire. As it is
gradually consumed, so will I gradually
disappear. To gratitude trust the rest; but
remember never after to cross me in my
wishes." The feat was accomplished, and,
with Eastern rapidity, Yusuf became the son-
in-law of the caliph. Some time afterwards
the Jinn took it into his head to fall in love
with the daughter of the vizier, and, to keep
her all to himself, wound round her neck in
shape of a viper. Yusuf was sent for, and
ordered to exert his curative powers,
stimulated by the promise of sharp lashes if he
failed. Yusuf appeared trembling in sight of
the Jinn, believing that in one way or other his
destruction was certain. Suddenly, however,
a thought struck him. Stooping forward, he
whispered in the viper's ear: "She is here
looking for you." " Who?" " Aukafir."
"Then I'm off!" So saying, the viper
unwound and disappeared, leaving Yusuf with a
greater reputation than before, and perfectly
happy.

It will be seen from this story that shrews
have made themselves well-appreciated in the
East; and we may add that no Katerina that
we can imagine approaches by a hundred
miles to the Syrian virago. Their abuse
of every object of hatred is appalling, not
only in language, but in gesture; and, if well
worked up, they rarely fail to proceed to
violent extremities. Mr. Risk is too patriotic
to remember all this. He dilates with
enormous pleasure on the delights of female
society. There is a Farah, or feast toward.
The courtyard is swept, the fountains are
cleaned out, the flowers are renewed; the
furniture is dusted; preparations for smoking
and sherbet drinking, and sweetmeat eating
occupy the attention of the mistress of the
establishment. When all is ready, the music
strikes up and announces to the nearest invited
neighbours that they may come. In they drop,
the men clad in long, loose silken robes, the
women enveloped in their white izars, which,
after a little pressing are thrown aside.

Music and singing open the amusements;
but dancing, or rather pantomimic performances
succeed. The nature of these is well
known, except that it is perhaps true that in
these family and friendly meetings Oriental
ideas of decorum are better complied with
than we are apt to suspect. At length the
dancers get tired, and a game of forfeits
takes its place; then comes a song; then
a story; the perfumed smoke goes up all
the while, and sweet drinks nicely cooled
are handed round; whilst at intervals
solid refreshments are handed round. After
all, it is no unpleasant thing to be present at
these same Farahs, even although the young
ladies themselves occasionally take a whiff
of tobacco under pretence of lighting your
pipe; and seem to enjoy it too. It is true
that when they have presented you with a
cup of coffee they enchant your heart by
politely kissing your hand, which you have
no time to withdraw.