— Yes, yes, I am the lady who sat near you yesterday...

— How strange, my lady — how could you be the lady of the hotel yesterday, and consent to be a servant now?

— I have been the hotel's servant for years; only, yesterday was my day off...

And she smiled at him, having taken leave to withdraw with a gentle nod of her head... A smile spread across his face — but a smile that was a mixture of amazement and bewilderment...

He had wished to travel back to his village, but he changed his mind and excused himself to his father by sending one of his men with all manner of invented excuses... He stayed at the hotel, met the servant again, and whispered in her ear words that at first drew a show of displeasure — but soon her lips parted in a smile that held the answer...

And after that came an appointment — and a meeting!!

This girl, my dear Iqbal, was not one of the hotel's servants. She was one of the girls who work for the Jewish "Keren Kayemet" company, whose specialty is buying land from the Arabs by any means, sacrificing for it even the last shred of self-respect.

And so this wily Israelite managed to take possession of this simpleton's mind. She promised to marry him, and he sold her the last land he owned in return for extravagant prices — prices which, however, return to them by one way or another, mostly by way of wine and beautiful women...

And after his father died of the grief that seized him over his son's deeds, the people of the village drove Ali out of the village... And after even his wily girl abandoned him, he found no recourse but to carry this drum as a means of begging, and to wait opposite the hotel at the point that separates the Arab quarters from the Jewish quarter — where the Jewess catches, every day, some poor

simpleton in the very same way that she caught him in her snares!!

He waits, my dear, and he will go on waiting — until she who robbed him of money, happiness, honor, and manliness takes pity on him, and that will never be; or until nature takes pity on him and the hand of death snatches him away, to relieve him of this misery which he brought upon himself by himself.

Even if he should return to his town or his village, he will never return to his former state — for once the germ has mixed with the water of the well, it is impossible to root it out.

Finally, I hope I have eased your burden, and that you have learned from me a lesson you will not forget.

Continued from page 15

Regarding this incident I say:

In establishing the habit of cleanliness and order in our children, we must draw up a daily schedule which the child carries out under the supervision of his mother or his nurse: when he wakes in the morning he washes his face and hands, brushes his teeth, dresses himself completely, and combs his hair; and after every meal the mouth and hands must be washed. The mother must be firm in enforcing this schedule in its daily sequence, without any indulgence, until by repetition its performance becomes an easy habit which the child hastens to complete without thought or prior resolve, and he feels lost if some obstacle keeps him from completing it at the appointed time.

So, my ladies and sisters, when you feel your responsibility sincerely, and attend in person to planting good habits in your children, the confusion and muddle in their daily lives will lessen, and they will grow into young people who understand the meaning of order, who appreciate the value of time, and who work in this life toward a lofty goal that they strive to attain.