her towels and clothes in a place near me. She has, Abu Anis, a charm that no human being can resist — even I, I, a woman: I found myself greeting her first, and she returned my greeting in a voice of wondrous cadence; and no sooner had she turned toward me than I understood that God is able to gather all beauty in a single woman. We sat talking, and I learned that she is the daughter of Onbashi Kamil Said; she married a cousin of hers years ago and was granted two little girls, but cruel fate struck her with its arrows in the very flower of her youth: a year ago it robbed her of her provider, the father of her two girls. So the poor thing went back to her father's house, to taste the bitterness of straitened living and to share its hardship with her parents and her brothers. I pitied her state and joined her in her weeping, for she fell into my heart in the place of a dear sister, or a darling daughter, or call it what you will... Ah, Abu Anis, the savagery of the days!! I wished I could bring her home with us, to cheer her and to delight in her radiant face and her angelic beauty; but she is chaste of soul to the furthest bounds of chastity. And I seemed to notice that she grew shy and confused when she learned that I was the mutasar-rif's wife, because of the poverty of her condition and the shabbi-ness of her clothes. I am certain, my dear, that if you had seen her, and watched her weep and smile at one and the same time, you would have forgotten yourself and the passing of the hours! Never before have I seen a human being whom weeping makes more beau-tiful, as it does her! We stayed in unbroken talk until the sunset call to prayer roused us from our absorption in conversation; then I invited her to bathe in my private chamber. And when we had finished, not even your asking after the cause of my lateness kept me from accompanying her in my carriage to her father's house on the Orontes Avenue, for I could not bear that so fresh a flower should walk alone in the

night. And so I brought her home, and came back half intoxicated from the effect of this meeting.'

Iffet Hanim told her story to her husband with warmth and eagerness, and did not hide from him at all that she had conceived for this lady a deep fondness that set the strings of her heart trembling...

Ismail Effendi listened to his artless wife's talk with great attention. And when she had finished, he asked her, cheerful and joking:

— 'And what, pray, is the name of your new friend? How old is she — and is she fair or dark?'

The poor woman answered at once, her features glowing with satisfaction at his interest in the one she loved:

— 'Her name is Tharwa, my dear. Her age, from what I could see, is between twenty-four and twenty-six. She is fair, filling the heart with gladness; she has two green eyes shaded by long chestnut lashes; and as for her long, flowing hair and her slender figure, I can find no words for them — she is a marvel! A marvel of grace, of modesty, and of beauty.'

At this Ismail Effendi bowed his head a little, and then said:

— 'Very well; that being so, there is no harm in your inviting her and her mother to visit you, and in helping them materially and morally, if possible. And now come, let us take our supper; and I advise you to sleep at once afterward, for you are tired in body and in mind.'

And so Umm Anis did: she gave herself up to slumber after supper, hoping that some lovely dream would caress her. As for Ismail Effendi, he received the habitués of his house, to pass the evening with them as usual."

My grandmother could not but light a second cigarette, and we humored her in it, in great eagerness to learn the outcome of

the story. Then she went on, in her sweet, captivating way:

— "At about eleven o'clock at night, by the reckoning of your days, Ismail Effendi sent his servant to the house of Onbashi Kamil Said, summoning him to come at once. The onbashi soon arrived, panting, and Ismail Effendi met him in a reassuring tone and said:

— 'I am sorry to disturb you at such an hour, but I wished to reward you for your good conduct and your faithful service by raising you, from this moment, to the rank of lieutenant.'

The old onbashi fell at the mutasarrif's feet in gratitude, his tongue stammering out phrases of thanks. The mutasarrif raised him up gently, and when he had sat down and drunk his coffee, turned to him and asked:

— 'And now, Lieutenant, I have a simple request of you. I hear that you have a young daughter who lost her husband a year ago. Will you accept me as a son-in-law?'

Upon the first surprise there followed a second, of harder impact; the girl's father was at a loss, no longer knowing whether he was dreaming or awake. Yet that did not keep him from saying:

— 'I am at your command, my lord; it is a great honor for me that you should marry my

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