this delighted Nadim as nothing else could.

Perhaps his mother meant by this to cheer him. She knew he was delicate of feel-ing and extreme in sensibil-ity, with all the storms that brings upon his soul and his nerves. (And it pleased her to see signs of relief on his face, so she went out of the house with him, after entrusting her eldest daughter with her brothers and sisters.)

Nadim entered with his mother the house of Sitt Bahia. It was a spacious, beautiful mansion in the midst of a luxuriant garden, where the tunes of the water gurgling in the low, broad basin blended with the flutter of the breeze and the whis-pers of the delicate silvery light from the clear sky stud-ded with blossom-like stars in the calm, untroubled night. They climbed a side stair-way, over whose iron railing trellised the branches of the night-jasmine with its soft flowers. The air was fragrant with its dewy, penetrating perfume, as though the blossoms were pouring out their trouble and confiding their sorrow to men's souls in that sweet fragrance, at peace in the stillness of the night and in its perfumed, translucent darkness.

Bahia received the two guests with delight and welcome, and they passed through the hall to an inner sitting room, its cor-ners adorned with sumptuous furniture and precious curios, and lit with brilliant lights. On its couches sat some friends from among the neighbors. She herself sat on

a low seat, chattering news of every kind, laughing and merry, in a clamor that set her plump flesh quivering as she sank into her soft chair. Then she clapped, and a young maidservant appeared, and she said to her:

— Bring me something light to eat, so I may eat here. I do not want to leave my guests to take supper in the dining room. Then she indicated to her what light food she wanted, and the maid brought a broad tray with bowls and dishes on it. On one of them lay a large grilled fish, weighing more than a kilo, sprinkled with leaves of mint and parsley, with slices of sour lemon arranged around it. Beside it was a platter with pieces of browned chicken. On other dishes were bread and butter and cheese and rare fruits. Bahia invited the visitors to share the

food with her; they thanked her and excused themselves. And she began to devour, with a strange voracity, what was on the dishes.

The smell of the fish and the chicken spread. Hunger rose up inside Nadim. His mouth watered. He began to swallow... and to choke on his own spittle. In vain he turned his face away from the broad tray and what was on it — the smell kept reminding him of what lay there.

Such dishes as these he used to eat in their beautiful town, Jaffa, in their house on the shore... when the fishermen carried up baskets filled with fish that flapped and stirred. They caught it while he watched them from the balcony. And he remembers those fishermen, when they hauled in the net heavy with fish that shuddered

BESTFORM Brassiere

BESTFORM

— Evening

— Cocktail

— Matinée

— Afternoon

etc.

A new brassiere, convertible into 4 MODELS, comes to enrich the finest, largest, and most modern collection of BESTFORM brassieres and corsets.

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Agents: HALIM HANNA & Co. BEIRUT