. As as she was settled in her new house she endeavoured to make
acquaintance of her neighbours.

Miss Whately was but just beginning to learn Arabic, and the only
assistants she could get for starting her school were a Syrian
matron--who could speak but a few words of English and read with
difficulty the New Testament--and her daughter of thirteen. Accompanied
by the Syrian matron, Miss Whately went out into the surrounding lanes
and invited the women to send their little girls to her to be taught to
read and sew. She met with many curt refusals and received many
fallacious promises; but when at last, in February 1861, a start was
made, nine little girls were present the first morning "No recruiting
sergeant," she says, "was ever so pleased with a handful of future
soldiers, for it was beating up for recruits for the Lord." [1] The
numbers gradually increased, though from time to time they were
seriously affected by the spreading of malicious reports and the
opposition of bigoted relatives and the only way to keep up the
attendance was to go round visiting to obtain recruits, and to cultivate
an acquaintance with the parents of the old scholars. In three months
the children had been reduced to some sort of order, taught the alphabet
and the way to sew; they could repeat a few texts, and sing a few hymns
with some approach to sweetness. But perhaps of more importance still,
they had learned to love and obey their teacher. Before her return to
England for the summer she took them for an early morning feast in the
public gardens of Cairo: and when the simple repast was finished, while
"the little ones danced and waved boughs in a perfect ecstacy of
merriment," the elder girls, she says, "seemed to find no pleasure so
great as following us about, pointing to the flowers, and frequently
throwing their arms round us, exclaiming, 'I love thee! I love thee
much!' with eyes really overflowing with affection. How often had it
been said 'You can make nothing of Moslem girls!' but the key of love is
wonderfully powerful, and equally so in every land in opening the doors
of young hearts." [2]

[Footnote :1 _Bagged Life in Egypt_, new ed., p. 29.]
[Footnote :2 _Ibid_., p. 110.]

Meanwhile the beginnings of other Christian work had been made by Miss
Whately. In the early mornings she would drive or ride a few miles out
of the city, and seating herself near to some hamlet would enter into
conversation with the women and girls, and