e, and she felt like
one at a doorway peering in at an unknown world.

Almost immediately Aiyoub came back, and they began the meal, which was
perpetually accompanied by the music. Aiyoub offered a red soup, a
Kaw-ur-meh--meat stewed in a rich gravy with little onions--leaves of
the vine containing a delicious sort of forcemeat, cucumbers in milk,
some small birds pierced with silver skewers, spinach, and fried wheat
flour mingled with honey. She was given a knife and fork and a spoon,
all made of silver, and the plates were of silver, which did not
harmonize well with the golden tray. Baroudi used only his fingers and
pieces of bread in eating.

Mrs. Armine was hungry, and ate heartily. She knew nothing about Eastern
cooking, but she was a gourmet, and realized that Baroudi's cook was an
accomplished artist in his own line. During the meal she was offered
nothing to drink, but directly it was over Aiyoub brought to her a
beautiful cup of gold or gilded silver--she did not know which--and
poured into it with ceremonial solemnity a small quantity of some
liquid.

"What is it?" she asked Baroudi.

"Drink!" he replied.

She lifted the cup to her lips and drank a draught of water.

"Oh!" she said, with an intonation of surprised disappointment.

"_Lish rub el Moyeh en Nil awadeh!_" he said.

"What does that mean?"

"'Who drinks Nile water must return.'"

She smiled, lifted the cup again to her lips, and drank the last drop of
water.

"Nile water! I understand."

"And now you will have some sherbet."

He spoke to Aiyoub in Arabic. Aiyoub took away the cup, brought a tall,
delicate glass, and having thrown over his right arm an elaborately
embroidered napkin, poured into it from a narrow vase of china a liquid
the colour of which was a soft and velvety green.

"Is this really sherbet?" Mrs. Armine asked.

"Sherbet made of violets."

"How is it made?"

By crushing the flowers of violets, making them into a preserve with
sugar, and boiling them for a long time.

Aiyoub stayed by her while she drank, and when she had finished he
offered her the embroidered napkin. She touched it with her lips.

"Do you like it?"

"It is very strange. But everything here is strange."

Aiyoub brought once more to his master the basin with the cover and the
jug, and Baroudi washed his hands and rinsed his mouth as at the
beginning of the meal. After this ceremony he again muttered a word or
words, rose to his feet, took