to
send their children to school. He remained a month or two among them, by
day and by night, sleeping by night outside the tents with his horse's
halter tied to his arms to prevent its being stolen, and spending the
evenings reading to the assembled crowd from the New Testament. He was
present as a spectator at a fight between Mohammed's men and the Ruella
Arabs east of the Sea of Galilee, in which the Ruella were defeated, but
Mohammed's son Faur was wounded, and Ali attended him. The Sitt Harba
told Ali that a papist named Shwiry, in Damascus, had taken the Arabic
Bible from them! So Ali gave them another. This Bible-hating spirit of
the Papacy is the same the world over. How contemptible the spirit of a
man _professing_ the name of Christian, and yet willing to rob the only
woman among the Bedawin who can read, of the word of everlasting life!
The whole family of the Sheikh were interested in reading an illustrated
book for children of folio size, styled "Lilies of the Field," which we
printed in Beirut last year. When Ali set out on this journey, I gave
him a letter to the Sheikh, reminding him of his visit to Beirut, and
urging again upon him the sending of his children to school. The Sheikh
sent me the following reply, written by his wife, the Sitt Harba, and
sealed with his own signet ring. I value the letter highly as being
written by the only Bedawin woman able to write:

To his excellency the most honored and esteemed, our revered
Khowadja Henry Jessup, may his continuance be prolonged! Amen.

After offering you the pearls of salutation, and the ornaments of
pure odoriferous greeting, we would beg to inform you that your
epistle reached us in the hand of Ali Effendi, and we perused it
rejoicing in the information it contained about your health and
prosperity. You remind us of the importance of sending our sons and
daughters to be educated in your schools. Ali Effendi has urged us
very strongly to this course; and has spent several weeks with us
among the Arabs. He has read to the children from The Book, and
tried to interest them in learning to read. He has also gone from
tent to tent among our Bedawin, talking with them and urging upon
them this great subject. He constantly read to them that which
engaged their attention, and we aided him in urging it upon them.
Inshullah (God grant) that there may soon be a school among the
Ar