h_
when they drive their animals. Some years ago a good man from America,
who fears God and would not take his name in vain was travelling in the
Holy Land, and came on to Beirut. When he reached there, some one asked
him if he had learned any Arabic during his journey. He said yes, he had
learned _Bakhshish_ for "a present," and _Yullah_ for "go ahead." His
friend asked him if he had used the latter word much on the way. He said
certainly, he had used it all the way. His friend answered, Professor,
you have been swearing all the way through the Holy Land. Of course he
did not know it and meant no wrong. But it shows that such words are
used so commonly in Syria that strangers do not think them bad language,
and it also shows that travellers ought to be careful in using the words
they learn of muleteers and sailors in Arab land.

In some parts of the country the little boys and girls swear so
dreadfully that you can hardly bear to be with them. Especially among
the Nusairiyeh, they think that nothing will be believed unless they add
an oath. Dr. Post once rebuked an old Sheikh for using the word "Wullah"
so often, and argued so earnestly about it that the man promised never
to use it again. The old man a moment after repeated it. The doctor
said, "will you now pledge me that you will not say 'Wullah' again?" He
replied, "Wullah, I will."

Sometimes a donkey-driver will get out of patience with his long-eared
beast. The donkey will lie down with his load in a deep mud-hole, or
among the sharp rocks. For a time the man will kick and strike him and
throw stones at him, and finally when nothing else succeeds he will
stand back, with his eyes glaring and his fist raised in the air, and
scream out, "May Allah curse the beard of your grandfather!" I believe
that the donkey always gets up after that,--that is, if the muleteer
first takes off his load and then helps him, by pulling stoutly at his
tail.

I told you that one of the girls who bring us milk, is named
"_Lokunda_," or _Hotel_. She is a small specimen of a hotel, but
provides us purer and sweeter cow's milk than many a six-storied hotel
on Broadway would do. You will say that is a queer name for a girl, but
if you stop and think about many of our English names you would think
them queer too. Here in Syria, we have the house of Wolf, the house of
"Stuffed Cabbage," Khowadji Leopard, the lady "Wolves," and one of our
fellow villagers in Abeih where we spend the summer