When I asked permission to sit in the doorway of his office, it was given most graciously and he forthwith sent out for a tiny cup of black coffee which he begged me to accept. I felt it would be delightful to become a client under these conditions. Why do not the denizens of Lincoln’s Inn offer us scented coffee, and wear flowers behind their ears? It would render the making of a will a pleasant interlude and do much to cheer a drooping bankrupt. If a yellow jonquil proved a little voyant for a London complexion, a white one could be substituted, and how pleasant the flower-bed in the early morning train up to town!
Whilst I was there a young man appeared in company of three or four friends, and after removing their shoes they were shown into the office with great ceremony. There they all squatted down on the far side of the ink bottles, and coffee was at once sent for and handed round. Grave compliments passed backwards and forwards, and the client praised the well-known acumen and mental gifts of the lawyer, who in gracefully denying any special talent, dislodged the jonquil which fell with a flop to the floor. Picking it up he absentmindedly tucked it in again, this time over his right ear, and the conversation was resumed. The state of the crops was discussed, the probability under the blessing of Allah of a good harvest, talk of an extension of the railway, etc. I left half an hour later, wondering whether the young man had called about the renting of a piece of agricultural land, but heard later that he was about to sue a neighbour for debt. Doubtless the real reason of his interview was reached by the afternoon.
Village Scene
I. M. D.
In Tunis itself the women veil themselves in a particularly ugly way. They bind two thick pieces of black stuff across their faces, leaving only a slit for the eyes free. In their voluminous white draperies, and with the white head covering, this gives a most uncanny appearance. They look some dreadful kind of grub. Below the full skirts can be caught a glimpse of stockinged ankles and heelless slippers surmounted by silver bangles.
They may only unveil before their husbands, fathers and very near male relations. The Koran has a deep distrust of feminine charms. “As soon as a man seeth the eyes of a woman he is running into danger. For the glance of a woman is as an arrow without bow or cord.” And again “How often do the looks cast upon women return to do harm to those who sent them.”
In this leisurely land it is considered bad form to hurry, this being one of the signs by which those possessed of devils can be readily detected. Since the opening of tourist agencies, there has been a great influx of these latter into the country.
With that care for hygiene so noticeable in ancient religions, there are countless observances of cleanliness imposed upon the faithful. Hands must be washed after a meal, and the face as well before prayer. If water is not available then fine sand may take its place. Five prayers must be said daily: in the morning, just before sunrise, at midday, during the afternoon, at sunset, and an hour and a half after the going down of the same. The call to prayer can be heard at these stated times, and it is curiously impressive to wake just as dawn is about to break, and to hear the long drawn-out wail of the muezzin from the minaret in the silence of the night.