Was I right?

by Mrs. O. F. Walton

We had some difficulty in getting through the gate, for a number of camels and mules were coming out of the city at the time, heavily laden with baggage. Then we passed the Tower of David, and turned down a quiet street, where stood the hotel in which Mr. Stanley had secured rooms for us. He took leave of us here, as he was going to lodge at the Latin Convent, which was in another part of the city, and where he had stayed when he was last in Jerusalem.

The landlady of the hotel was a Scotch woman, and was very kind and attentive. Our rooms were beautifully clean, with white stone floors, white walls, white curtains before the windows, and white coverings on the beds.

We did not sleep much that night. The fatigue and excitement which we had gone through the day before would have been sufficient to keep us awake; but even had we felt disposed to sleep, I do not think we should have been able to do so, for the noises in the city, during the night, were so many and so varied, that it seemed to us that, under any circumstances, sleep would be very difficult to obtain. Our landlady had told us that she hoped we should not be alarmed at any sound we might hear in the night, for a wedding was going on in a house close by, and the festivities would be kept up until the morning.

Accordingly, for many hours we were kept awake by the noise of music and singing, by the beating of little drums, and by the shouts and laughter of the wedding party. But as morning dawned the wedding guests grew quieter, and we hoped to be able to sleep. Now, however, we were disturbed by the howling and barking of the street dogs, which at times was quite deafening. These dogs have no owners, but act as the scavengers of the city, eating anything they can find amongst the refuse and dirt of the streets. Each dog has his appointed place in the city, and there seems to be a code of honour amongst them, that no dog is to go into any other quarter of the city except that in which he was born and bred, and in which he ordinarily gets his livelihood. Immediately a strange dog from another part of Jerusalem makes his appearance he is driven away by the united efforts of all the dogs in the street which he has invaded, with enough noise to awaken the whole city.

Poor Evelyn tossed about very wearily through the night, and I was really afraid that she would be ill again. But her merry spirits seemed to keep her up, for she found amusement in all our little discomforts, and made me laugh in spite of myself many times during that long, tiring night.

At length a lull came in the barking of the dogs; but now several bells began to ring in the Greek and Latin convents of the city, and then we heard the shouts of muleteers and camel-drivers, and the tinkling of the mule-bells, as different parties of people set off in the cool of the morning for Joppa, or some of the distant villages.

We got up at eight o'clock tired and unrefreshed. Sir William had slept much better, and was in good spirits, and very anxious to go out and explore Jerusalem. We needed no dragoman to take us to the various places of interest, for Mr. Stanley, who knew his way about the city as well as any of the inhabitants did, was very kind, and anxious to help us.

I fancied that it was something more than ordinary kindness which made him always so willing to make one of our party. I could not help thinking that he was attracted by my dear Evelyn's sweet face and winning ways. Who could help loving her? I said to myself, as I thought the matter over a hundred times during our first day in Jerusalem. I noticed, I could not help noticing, how diligently he kept near us, and how pleased he seemed that Sir William thankfully accepted his offer to be our guide whilst we stayed in the Holy City.

I shall never forget my first walk through the streets of Jerusalem. We grew so familiar, in a few weeks' time, with all the Eastern sights and sounds that we scarcely noticed them, but that morning everything was strange and fresh and full of interest.

We went first across an open square in front of the Tower of David, where a vegetable market was being held; and chickens and eggs, oranges and lemons, were being exhibited for sale by the women from the villages round Jerusalem, and were being bargained for and bought by the townspeople.