"This is very horrible," I remarked. "Did you see it yourself?"
"No, but I have heard of it."
"Who told you?"
"A man in Arabkir."
"Had he seen it?"
"No, he had not been in Malattia, but he had been told the story. Every one has heard of it."
"We are in the East," I observed to my host, "and it appears to me that you Christians are very much given to exaggeration."
"Yes, Effendi; we want newspapers. If we only had newspapers we should then know the truth. How fortunate you must be in England to have so many newspapers!"
"Even they contradict each other sometimes," I remarked.
"Perhaps. But you are a great nation; I should like to be an Englishman."