I have continued very fairly well. We had great heat ten days ago; now
it is quite cool. Harvesting is going on, and never did I see in any
dream so lovely a sight as the whole process. An acquaintance of mine,
one Abdurachman, is Boaz, and as I sat with him on the threshing-floor
and ate roasted corn, I felt quite puzzled as to whether I were really
alive or only existing in imagination in the Book of Ruth. It is such a
_kief_ that one enjoys under the palm-trees, with such a scene. The
harvest is magnificent here; I never saw such crops. There is no cattle
disease, but a good deal of sickness among the people; I have to practise
very extensively, and often feel very anxious, as I cannot refuse to go
to the poor souls and give them medicine, with sore misgivings all the
while. Fancy that Hekekian Bey can't get me an Arabic dictionary in
Cairo. I must send to London, I suppose, which seems hardly worth while.
I wish you could see my teacher, Sheykh Yussuf. I never before saw a
pious person amiable and good like him. He is intensely devout, and not
at all bigoted--a difficult combination; and, moreover, he is lovely to
behold, and has the prettiest and merriest laugh possible. It is quite
curious to see the mixture of a sort of learning with utter ignorance and
great superstition, and such perfect high-breeding and beauty of
character. It is exactly like associating with St. John.
I want dreadfully to be able to draw, or to photograph. The group at the
Sheykh-el-Ababdeh's last night was ravishing, all but my ugly hat and
self. The black ringlets and dirty white drapery and obsolete
weapons--the graceful splendid Sheykh 'black but beautiful' like the
Shulamite--I thought of Antar and Abou Zeyd.
Give my salaam to Mme. Tastu and ask her whether I may stay on here, or
if I go down stream during the heat whether I may return next winter, in
which case I might leave some of my goods. Hekekian strongly advises me
to remain here, and thinks the heat will be good. I will try; 88 degrees
seemed to agree with me wonderfully, my cough is much better.