"Come, children. We will go now to some shops where I must buy things not sold here," said Esther's mother. She led the way out of the market and they entered a crowded street. There were Turks in their flowing robes, Arabs, Armenians, Syrians, and Jews. Almost all were gaily dressed, and many of them were handsome. The Arabs were either barefooted, or else they wore red or yellow slippers. "They lift their feet as though they were passing over a desert," said Esther to Miriam, as they went by some Arabs. [Illustration: A STREET IN JERUSALEM.] "I should think they would suffer from the heat," answered her sister. "Their heads look so big, I'm sure they have two or three caps under their turbans." "Perhaps they think the more clothing they wear, the better the heat will be kept out," said their mother, who heard what they were talking about. "Here is the shop I was looking for. We will go in." She led the way into a sort of cave cut into the soft rock. It was a dark, dingy little place. There were shelves around the sides of it. In the middle was a sort of counter, where the storekeeper sat with his goods around him. As Esther's mother entered, he slowly took his pipe from his mouth and stopped his gossiping with a friend who sat outside on the pavement. He was in no hurry, however. He acted more like a king on his throne than a trader who had to sell cloth for a living. "Yellow plush, is it?" he asked. "Ah! I have some beautiful, beautiful. It is the very thing." But his customer was not easily satisfied, and after she had finally picked out the piece she wished, there was a long talk about the price. Both were satisfied at last. The plush was cut off and wrapped up, and the storekeeper was left to his own pleasure. Esther's mother still had some errands to do, so they visited several other stores. They were not all in caves, however, but most of them were small and dark. At last, everything needed was purchased and the lady and children started homeward. "Look at the sky," said Esther. "Isn't it beautiful to-night?" The sun was almost setting. The clouds were turning a rosy red. They were so bright that the city itself seemed to share in their glory. "Jerusalem the Blessed!" said Miriam, in a low voice. "There is papa. We are late about getting home and so is he," said Esther. "Now we can have his company." Her father had already seen his wife and the girls, and was smiling at them. It was a warm evening, yet he wore his fur-trimmed, round velvet hat over the tight-fitting cap that never left his head in the daytime. A long lock of hair hung down on each side of his face, as it always did after he was dressed for the day. "Bless you, my little ones," he said, as Esther and Miriam each seized a hand. "Now tell me what you have seen while you were shopping." The children chattered as they do everywhere in the world. They described the market and the people, the camels and the shopkeepers.