"One winter's night, when the Hodja and his wife were snugly asleep, two men began to quarrel and fight under the window. Both drew knives and the dispute threatened to become serious. Hearing the noise, the Hodja's wife got up, looked out of the window and, seeing the state of affairs, woke her husband, saying: 'Great heavens, get up and separate them or they will kill each other.' But the Hodja only answered sleepily: 'Wife, dear, come to bed again; on my faith there are no men in the world; I wish to be quiet; it is a winter's night. I am an old man, and perhaps if I went out they might beat me.' The Hodja's wife was a wise woman. She kissed his hands and his feet. The Hodja was cross and scolded her, but he threw the quilt about him, went downstairs and out to where the disputants were, and said to them: 'For the sake of my white beard cease, my sons, your strife.' The men, in reply, pulled the quilt from the Hodja's shoulders and made off with it. 'Very well,' observed the old man. He reentered, locked the door, and went upstairs. Said his wife: 'You did very well to go out to those men. Have they left off quarrelling?' 'They have,' replied the Hodja. 'What were they quarrelling about, Hodja?' 'Fool,' replied the Hodja, 'they were quarrelling for my quilt. Henceforward my motto shall be, "Beware of serpents."'" [Illustration: JACOB'S LADDER One of the most striking of the quilts having Biblical names. Colours: blue and white] [Illustration: CONVENTIONAL TULIP Made in Ohio about 1840. Beautifully quilted in medallions and pineapples of original design. Colors: red, pink, and green] Applique, or applied work, has never been used in France to the same extent as in England, even though the French name "applique" is more frequently used than any other. However, there is one striking example of applique work, of Rhenish or French origin, now hanging in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This realistic patchwork represents a fight between an armoured knight mounted on a high-stepping white horse and a ferocious dragon. The designs are arranged in a fashion similar to the blocks in a modern quilt, and depict several scenes showing the progress of the combat. There is also a border covered closely with figures of monks, knights, and ladies.