"We return in the evening. And the Sheikh, with a lamp in his hand, peers through a small square opening in the door to see who is knocking. He knew neither Khalid nor myself; but Mrs. Gotfry--'Eigh!' he mused. And as he beheld her face in the lamplight he exclaimed 'Marhaba (welcome)! Marhaba!' and hastened to unbolt the door. We are shown through a dark, narrow hall, into a small court, up to his study. Which is a three-walled room--a sort of stage--opening on the court, and innocent of a divan or a settle or a chair. While he and Mrs. Gotfry were exchanging greetings in Persian, I was wondering why in Damascus, the city of seven rivers and of poetry and song, should there be a court guilty like this one of a dry and dilapidated fountain. I learned afterwards, however, that the Sheikh can not tolerate the noise of the water; and so, suffering from thirst and neglect, the fountain goes to ruin. "On the stage, which is the study, is a clutter of old books and pamphlets; in the corner is the usual straw mat, a cushion, and a sort of stool on which are ink and paper. This he clears, places the cushion upon it, and offers to Mrs. Gotfry; he himself sits down on the mat; and we are invited to arrange for ourselves some books. Indeed, the Sheikh is right; most of these tomes are good for nothing else. "Mrs. Gotfry introduces us. "'Ah, but thou art young and short of stature,' said he to Khalid; 'that is ominous. Verily, there is danger in thy path.' "'But he will embrace Buhaism,' put in Mrs. Gotfry. "'That might save him. Buhaism is the old torch, relighted after many centuries, by Allah.' "Meanwhile Khalid was thinking of second-hand Jerry of the second-hand book-shop of New York. The Sheikh reminded him of his old friend. "And I was holding in my hand a book on which I chanced while arranging my seat. It was Debrett's Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. How did such a book find its way into the Sheikh's rubbish, I wondered. But birds of a feather, thought I. "'That book was sent to me,' said he, 'by a merchant friend, who found it in the Bazaar. They send me all kinds of books, these simple of heart. They think I can read in all languages and discourse on all subjects. Allah forgive them.' "And when I tell him, in reply to his inquiry, that the book treats of Titles, Orders, and Degrees of Precedence, he utters a sharp whew, and with a quick gesture of weariness and disgust, tells me to take it. 'I have my head full of our own ansab (pedigrees),' he adds, 'and I have no more respect for a green turban (the colour of the Muslem nobility) than I have for this one,' pointing to his, which is white. "Mrs. Gotfry then asks the Sheikh what he thinks of Wahhabism. "'It is Islam in its pristine purity; it is the Islam of the first great Khalifs. "Mohammed is dead; but Allah lives," said Abu Bekr to the people on the death of the Prophet. And Wahhabism is a direct telegraph wire between mortal man and his God.