None of the houses in Akra can be called in any way palatial, and probably the _malmudir's_ lodging was a typical residence of the better class. He occupied a single apartment on the first floor, the big landing outside serving as his kitchen and servant's room, and the ground floor consisting only of an entrance hall and lumber room. The furniture of his living room (as usual) consisted only of carpets and cushions. The windows were set very low down, so that one could see out of them comfortably when squatting on the floor; and above them were square recesses which served as receptacles for books. He gave us a capital supper, consisting of fried eggs, rissoles wrapped in cabbage, and a curry of meat and fruit. This was served in several dishes on one large tray, round which we all sat cross-legged straying from dish to dish with our wooden spoons. We had only one tumbler between the three of us, which we all used in turn; and the meal was concluded with the usual tiny cups of coffee.[78] Meanwhile he poured out his woes to us: woes with which we could heartily sympathize, and which afforded an instructive commentary upon the progress of Turkish "Reform." He himself was a native of Aleppo, a Syrian Catholic Christian. He had been duly trained for his post in the Government offices at Constantinople; and had received his present appointment in pursuance of that great Principle which was first enunciated at the Revolution, recognizing that Christians and Moslems should possess equal standing in the State. This admirable theory worked fairly in Constantinople itself, and even at the more accessible provincial capitals such as Smyrna and Aleppo; but alas for its practical efficacy in such out-of-the-way districts as Mosul! It would take at least a generation for reform to filter through here! Here all the administrative offices had been long since cornered by the invincibly corrupt "Old Gang;" a set of pig-headed reactionaries whose dead weight nothing could shift. What use was it to tell them that Christians and Moslems were equal, when the Koran expressly stated that they were emphatically not? Why should they use the powers that were their inalienable birthright to make true believers obey a Christian dog?