"We stayed in this room for a long time, and then I was taken to that part of the house where the ladies of the family live. At the entrance some negress slaves were waiting to receive me and lead me to the room in which the lady of the house awaited me. She was mounted on a complete throne of cushions, and some eighty or ninety guests, all ladies, were with her. They were dressed in every variety of colour, and their dresses were all embroidered in gold. The young ladies wore pretty gauze veils, pink, white, or blue. These were all edged with needlework; some in gold, some in silver. The elder ladies wore gorgeous Cashmere shawls thrown over their heads and shoulders, and most of them wore diamond ornaments. "I was conducted to the seat of honour by the side of the lady of the house, and a narghilé (a sort of pipe) was brought to me. Then a china saucer was filled with bonbons from a tray covered with all sorts of confectionery, and was handed to me with some rose sherbet. "After this I was taken into another room to see the bride. She was a girl about twelve years old. She lay on a sofa, with her face muffled up in some kind of white stuff which was ornamented with diamonds, and was bound on by a band of diamonds. Her nurse was with her. The poor child was very tired, and more than half asleep. When the covering was removed that I might see her face, she moved uneasily, as if she did not like to be disturbed. She was dressed in satin, scarlet, and gold, and had a white cashmere shawl round her waist. She wore a number of splendid ornaments. "It was nearly midnight when we came away. The cool night air was delicious after all the heat and glare of the house. It was a glorious night, the sky radiant with stars which sparkled more brightly than the little bride's diamonds." [Illustration: VISIT TO THE HAREM.] It was now time for us to go to the mission schools, which we all very much wanted to see. We went first to the girls' school, where we saw a number of children copying portions of Holy Scripture in Arabic. They wrote beautifully. Lucy took a great fancy to one little girl, and stood beside her, watching her, for a long time. The child stole a shy glance at her now and again; a kindly feeling sprang up between them, though they could not understand each other's language. We were told that the language taught in the schools generally is Arabic, but that some of the children learn English. They are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, needlework, embroidery, and, in fact, everything that can be useful to them. They read the Bible, and many of them can say large portions of it by heart. We next went to the ragged school. There we saw a number of little children, some of them not more than three years old. They are fed and clothed, and stay at school all day, only going home at night. They looked very happy. Besides these schools, there is also a school for Coptic young men.