Part 52 (1/2)
At the same moment Ayoub came into the room, without noise, and handed to Baroudi, who was sitting opposite to Mrs. Armine, with his left knee touching the rug and his right knee raised with his napkin laid over it, a basin of hammered bra.s.s with a cover, and a bra.s.s jug. Baroudi held forth his hands, and Ayoub poured water upon them, which disappeared into the basin through holes pierced in the cover. Then, making a cup of his hands turned upwards, Baroudi received more water into it, conveyed it to his mouth, rinsed his mouth elaborately, and spat out the water upon the cover of the basin. Ayoub carried away the basin and jug, Baroudi dried his hands on his napkin, and then muttered a word. It was ”Bi-smi-llah!” but Mrs. Armine did not know that. She sat quite still, for a moment unseen, unthought of; she listened to the quavering voice, to the beaten drum and arghool, she smelt the incense, and she felt like one at a doorway peering in at an unknown world.
Almost immediately Ayoub came back, and they began the meal, which was perpetually accompanied by the music. Ayoub offered a red soup, a Kaw-ur-meh--meat stewed in a rich gravy with little onions--leaves of the vine containing a delicious sort of forcemeat, cuc.u.mbers in milk, some small birds pierced with silver skewers, spinach, and fried wheat flour mingled with honey. She was given a knife and fork and a spoon, all made of silver, and the plates were of silver, which did not harmonize well with the golden tray. Baroudi used only his fingers and pieces of bread in eating.
Mrs. Armine was hungry, and ate heartily. She knew nothing about Eastern cooking, but she was a gourmet, and realized that Baroudi's cook was an accomplished artist in his own line. During the meal she was offered nothing to drink, but directly it was over Ayoub brought to her a beautiful cup of gold or gilded silver--she did not know which--and poured into it with ceremonial solemnity a small quant.i.ty of some liquid.
”What is it?” she asked Baroudi.
”Drink!” he replied.
She lifted the cup to her lips and drank a draught of water.
”Oh!” she said, with an intonation of surprised disappointment.
”_Lish rub el Moyeh en Nil awadeh!_” he said.
”What does that mean?”
”'Who drinks Nile water must return.'”
She smiled, lifted the cup again to her lips, and drank the last drop of water.
”Nile water! I understand.”
”And now you will have some sherbet.”
He spoke to Ayoub in Arabic. Ayoub took away the cup, brought a tall, delicate gla.s.s, and having thrown over his right arm an elaborately embroidered napkin, poured into it from a narrow vase of china a liquid the colour of which was a soft and velvety green.
”Is this really sherbet?” Mrs. Armine asked.
”Sherbet made of violets.”
”How is it made?”
By crus.h.i.+ng the flowers of violets, making them into a preserve with sugar, and boiling them for a long time.
Ayoub stayed by her while she drank, and when she had finished he offered her the embroidered napkin. She touched it with her lips.
”Do you like it?”
”It is very strange. But everything here is strange.”
Ayoub brought once more to his master the basin with the cover and the jug, and Baroudi washed his hands and rinsed his mouth as at the beginning of the meal. After this ceremony he again muttered a word or words, rose to his feet, took Mrs. Armine's left hand with his right, and led her to the divan. Ayoub brought coffee, lifted the golden tray from its stool, set the coffee on a smaller tray upon the stool close to the divan, and went out, carrying the golden tray very carefully. As he vanished, the music outside ceased with an abruptness, a lack of finality, that were startling to an European. The almost thrilling silence that succeeded was broken by a bird singing somewhere among the orange-trees. It was answered by another bird.
”They are singing the praises of G.o.d,” said Baroudi, in a deep and slow voice, and as if he were speaking to himself.
”Those birds!”
She gazed at him in wonder. He looked at her with sombre eyes.
”You do not know these things.”