's writing is not too clear--that may be the
cause of the delay."

"My husband has received letters which have been months on a journey
which should have taken days. Time means nothing to desert peoples, as
you know."

"You have made me feel much happier," Margaret said brightly. She
could have kissed the beautiful woman by her side out of sheer
gratitude.

For some time longer they discussed the subject more fully and laid
their plans.

Suddenly Hadassah said, "Where are you staying in Cairo?"

When Margaret told her the name of her hotel, she said, "You must come
to us. We have lots of spare room in this big house, and if you are
here we can work together so much better. The hotel is too public. It
would really give us great pleasure if you will. I feel sure it would
be wiser."

"How kind of you to ask me!" Margaret said. "I am quite a stranger to
you! I'd love to come. Michael has told me something about your work
among the Copts--indeed, everyone speaks of it, of your new educational
scheme and the progress you have made in so short a time. I should
like to understand more about it, if I may."

"Perhaps our minds have met many times before, for I think we are
scarcely strangers," Hadassah said. "I hope you don't feel towards me
as one?"

Margaret looked pleased. "I have heard so much about you, about your
work."

"It is very uphill work. You can only hope for very slow results
amongst a people who have been scorned and persecuted and rejected for
generations and generations. I, as a Syrian, know what social
persecution means, so it is my highest ambition to do what little I
can, with my husband's help and my father's wealth, to elevate the
ideals and the moral standard of the young Coptic girls. You can do
nothing, or next to nothing, with the older women. Their characters
are formed, their prejudices too deeply-rooted."

"I suppose so. It is the same in India--the women there are the
bitterest opponents to the reforms for women. They cling to the
suffering and oppression they endure."

"These Copts have absorbed so many of the worst features of the
Mohammedan civilization--their superstitions, their domestic customs
as regards the women, and a great many of their least desirable
religious ceremonies. It is hard, for instance, for a stranger to
distinguish between a Christian native's marriage or funeral and a
Moslem's--indeed, it is often not easy even if you have a lifelong
know