one of my brightest shawls
on Fatima, who went away promising to come soon again and see how I had
got on. I told my mother of the plan, which comforted her a good deal,
and on the next evening I carried it out. I saw disgust and dismay rise
in Abdu Hassan's face when we were at the cafe and the first dirty old
beggar came up to me and addressed me as his nephew, which became
mingled with rage when another ragged fellow came up to congratulate his
cousin, as he called me; but when two more supposed cousins had joined
us, even dirtier than the others, he could contain his feelings no
longer, and turning to me, cried: 'Is it true, O Halil, that these sons
of dogs are indeed your relations?'

"'Yes, O Sheikh,' I said, humbly. 'Be not displeased with me; a man must
not disown the brother of his father, or the sons of his father's
sister, even though they be poor.'

"'Poor!' he roared. 'Poor! They are not only poor, but they are sons of
pigs. Give me back my daughter. She shall not stay with you to be the
mother of dogs!'

"'You cannot take her away unless I divorce her,' I replied, calmly,
'and that I will not do, for I love the girl.'

"At this he began to entreat me, offering me at first four purses of
silver, and at last offered me the same number of purses filled with
gold, to which I consented, with apparent reluctance.

"He made me divorce her that very evening, for divorce, as you know,
Effendi, is very easy with us; and a week afterwards I altered the motto
over my shop door to what it now is, for Ayesha (that was her true name)
was mine."

As Halil finished his story, I became aware that he had another listener
in the shape of a little urchin, clad in a brightly coloured gown, which
reached to the ground, and who wore, perched on his closely-shaven head,
a small tarboosh. He had appeared from some corner of the shop, and now
sidled up to Halil, his bright black eyes fixed on my face.

"See, Effendi," said Halil, with a proud smile, "this is the eldest of
my five boys."

After I had rejoiced the eldest son's heart with a small "backsheesh," I
took leave of Halil with many friendly salutations, and a pressing
invitation on his part to come again soon.

_From Behind the Speaker's Chair._

(VIEWED BY HENRY W. LUCY.)

[_The first of what, it is hoped, will be a long series of
articles, descriptive of the House of Commons, is here
appended. The author is Mr. Henry Lucy, who has spent ne