Afterwards I grew more wary, and merely moistened my
lips. Another thing I used to do at my earlier receptions was to make
tea and coffee and carry them round myself, while the dragomans would
lazily sit and look on. I didn't understand this at all, so I told them
to get up and help me, and they willingly handed tea and coffee to any
European, man or woman, but not to their native ladies, who blushed,
begged the dragomans' pardon, and stood up, looking appealingly at me,
and praying not to be served. So I found it the easiest thing to wait
on the native women myself, though I felt very indignant that any man
should feel himself degraded by having to wait on a woman.
I must now mention three of my principal visitors, each of whom
afterwards played a large part, though a very different part, in
our life at Damascus.
First of all was the Wali, or Governor-General of Syria. I received him
in state one day. He came in full uniform with a great many attendants.
I seated him in proper form on a divan with pipes and coffee. He was
very amiable and polite. He reminded me of an old tom-cat: he was
dressed in furs; he was indolent and fat, and walked on his toes and
purred. At first sight I thought him a kind-hearted old creature, not
very intelligent and easily led. The last quality was true enough; for
what disgusted me was that Syria was really governed by dragomans, and
the Wali or other great man was a puppet.
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