I am no admirer of a big cigar in a woman's mouth, or a short
clay; but I know of nothing more graceful or enjoyable than a cigarette,
and even more so in the narghileh, or even the chibouque, which, however,
is quite a man's pipe.
I must add that when we were in the East Richard and I made a point of
leading two lives. We were always thoroughly English in our Consulate,
and endeavoured to set an example of the way in which England should be
represented abroad, and in our official life we strictly conformed to
English customs and conventions; but when we were off duty, so to speak,
we used to live a great deal as natives, and so obtained experience of
the inner Eastern life. Richard's friendship with the Mohammedans, and
his perfect mastery of the Arabic and Persian languages and literature,
naturally put him into intimate relations with the oriental authorities
and the Arab tribes, and he was always very popular among them, with
one exception, and that was the Turkish Wali, or Governor, aforesaid.
Richard was my guide in all things; and since he adapted himself to the
native life, I endeavoured to adapt myself to it also, not only because
it was my duty, but because I loved it. For instance, though we always
wore European dress in Damascus and Beyrout, we wore native dress in the
desert. I always wore the men's dress in our expeditions in the desert
and up the country. By that I mean the dress of Arab men.
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