Page 461 - Neglected Arabia (1916-1920)

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the Arab, Ahmad bestowed upon him, and now the stranger had disap­
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peared with all he could carry away. Searching parties went up and
down and across.the river and back into the desert, but not a sign of
the scoundrel was seen.
It would be correct to instance Ahmad as a shining example of the
Arab host, but it would not be fair to say that the stranger was a typi­
cal Arab. Robbery is a recognized trade among the Arabs, and even
pretending to be a needy traveller is allowable when a ghasu, or raid, is
planned. But such individual treachery against your own host is out­
side the accepted laws of the desert. All parties in the town denounced
the robbery, and it would have gone hard with the culprit had he been
found.
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Our trip up the Tigris had given us half a dozen sidelights on
Arab and Persian character.
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Y. M. C. A. Work Among Soldiers in Mesopotamia

Rev. James Cantine, D.D.
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. ! (Owing to the uncertainty and irregularity of mail service, this article
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appears in print a year after it was written.—Editor.)

rev. James cantine, d.d.

The missionaries in the Busrah field have been accustomed for
many years to think of themselves as the only ones engaged in active
evangelistic work in all this vast region. One of the agreeable sur­
prises that met me when I came back from furlough a few months ago
was to find that other Christian workers had reached Mesopotamia,