Page 434 - Neglected Arabia 1902-1905

without supervision. This time l)r. and Mr>. Thoms, Mrs. Zwemer.
and Mrs. Bennett wen， k.lt at I'ahroin. The others were at Busrah or
on the steamer that reached there Jan. ist.
A rUIlLIC SKSSIUN.
On Jan. 3rd the shore people came alongside in boats, while we
quarantine suspects clustered along down tlic ship's ladder, and thus
was held our first business session, with much levity among ourselves
and evident amusement to the native passengers and ship’s crew. Ofii-
cers and committees wore elected and an effort made to get all prelimi­
3'
naries, such as examinations and accounts, off the docket before the
regular session. Miss Scardeficld was up for her first exam., and Mrs.
Cantine, Miss Lutton and Mr. Van Ess for their second, and I am sure
that all Vcrc thoroughly glad when the ordeal was over. Tlic writer
often pities new missionaries under the strain of preparing for the
increasingly difficult language examinations, and yet he will always
labor under the disability consequent upon not having had. when he
came out, the spur and the goal which our courses of study now afford.
Our five clays in quarantine wore passed on board the “Madura,”
busily and happily, in spite of the cold which seemed quite severe to us
Muscat dwellers, although it kept somewhat above the freezing point.
And when we landed we were still fortunate in that our two weeks on
shore were free from tlic cold rains and bitter winds that make the
Busrah winters rather trying. Our visiting missionaries were all quar­
tered upon the Barnys, and we owe a great many of the pleasant mem-
ories of our visit to the care with which they ministered to our com fort
in their cozy home.
visrroRS.
One of the pleasant features of our services was the presence of Dr.
Brigstocke, of the neighboring English mission at Baghdad. His ex-
perience and judgment were often drawn upon in our discussions, and
we were able to plan for some united effort in our common field. Miss
Miller, who lias been for some time working among the Mohammedan
women in this part of Arabia, was also present at some of our devo­
tional meetings.
EXPANSION.
In our business sessions perhaps the most interesting feature was
the reading of the station reports and those of the various special de­
partments of work. Nothing phenomenal was offered, but the story