AFOOT THROUGH THE
such a familiar bit of colour to him, but he had never
been able to introduce it into his work, not being able
to copy except from the flat.
On leaving he pressed me to visit a neighbour who
had wonderful brocades from Central Asia, and, on
my pleading absolute inability to purchase, he assured
me that would not be in the least expected. So I
went, and found a royal personage with a vast following,
filling most of the warehouse, though room was made for
me, and, examining such riches of embroideries, silk
draperies, antique brocades, gold cloths, and softest
satins from many countries and many lands as X had
hardly realised existed nowadays, I thought they must
have been raped from some rich fairy store, and the
silence of the owner as to their origin strengthened the
idea, but I do not know. They may be merely the
harvest of many visits to such hovels as I had visited
in the morning in my search after carpets, and savage
kings and wild tribesmen in Central Asia may own such
gorgeous draperies. Anything is possible in the general
topsy-turveydom east of Suez, where men write from
right to left, and keep their heads covered to be
respectful, where they run away when beckoned to,
and have to be waved away if desired to approach,
where the correct hanging of a portrait is head downward,
and even the robin wears his red under his ta il!
The light was fast failing as I left that treasure-
house of colour and material, and I bade my boatmen
paddle fast that I might not be too late on the water
without warm wraps. Keluctantly they made ready
to start; they had been listening to a quarrel
between two women—each stalwart, abusive, truculent
and wished to watch the conclusion. However, the
principals themselves considered that nightfall was too