their father to read them another letter from his cousin in Jerusalem.
He was pleased at their eagerness, and, while Upstairs getting the
letter, some of the boys' friends came in and settled comfortably down,
for all were eager to hear the letter read.

Mr Jacob said: "This time I will read a letter from your Cousin Dora to
my sister which will certainly interest you, my dear," turning to his
daughter, "but at the same time, I think it will interest you all."

"My dear Milly,--Isaac must have written to Jacob all about our arrival,
so I will begin by giving you some idea of our life here and my
impressions. The people, who so kindly asked us to stay with them till
Father finds a dwelling, have a few rooms in a house, which has a marble
paved courtyard. Six other families also have two or three rooms each.
All the work is done in the courtyard, even the cooking; for each family
uses tiny stoves, made of mud, into which they put a little lighted
charcoal and cook just outside or near their own doors; for there are no
kitchens or fireplaces in any of the rooms, and thus we see what each
family cooks. The Sephardim (Jews who have lived here for years) eat
their meals in the courtyard. They lay a mat on the marble tiles, on
which they place a small low table, and they sit on the mat and eat. Two
Sephardim families have rooms in the house and they speak Arabic and
Spanish, and their ways of living are more like those of the Turks, just
as the Jews in England live more like the English.

"Everyone seems most interested in us. Many people have come to visit
us, to see the new arrivals!

"The evening of the day on which we arrived was Friday; there was a
clear moonlight such as you would not often see in England, and it was