FATHER FROST IN JERUSALEM


The next Friday evening Mr Jacob read the following letter.

"My Dear Cousin Mill,--I have not yet written to tell you how we manage
during cold weather. Before we arrived, we were under the impression
that it was always warm in Palestine. Certainly the sun does shine more
in winter here than in England, and while it shines the weather is very
pleasant; but we get very cold weather, too, especially in Jerusalem. We
get very little snow, but a good deal of frost, which no one enjoys. No
doubt you wonder why, because we all enjoyed the cold and frost in
England, and loved the skating and the snowballing.

"The reason is very clear, for here we have no cheery open fireplaces,
which give out so much heat in England; in fact there are not even any
steel or iron ovens, and the result is, the Palestinian houses are
intensely cold in frosty weather. The ceilings are all lofty and in the
shape of a dome, which, with the very thick stone walls is very pleasant
in summer but very cold in the winter. Then there is very little
firewood to be had here, as the Turks try to prevent much
tree-planting, so fire wood is a luxury which very few can afford.
Instead, we have all copper buckets pierced with holes standing on a
tripod and filled with burning charcoal, which is placed in the middle
of the room.