The chief of the valley in which I passed the night was a man of
large possessions, and he entertained me very sumptuously. He was
highly intelligent, and had had the sagacity to foresee that Europe
would intervene authoritatively in the affairs of Syria. Bearing
this idea in mind, and with a view to give his son an advantageous
start in the ambitious career for which he was destined, he had
hired for him a teacher of the Italian language, the only
accessible European tongue. The tutor, however, who was a native
of Syria, either did not know or did not choose to teach the
European forms of address, but contented himself with instructing
his pupil in the mere language of Italy. This circumstance gave me
an opportunity (the only one I ever had, or was likely to have
{46}) of hearing the phrases of Oriental courtesy in an European
tongue. The boy was about twelve or thirteen years old, and having
the advantage of being able to speak to me without the aid of an
interpreter, he took a prominent part in doing the honours of his
father's house. He went through his duties with untiring
assiduity, and with a kind of gracefulness, which by mere
description can scarcely be made intelligible to those who are
unacquainted with the manners of the Asiatics.
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