acrossasiaminoro00chiluoft

398 ACROSS ASIA MINOR ON FOOT
siUTOund Armenian deserters in a villacje not far
away, and the deserters, joined b}^ a few Zeitun hotheads,
had beaten off the troops with loss and shot
the Governor. And now on the morning of my
arrival had come news of Beirut having been bombarded
by Italian cruisers ; to the Zeitun mind,
alert in such matters, both events pointed to an
inevitable sequel. The Turks would revenge Beirut
on the Zeitun Christians by endeavouring to exterminate
them, and make the shooting of Governor
and troops an excuse for doing so. But in the nick
of time I, so evidently a British officer, had fortunately
arrived, sent to protect or perhaps assist the
Zeitunlis ; and behind me — who knew indeed what
might not be following ! I heard subsequently of a
rumour that I had walked for the purpose of ascertaining
by actual test how long an army would take
to reach Zeitun from the sea, for the town is nothing
if not self-centred. With notions like this current it
was clear that the sooner I left the better.
I had an introduction to the actina: Governor of
Zeitun from the Governor of Marash, and hastened
to call on him, but he could not be found. So, with
another introduction, I went through narrow, winding
alleys and passages, more like the alleys of a
Cappadocian cave-village than an open-air town, to
the house of the Armenian Protestant pastor, by
whom I was heartily welcomed and received. An
Armenian town is always cleaner and better than
a Turkish ; and if an Armenian Protestant pastor
lives there, his is always the cleanest dwelling ; it is
also the most Western in appointments, for he has
brought in American ideas and customs. Such a
pastor's home has, indeed, no inconsiderable influence
on his work. I am perfectly sure that my host's
home was an example to all Zeitun, as it would have
been in any other native town. It was spotlessly
clean, comfortable, and well ordered, and contained
the unexpected luxury of a small Turkish bath. In
appearance the house was not unlike a white hillside