Mon bere n'aime bas quitter.

Tres bon marche'-- from which I guessed that they had occupied the house rent-free till they had come to look upon it as their own.
Leaving aside the land, which we should visit presently, the owner of the house, I was informed, had jurisdiction over the meydan, which was in times of peace the village square, and owned one-fifth part of the great tree in its midst.

He also owned a fifth of all the water flowing or to flow from the great village spring; and had the right to call upon the fellahin for one day's work a year in return for his protection of their land from enemies.

When I inquired by what means I could possibly secure my fifth share of the water from the spring, the chief informed me that the stipulation was in case the source diminished in dry seasons, which, thank the Lord, it never yet had done.
We viewed the house, and I was pleased with the great vaulted rooms, in which the pots and pans and bedding of the Sheykh Huseyn appeared like nothing, and the women of the family of Sheykh Huseyn, close-veiled against our inroad, made themselves exceeding small; and then, remounting, we went off to view the land.

This was scattered all about the mountain side--a terrace here, a terrace there.