it; the last part of it came to me in a way which
proves how small the world is.

Joe belongs to that conglomerate mass of heterogeneous
nationalities found around the Golden Horn,
whose ancestry is as difficult to trace as a gypsy's.
He says he is a "Jew gentleman from Germany,"
but he can't prove it, and he knows he can't.

There is no question about his being part Jew,
and there is a strong probability of his being part
German, and, strange to say, there is not the slightest
doubt of his being part gentleman--in his own estimation;
and I must say in mine, when I look back
over an acquaintance covering many years and
remember how completely my bank account was at
his disposal and how little of its contents he appropriated.

And yet, were I required to hold up my hand in
open court, I would have to affirm that Joe, whatever
his other strains might be, was, after all, ninety-nine
per cent. Levantine--which is another way of saying
that he is part of every nationality about him.

As to his honesty and loyalty, is he not the chosen
dragoman of kings and princes when they journey
into far distant lands (he speaks seven languages
and many tribal dialects), and is he not today wearing
in his buttonhole the ribbon of the order of the
Mejidieh, bestowed upon him by his Imperial Highness