The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-03-08


 far as one knows, was the first " royal banquet to be held in Jeddah, caused a great deal of excitement among the people, and great were the prepara- tions Not only had special troops been sent from Mecca, but also guards ot honor and his majesty's military band; skilled workmen of all kinds, cooks from the royal palace, and even special dishes prepared at Mecca itself had been sent.
 The guests were invited to be pres ent at sunset, which corresponds to D. m. English time, this being the usual hour for such functions. The mayor Of Jeddah formally received the guests, and led them upstairs on to a large balcony beautifully decorated with precious car pets, oriental awnings, electric Nights, and richly upholstered furniture. Here were assembled all the notables of the town. The King came and all the ma tives bowed and ashamed. while the of- eicers present shook hands with the King, who conducted them to the end of the balcony. where chair, tables, etc.. were provided under a large awning After a cigarette and coffee the kins led the way with the British represent ative to the banquet hall. A short halt at the entrance proved to be only tenn porary, as the King was washing his hands preparatory to eating. Then the foreign representatives took up their places. On the Kings right sat the British representative; next him sat the French representative. Then came the notables, taking up their places
 The banquet hall was sight never to be forgotten, filled up mostly by an enor- nous rectangular table and covered, or. more aptly, filled up with dishes of every possible kind and color. Each guest had an array of 12 various kinds of food in front of him. and, as the table seated 64, one can imagine what 76S plates looked like, each filled with food. In the cen- ter of the table were several larger dishes, on each of which was an entire sheep's carcass, stuffed with baked rice and hard-boiled eggs. Incense of various kinds burned from braziers and long, cylindrical shaped tubes, which looked like cigar lighters. On the table in the center were two specially chosen men, who served out the above mentioned sheep and any dishes out of ones reach, and there were many. The guests helped themselves to dishes as they pleased, fO T1aAnla commencing on all sorts of sweet dishes and finishing up with meat. Many of the l local people used only their hands. though one knife and fork was provided for each guest. Several times the King recom- mended special dishes to his immediate i neighbors, and one found one's plate filled up with food of every description. After about three-Quarters of an hour the King gave the signal for retiring. and everyone stopped automatically and filed out of the room. Coffee and cigarettes | were served outside under the awning, where the King and the European guests sat in an inner circle, surrounded by the notables a little distance off while tho lesser lights were still little farther |
 off. \. 1 In the meanwhile a second party of 64 guests had entered the dining hall and sat down to the table we had just left When this party had finished their dinner, yet a third lot of guests of still lesser degree were similarly entertained, and finally the walters, servants mili-
 tary band, and guard of honor were brought in and did full justice to the food, of which tbere was much still un. touched.
 l While the above relays of royal guests
 were being entertained the King talked
 very pleasantly on all sorts of subjects and gave us an explanation about the
 origin of this form of feast. and how Il was conducted in olden days. A pause in the proceedings was caused by the 1 appearance of very nervous-lookina man, who turned out to be one of the
 schoolmasters of Jeddah and a supposed orator. He respectfully saluted the King
 and begged permission to speak, which
 was willingly granted. Everyone gath cred closer and listened intently to the mans speech, which was really vote
 of thanks to the King from the people oi Jeddah. It was a very fine effort. spoken in loud. distinct. and very classi