264 JOURNEYS IN KUBDISTAN LETTER xxvm Hesso's house is just a *' but and a ben/' with a door which involves stooping. Its rough stone walls are un- plastered, and the only light admitted comes from a hole in the roof, which serves to let out the smoke. I confess HESSO KHAN. to a feeling of trepidation when I asked to see the Kurdish chief, and I felt the folly of my errand, A superbly-dressed Kurd took us into a room dense with tobacco smoke, which, from its darkness, the roughness of its walls, and the lowness of its rude roof, resembled a