Tigre, with Sir Sydney Smith, and who afterwards died in the Temple at Paris; Sheikh Ibrahim's name was also there. On the 25th June we went to Acre. During our stay there we witnessed an instance of great barbarity: on going to breakfast at the consul's, we found his Greek servant, who had been very ill for some days before, lying outside the door; and actually expired on the floor before us as we entered the room-unattended by any medical man, and unheeded by every one. The corpse lay neglected for some time before any one could be found to take it away, all refusing to touch it, lest they should be at the trouble and expense of burying it. At last the Turkish authorities interfered and the body was removed. good breeding amongst them: a sheikh arriving at another's tent, seats himself opposite his friend to avoid all appearance of pre-eminence, so that either side of the tent is occupied, while the end, the "post of honour," remains vacant. When Mr. Bankes presented the Sheikh of Souf with a dress, he immediately sent it into the harem, without looking at it in the presence of the donor; and the people of Kerek, on our arrival, although our appearance must have been so novel to them, abstained from asking any questions. But although civil, they had a great contempt for us; and observing how awkwardly we ate with our hands-for we never, during the whole tour, saw a spoon, or knife, or fork-they remarked amongst themselves," Poor fellows! they don't even As we have now been much amongst know how to eat; they eat like the Arabs, and have had better oppor- camels." If an Arab chief gives you tunities of studying their manners and coffee first, he takes none, not choosing habits than on our former short jour- to drink after a Christian. Thieving, ney to Palmyra, some further observ- pilfering, low cunning, lying, and cheatations upon them may not be con- ing, are not considered as dishonoursidered out of place. The love of able acts amongst them. We were all liberty created in the wandering Be- of us robbed of some of our effects. douin, by his erratic habits, is in- On one occasion, Mr. Bankes's drawstinctively cherished by him from his ing of the grand temple at Petra was earliest infancy. Impatient of every purloined, and after some days' negospecies of control, and proud of his in- tiation he was allowed to purchase it dependence, he disowns and scorns the back again, they having confessed all Arab that cultivates the soil. We the time that they had it. Mr. Legh's found these people still deserving of Bible was also pilfered in the same their character for hospitality; but we manner, and never recovered. Mr. never heard of the celebrated story of Bankes's two paint-boxes were also bread and salt, mentioned by Volney. stolen, and many other articles were If the mere eating of bread and salt lost. Our diet, while we were with with an Arab was a security from im- them, varied according to the wealth position, Sheikh Sahlem, when threat- or poverty of the tribe: sometimes we ening us, would have said, "Had you had pillaw of rice, or of wheat, mixed not eaten bread and salt with me," &c., with leban; sometimes mutton, boiled instead of "Had you not Sheikh You- the moment the animal is skinned, and souf with you;" for we had feasted generally in leban, a custom alluded to with Sahlem in his own tent, before in Scripture.* This mode of cooking we had the quarrel with him. Mr. renders the meat very delicious and Bankes was imprisoned, and Sir Wm. tender-far preferable to meat boiled Chatterton robbed, at Palmyra, after in water: the milk, enriched with the eating bread and salt; and we had juice of the meat, is poured on the feasted with Ebn Fayes at Heshbon, pillaw of rice or wheat. Sometimes before his ill treatment of us. It we had melted butter, and bread baked would certainly be a most noble com- on an iron plate in the form of a panmendation to advance in their favour were it true. There is a great deal of *Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." Exodus, xxiii. 19. cake to dip into it. The staple of the or corn during the whole of our jourArab's food, however, is leban and ney; and the expenses of the whole bread. The milk was usually pre-party, eleven persons and as many sented in a wooden bowl, and the liquid horses, amounted to 1500 piastres; a butter in an earthenware dish. The piastre is worth nine-pence of our party being seated round, dipped their money: this was from the 5th of May bread in, endeavouring to make it to the 25th of June. Each owner of imbibe as much as possible. The a tent takes it by turns to feed the Arabs were very expert at this, pinch- strangers that may arrive. Their ing the thin cake in such a form as to jokes were sometimes rather rough: make a sort of spoon of it. This mode on one occasion an Arab put a live of eating is alluded to in Scripture.+ scorpion inside my jacket; shortly Occasionally, a bowl of milk only was afterwards, I had occasion to make presented to us, which was passed the usual daily search for vermin, and round in rotation. Once we had milk then I discovered the reptile. At the sweetened and curdled to the consis- Ghor, when we asked if a poisonous tency of liquid jelly, too thick to be fruit was good, they said it was, though drunk, and very awkward to take up well aware of its bad qualities. with the hands, though it was the only method of eating it. A rich dish of rice and cream was once given us as a great treat. All the way between Kerek and Petra, we had meat served up alone, without bread or even pillaw of rice or wheat. We could not at all reconcile ourselves to this diet, which we found used in this district only. When the Arabs have an over supply of leban, they have a method of pre-dren guard the flocks, the girls always serving it by pressing out the liquid parts, and drying the curds, which may then be kept for some time. This substance has the appearance of soft chalk; when mixed with water it makes an agreeable acid drink. When we had pillaw of grain, it often served also for a candlestick, the candle being fixed in the middle of the dish. An Arab, when he wishes to pay you very particular attention, pulls your meat to pieces with his fingers, and throws it to you. We never saw roasted meat among the Arabs, except in Narsah's tent at Palmyra. They have no fruits or vegetables; their wandering life depriving them of such enjoyments. It is their custom, from time immemorial, to lodge and feed all travellers and their horses for one night free of all expense; as the practice is general, it is equally beneficial to all. We never once paid for food "She brought forth butter in a lordly dish." Judges, v. 25. +"He that dippeth with me in the dish." Matt., xxvi. 23. The women weave carpets and cloth for their tents, which are mostly black, and curtains, which are striped white and black. Goats' hair is manufactured for this purpose.* The women have to do all the hard work; they grind the corn with a hand-mill, bring the water and wood, cook, and in short do all the drudgery, while the men sit down and smoke all day. The chil having a bundle of wool at their backs for spinning. The form of the tents is oblong. We frequently observed negroes in their camps, apparently not slaves; and some had the short woolly hair of the Africans. It may not be amiss here to mention, that, though we never had any apprehensions of personal danger from the Arabs, yet there are some grounds for the dread these people are held in throughout Syria, as we met with many dead bodies concealed in the country frequented by them; we saw 20 in one of the Roman tombs near Nablous, the mouth of which had been shut up with stones; 3 in one of the theatres at Om Keis; 24 skulls, &c. in the theatre at Bysan, and subsequently 22 in the ruins at Heshbon. Whenever we inquired about them, the Arabs always owned they were the remains of people whom they had murdered, and they did not appear to be in the least ashamed of the deed. To keep "And he made curtains of goats' hair." Exodus, xxxvi. 14. your arms on in a tent, is considered very ill-bred, as implying a distrust in the protection of the roof you are under; and whenever we forgot to disarm, the Arabs always requested us to do so. These people are frequently without water, and sometimes that which they have is dirty and bad; but then they are "lords of the desert," pay no tribute, and have nothing whatever to do with governors of any description. The desert, as an ancient author, I think Diodorus, observes, is their fort, whither they retire as to a place of certain safety on any appearance of attack. The state and equipage of the sheikhs is maintained by means of a revenue derived from a tithe which they exact for all the cattle, camels excepted. This tenth of the innumerable herds and flocks, yields the chiefs a very handsome income. The supper in the tents of Sheikh Narsah and Ebn Fayes was bountiful in the extreme; and, as this profuse hospitality is extended to all strangers, there must needs be ample store to meet so great a demand. It is surprising, that in so monotonous a life, they have no amusements, no games, no athletic employments, to make some little change in their custom of squatting down and smoking all day. All their carpets, cushions, sacks, and in short, everything they have, are covered with vermin, so that it is impossible to avoid them. We used to kill from off our clothes from 40 to 100 every day; and of a night, we frequently observed the Arabs searching and shaking their linen over the fire, the vermin making a cracking noise as they fell into the flames. Old Yousouf used to make a singular figure, with his sword drawn, striking them from off his back. July 12.-We embarked on board an imperial brig belonging to Venice for Constantinople, as all with whom we spoke on the subject agreed in opinion, that it would have been madness to have gone to the coast of Asia Minor at this season of the year, when the pestilential air forces all the inhabitants of the coast to quit their habitations, and retire to the mountains during the summer. We have, therefore, deferred this part of the tour for a short time. Our friend Mr. Legh left Acre for Constantinople by land a short time before we did, intending to visit Palmyra, Baalbec, Damascus, and Aleppo. Mr. Bankes went by water to Egypt, with the intention of penetrating into Abyssinia by way of the second cataract. THE END. LONDON BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. |