Chapter II: Part 2

After a ten hours’ march, always towards the east, we stopped at a square tower, extremely lofty and of massive construction, called Casser el Ourdaan, on the territory El Dawh. This tower, built in the time of the Greek empire, served for an advanced post against the Persians, who came to carry off the inhabitants of the country. This bulwark of the desert has preserved its name till these times. After having admired its architecture, which belongs to a good period, we returned to pass the night at our little khan, where we suffered much from the cold. In the morning, as we were preparing to depart, M. Lascaris, not yet accustomed to the movements of camels, mounted his without care; which rising suddenly, threw him down. We ran to him: his leg appeared to be dislocated; but, as he would not be detained, after having done what we could, we replaced him on his seat, and continued our route. We proceeded for two hours, when we observed at a distance a cloud of dust approaching us, and soon were able to distinguish six armed horsemen. Hardly had Hassan perceived them, when he threw off his cloak, took his lance and ran to meet them, crying out to us not to go forward. Having come up to them, he told them that we were merchants going to Palmyra, and that he had engaged before Sheik Selim and all his village to conduct us thither in safety. But these Bedouins, of the tribe El Hassnnée, without listening to him, came up to us: Hassan threw himself forward to stop the road; they attempted to drive him back, and a battle began. Our defender was known for his valour, but his opponents were equally brave. He sustained the attack for half an hour, and at length, wounded by a lance which pierced his thigh, he retired towards us, and soon fell from his horse. The Bedouins were beginning to plunder us, when Hassan, extended on the ground, the blood flowing from his wound, apostrophised them in these terms:--

“What are you about, my friends?--will you then violate the laws of Arabs, the usages of the Bedouins? They whom you are plundering are my brethren--they have my word; I am responsible for all that may befall them, and you are robbing them!--is this according to honour?”

“Why,” said they, “did you undertake to convey Christians to Palmyra? Know you not that Mehanna el Fadel (the sheik of their tribe) is chief of the country? Why did you not ask his permission?”

“I know,” replied Hassan; “but these merchants were in haste; Mehanna is far from this. I have pledged my word--they believed me; they know our laws and our usages, which never change. Is it worthy of you to violate them, by despoiling these strangers, and leaving me wounded in this manner?”

At these words the Bedouins, ceasing their violence, answered, “All that you say is true and just; and as it is so, we will take from thy protégés only what they choose to give us.”

We made all haste to offer them two machlas, a cloak, and a hundred piastres. They were satisfied, and left us to pursue our route. Hassan suffered a great deal from his wound; and as he could not remount his horse, I gave him my camel, and took his mare. We proceeded for four hours; but the sun being set, we were obliged to halt at a place called Waddi el Nahr (Valley of the River.) However, there was not a drop of water in it, and our skins were empty: the attack in the morning had detained us three hours, and it was impossible to go further that night.

Notwithstanding all we had to suffer, we were still very happy at having escaped the Bedouins, and preserved our clothes, which secured us a little from the cold wind, that affected us sensibly. In short, between pleasure and pain, we watched with impatience for the dawn of day. Sheik Ibrahim suffered from his foot, and Hassan from his wound. In the morning, having disposed of our sick in the best manner we could, we again set forward, and still towards the east. At an hour and a quarter from Palmyra we found a subterraneous stream, the spring of which is entirely unknown, as well as the place where it is lost. The water is seen to flow through openings of about five feet, forming a sort of basins. It is unnecessary to say with what delight we quenched our thirst:--the water appeared excellent.

At the entrance of a pass formed by the junction of two mountains, we at length perceived the celebrated Palmyra. This defile forms for a quarter of an hour an avenue to the city; along the mountain on the south side extends for almost three hours a very ancient rampart. Facing you to the left is an old castle, built by the Turks after the invention of gunpowder. It is called Co Lat Ebn Maâen.--This Ebn Maâen, a governor of Damascus in the time of the Khalifs, had built the castle to prevent the Persians from penetrating into Syria.--We next arrived at a vast space, called Waddi el Cabour (Valley of the Tombs.) The sepulchres that cover it appear at a distance like towers. On coming near, we saw that niches had been cut in them to enclose the dead. Every niche is shut up by a stone, on which is carved a portrait of its occupant. The towers have three or four stories, communicating by means of a staircase, commonly in good preservation. From thence we came into a vast enclosure inhabited by the Arabs, who call it the Castle. It contains, in fact, the ruins of the Temple of the Sun. Two hundred families reside in these ruins. We immediately presented ourselves to Sheik Ragial el Orouk, a venerable old man, who received us well, and made us sup and sleep with him. This sheik, like the sheik of Corietain, furnishes two hundred camels to the great caravan of Mecca.

The following day, having hired a house, we unpacked our goods. I attended to the foot of Sheik Ibrahim, which was in reality dislocated. He had long to suffer the pain. Hassan found friends at Palmyra who took care of him; and being soon recovered, he came to take leave of us, and went away delighted with the manner in which we recompensed him.

Being obliged to keep at home for several days on account of Sheik Ibrahim’s foot, we set about selling some articles, to confirm our mercantile character. But as soon as M. Lascaris was in a fit state to walk, we went to visit the temple in all its minutiæ. Other travellers have described the ruins: therefore we will only speak of what may have escaped their observation relating to the country.

We one day saw many people engaged in surrounding with wood a beautiful granite column. We were told it was to burn it, or rather to cause it to fall, in order to obtain the lead which was in the joinings. Sheik Ibrahim, full of indignation, addressing me, exclaimed, “What would the founders of Palmyra say if they beheld these barbarians thus destroying their work? Since chance has brought me hither, I will oppose this act of Vandalism.” And having learned what might be the worth of the lead, he gave the fifty piastres they asked, and the column became our property. It was of the most beautiful red granite, spotted with blue and black, sixty-two feet in length, and ten in circumference. The Palmyrians, perceiving our taste for monuments, pointed out to us a curious spot, an hour and a half distant, in which the columns were formerly cut, and where there are still some beautiful fragments. For ten piastres three Arabs agreed to take us there. The road is strewed with very beautiful ruins, described, I presume, by other travellers. We observed a grotto, in which was a beautiful white marble column cut and chiselled, and another only half finished. One might say that Time, the destroyer of so much magnificence, was wanting to place up the first, and to finish the second.

After having been into several grottoes, and visited the neighbourhood, we came back by another road. Our guides pointed out a beautiful spring, covered with blocks of stone. It is called Ain Ournus. The name struck Sheik Ibrahim. At last, calling me, he said: “I have discovered what this name Ournus means. Aurelianus, the Roman emperor, came to besiege Palmyra and take possession of its riches. It is he probably who dug this well for the wants of his army during the siege, and the spring may have taken his name, changed by the lapse of time into Ournus.” According to my feeble knowledge of history, Sheik Ibrahim’s conjecture is not without foundation.

The inhabitants of Palmyra are but little occupied about agriculture. Their chief employment is the working of a salt-mine, the produce of which they send to Damascus and Homs. They also make a great deal of Soda. The plant that furnishes it is very abundant: it is burnt, and the ashes are also sent to those towns to make soap. They are even sent sometimes as far as Tripoli in Syria, where there are many soap manufactories, and which supply the Archipelago.

We were one day informed of a very curious grotto; but the entrance to it, being dark and narrow, was hardly practicable. It was three hours from Palmyra. We felt a wish to see it; but my adventure with Hessaisoun was too recent to commit ourselves without a strong escort: therefore we begged Sheik Ragial to furnish us with trusty people. Astonished at our project, “You are very curious,” said he: “what does the grotto signify to you? Instead of attending to your business, you pass your time in this trifling. Never did I see such merchants as you.”--“Man always profits,” said I, “by seeing all the beauties that nature has created.” The sheik having given us six men well armed, I provided myself with a ball of thread, a large nail, and torches, and we set out very early in the morning. After two hours’ march we reached the foot of a mountain. A great hole that they showed us formed the entrance of the grotto. I stuck my nail into a place out of sight, and holding the ball in my hand, followed Sheik Ibrahim and the guides who carried the torches. We went on, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, then up and then down; in short, the grotto is large enough to accommodate an entire army. We found a good deal of alum. The vault and the sides of the rock were covered with sulphur, and the bottom with nitre. We remarked a species of red earth, very fine, of an acid taste. Sheik Ibrahim put a handful into his handkerchief. The grotto is full of cavities cut out with a chisel, whence metals were anciently taken. Our guides told us of many persons who had lost themselves in it and perished. A man had remained there two days in vain looking for the outlet, when he saw a wolf: he threw stones at him; and having put him to flight, followed him, and so found the opening. My length of cord being exhausted, we would not go further, but retraced our steps. The charm of curiosity had, without doubt, smoothed the way, for we had infinite difficulty in gaining the outlet.

As soon as we were out, we hastened our breakfast, and took the road to Palmyra. The sheik, who was expecting us, asked us what we had gained by the journey. “We have learned,” said I, “that the ancients were more skilful than we; for it may be seen by their works that they could go in and out with ease, whilst we had great difficulty in extricating ourselves.”

He set up a laugh, and we quitted him to go and rest ourselves. At night Sheik Ibrahim found the handkerchief, in which he had put the red earth, all in holes and rotten. The earth had fallen into his pocket. He put it into a bottle,[B] and told me that probably the ancients had obtained gold from this grotto. Chemical experience proves that where there is sulphur there is often gold; and besides, the great works we had remarked could not have been made merely to extract sulphur and alum, but evidently something more precious. If the Arabs had suspected that we were going to search for gold, our lives would not have been safe.

From day to day we heard of the approach of the Bedouins, and Sheik Ibrahim was as rejoiced as if he was about to see his countrymen. He was enchanted when I announced to him the arrival of the great Bedouin prince, Mehanna el Fadel. He wished immediately to go to meet him: but I represented to him, that it would be more prudent to wait a favourable opportunity of seeing some one of the emir’s (prince’s) family. I knew that, ordinarily, Mehanna sent a messenger to the Sheik of Palmyra to announce to him his approach. In fact, I witnessed the arrival one day of eleven Bedouin horsemen, and learned that the Emir Nasser was amongst them, the eldest son of Mehanna. I ran to carry the intelligence to Sheik Ibrahim, who seemed at the height of joy. Immediately we went to Sheik Ragial, to present us to the Emir Nasser, who gave us a kind reception. “These strangers,” said Ragial to him, “are honest merchants, who have goods to sell useful to the Bedouins; but they have so frightened them, that they dare not venture into the desert unless you will grant them your protection.”

The emir, turning towards us, said:--“Hope for all sorts of prosperity: you shall be welcome; and I promise you that nothing shall befall you but the rain which descends from heaven.” We offered him many thanks, saying, “Since we have had the advantage of making your acquaintance, and you will be our protector, you will do us the honour of eating with us?”

The Arabs in general, and above all the Bedouins, regard it as an inviolable pledge of fidelity to have eaten with any one--even to have broken bread with him. We therefore invited him, with all his suite, as well as the sheik. We killed a sheep, and the dinner, dressed in the manner of the Bedouins, appeared to them excellent. At dessert we offered them figs, raisins, almonds, and nuts, which was a great treat to them. After coffee, when we began to speak of different things, we related to Nasser our adventure with the six horsemen of his tribe. He wished to punish them and restore our money. We earnestly conjured him not to do so, assuring him we attached no value to what we had given. We would have departed with him the next day, but he induced us to await the arrival of his father, who was at eight days’ distance. He promised to send us an escort, and camels to carry our merchandise. For a greater security, we begged him to write by his father, which he engaged to do.

The second day after, there arrived at Palmyra a Bedouin of the tribe El Hassnnée, named Bani; and some hours after, seven others of the tribe El Daffir, with which that of Hassnnée is at war. These having learned that there was one of their enemies in the city, resolved to wait for him out of the town to kill him. Bani having been told this, came to us, tied his mare to our door, and begged us to lend him a felt. We had several which wrapped our merchandise; I brought him one. He put it to soak in water for half an hour, and then placed it, wet as it was, on his mare’s back, underneath the saddle. Two hours afterwards she had a strong diarrhœa, which lasted all the evening, and the next day seemed to have nothing in her body. Bani then took off the felt, which he returned, well girthed his seat, and departed.

About four hours after noon we saw the Bedouins of the tribe El Daffir return without booty. Some one having asked them what they had done with the mare of Bani, “This,” said they, “is what has happened to us. Not wishing to commit an insult towards Ragial, a tributary of Mehanna, we abstained from attacking our enemy in the city. We might have waited for him in a narrow pass; but we were seven to one: we therefore resolved to wait for him in the open plain. Having perceived him, we ran upon him; but as soon as he was in the midst of us, he uttered a loud cry, saying to his horse, ‘_Jah Hamra!_--It is now thy turn,’--and he flew off like lightning. We followed him to his tribe without being able to catch him, astonished at the swiftness of his mare, which seemed like a bird cleaving the air with its wings.” I then told them the history of the felt, which caused them much wonder, having, said they, no idea of such sorcery.

Eight days after, three men came to us from Mehanna el Fadel: they came to us with the camels, and put into our hands a letter from himself; these are the contents:--

“Mehanna el Fadel, the son of Melkhgem, to Sheik Ibrahim and Abdalla el Katib, greeting. May the mercy of God be upon you! On the arrival of our son Nasser, we were informed of the desire you have to visit us. Be welcome! you will shed blessing upon us. Fear nothing; you have the protection of God, and the word of Mehanna; nothing shall touch you but the rain of heaven! Signed, MEHANNA EL FADEL.”

A seal was appended by the side of the signature. The letter gave great pleasure to Sheik Ibrahim: our preparations were soon made, and early the next morning we were out of Palmyra. Being arrived at a village watered by an abundant spring, we filled our skins for the rest of the route. This village, called Arak, is four hours from Palmyra. We met a great number of Bedouins, who, after having questioned our conductors, continued their road. After a march of ten hours, the plain appeared covered with fifteen hundred tents: it was the tribe of Mehanna. We entered into the tent of the emir, who ordered us coffee at three different intervals; which, amongst the Bedouins, is the greatest proof of consideration. After the third cup, supper was served, which we were obliged to eat _a la Turque_: it was the first time this had occurred, so that we burnt our fingers. Mehanna perceived it.

“You are not accustomed,” said he, “to eat as we do.”--“It is true,” replied Sheik Ibrahim; “but why do you not make use of spoons? it is always possible to procure them, if only of wood.”--“We are Bedouins,” replied the emir, “and we keep to the customs of our ancestors, which, besides, we consider well founded. The hand and the mouth are the parts of the body that God has given us to aid each other. Why then make use of a strange thing, whether of wood or of metal, to reach the mouth, when the hand is naturally made for that purpose?” We were obliged to approve these reasons, and I remarked to Sheik Ibrahim that Mehanna was the first Bedouin philosopher that we had encountered.

The next day the emir had a camel killed to regale us, and I learned that that was a high mark of consideration, the Bedouins measuring the importance of the stranger by the animal they kill to welcome him. They begin with a lamb, and finish with a camel. This was the first time we had eaten the flesh of this animal, and we thought it rather insipid.

The Emir Mehanna was a man of eighty years of age, little, thin, deaf, and very ill-clothed. His great influence among the Bedouins arises from his noble and generous heart, and from being the chief of a very ancient and numerous family. He is entrusted by the Pacha of Damascus with the escort of the grand caravan to Mecca, for twenty-five purses (twelve thousand five hundred piastres,) which are paid him before their departure from Damascus. He has three sons, Nasser, Faress, and Hamed, all married, and inhabiting the same tent as their father. This tent is seventy-two feet long, and as many wide; it is of black horsehair, and divided into three partitions. In the further one is kept the provisions, and there the cookery is performed; the slaves, too, sleep there. The middle is kept for the women, and all the family retire to it at night. The fore part is occupied by the men: in this strangers are received: this part is called Rabha.

After three days devoted to enjoying their hospitality, we opened our bales, and sold many articles, upon most of which we lost more or less. I did not understand this mode of dealing, and said so to Sheik Ibrahim. “Have you then forgot our conditions?” said he. I excused myself, and continued to sell according to his pleasure.

One day we saw arrive fifty well-mounted horsemen, who, having stopped before the tents, dismounted and sat on the ground. The Emir Nasser, charged with all the affairs since his father had become deaf, went to join them, accompanied by his cousin Sheik Zamel, and held a conference with them for two hours, after which the men remounted their horses and departed. Sheik Ibrahim, anxious about this mysterious interview, knew not how to ascertain the motive of it. Having already been often with the women, I took a coral necklace, and went to Naura, the wife of Nasser, to present it to her. She accepted it, made me sit near her, and offered me in her turn dates and coffee. After these reciprocal acts of politeness, I came to the object of my visit, and said, “Excuse my importunity, I entreat you, but strangers are curious and timid; the little merchandise we have here is the remnant of a considerable fortune, which misfortunes have deprived us of. The Emir Nasser was just now holding conference with strangers--that excites our apprehension; we would know the subject.”--“I will satisfy your curiosity,” said Naura; “but on condition that you will keep my secret, and appear to know nothing. Know that my husband has many enemies among the Bedouins, who hate him for humbling the national pride by exalting the power of the Turks. The alliance of Nasser with the Osmanlis greatly displeases the Bedouins, who hate them. It is even contrary to the advice of his father, and the heads of the tribe, who murmur against him. The object of this meeting was to concert a plan of attack. To-morrow they will assail the tribe El Daffir, to take their flocks, and do them all the mischief possible: the God of battle will give the victory to whom he pleases: but as to you, you have nothing to fear.” Having thanked Naura, I withdrew well satisfied with having gained her confidence.

Sheik Ibrahim, informed by me of all the wife of Nasser had told me, said that it caused him the greatest vexation. “I was endeavouring,” added he, “to attach myself to a tribe hostile to the Osmanlis, and here I am with a chief allied to them.” I did not dare ask the meaning of these words, but they served to set me thinking.

About sunset three hundred horsemen assembled beyond the encampment, and marched early in the morning, having at their head Nasser, Hamed, and Zamel. Three days afterwards a messenger came to announce their return. A great number of men and women went out to meet them; and when they had reached them, they sent up on both sides loud shouts of joy, and in this manner made their triumphal entry into the camp, preceded by a hundred and eighty camels, taken from the enemy. As soon as they had alighted, we begged them to recount their exploit.

“The day after our departure,” said Nasser, “having arrived about noon at the place where the shepherds feed the flocks of Daffir, we fell upon them, and carried off a hundred and eighty camels: however, the shepherds having fled, gave the alarm to their tribe. I then detached a part of my troops to conduct our booty to the camp by another road. Aruad-Ebn-Motlac, the chief of the tribe El Daffir, coming to attack us with three hundred horsemen, the battle lasted two hours, and night alone separated us. Every one then returned to his tribe, the enemy having lost one of his men, and we having two men wounded.”

The tribe of Nasser feigned a participation in his triumph, whereas in reality they were very dissatisfied with an unjust war against their natural friends, to please the Osmanlis. Nasser, having visited all the chiefs, to recount his success, came to Sheik Ibrahim and addressed him in Turkish; Sheik Ibrahim having observed to him that he spoke only Greek, his native tongue, and a little Arabic, Nasser began to extol the language and customs of the Turks, saying it was not possible to be truly great, powerful, and respected, without being on a good footing with them. “As for me,” added he, “I am more Osmanli than Bedouin.” “Trust not the promises of the Turks,” replied Sheik Ibrahim, “any more than their greatness and magnificence: they favour you that they may gain you over, and injure you with your countrymen, in order to employ you to fight against the other tribes. The interest of the Turkish government is to destroy the Bedouins: not strong enough to effect this themselves, they wish to arm you against each other. Take care that you have not some day cause to repent. I give you this advice as a friend who takes a lively interest in you, and because I have eaten your bread and partaken of your hospitality.”

Some time after, Nasser received from Soliman, the pacha of Acre and Damascus, a message, engaging him to come and receive the investiture of the general command of all the desert, with the title of Prince of the Bedouins. This message overwhelmed him with joy, and he departed for Damascus with ten horsemen.

Mehanna having ordered the departure of the tribe, the next morning by sunrise not a single tent was to be seen standing; all was folded up and loaded, and the departure began in the greatest order. Twenty chosen horsemen formed the advanced guard, and served as scouts. Then came the camels with their loads, and the flocks; then the armed men, mounted on horses or camels; after these the women; those of the chiefs carried in howdahs, (a sort of palankin,) placed on the backs of the largest camels. These howdahs are very rich, carefully lined, covered with scarlet cloth, and ornamented with different coloured fringe. They hold commodiously two women, or a woman and several children. The women and children of inferior rank follow directly after, seated on rolls of tent-cloth, ranged like seats, and placed on camels. The loaded camels, carrying the baggage and provision, are behind. The line was closed by the Emir Mehanna, mounted on a dromedary by reason of his great age, and surrounded by his slaves, the rest of the warriors, and the servants, who were on foot. It was truly wonderful to witness the order and celerity with which the departure of eight or nine thousand persons was effected. Sheik Ibrahim and I were on horseback, sometimes ahead, sometimes in the centre, or by the side of Mehanna. We proceeded ten hours successively: all at once, three hours after noon, the order of march was interrupted; the Bedouins dispersed themselves in the midst of a fine plain, sprang to the ground, fixed their lances, and fastened their horses to them. The women ran on all sides, and pitched their tents near their husbands’ horses. Thus, as if by enchantment, we found ourselves in a kind of city, as large as Hama. It is the duty of the women alone to pitch and to strike the tents, and they acquit themselves with surprising address and rapidity. All the labours of the encampment generally fall to the lot of the women. The men take charge of the flocks, kill and skin the beasts. The costume of the women is very simple; they wear a large blue chemise, a black machlas, and a sort of black silk scarf, which, after covering the head, passes twice round the neck, and falls over the back. They have no covering for the legs; except the wives of the sheiks, who wear yellow boots. Their great ambition and luxury is to have a great many bracelets; they have them of glass, of coral, coin, and amber.

The plain on which we rested was called El Makram. It is not far from Hama. The place is rather agreeable, and its rich pasturage renders it suitable to the Bedouins.

The fourth day we had an alarm: four hours after noon the shepherds came running in haste, crying “To arms! the enemy are seizing our flocks.” It was the tribe of Daffir, who, watching the opportunity to revenge themselves on Nasser, had sent a thousand horse to carry off the flocks at nightfall, to allow no time for a pursuit. Our men, expecting an attack, were prepared; but it was necessary to find out on which side the enemy were. Night coming on, four men dismounted from their horses, took opposite directions, and crouching down, their ears close to the ground, heard at a great distance the steps of the plunderers. Night passed without being able to reach them; but in the morning the troop of Hassné (that of Mehanna) having joined them, they gave battle. After four hours’ fighting, half the flocks were recaptured; but five hundred camels remained in the hands of the tribe El Daffir. We had ten men killed and several wounded. At the return, the affliction was general; the Bedouins murmured, attributing all that had happened to the caprice and vanity of Nasser.

Mehanna sent off a courier to his son, who immediately returned from Damascus, accompanied by a chokedar, (an officer of the pacha,) in order to make an impression on the Bedouins. On his arrival he read a letter from the pacha, to the following effect:--

“We make known to all the emirs and sheiks of the desert, great and small, encamped on the territory of Damascus, that we have appointed our son, Nasser Ebn Mehanna, Emir of all the Anazes (Bedouins of the desert,) inviting them to obey him. The tribe that shall have the misfortune to show itself rebellious, shall be destroyed by our victorious troops, and, as an example, their flocks shall be slaughtered, and their women delivered up to the soldiers. Such is our will.

Signed,
“SOLIMAN, Pacha of Damascus and Acre.”

Nasser, proud of his new dignity, affected to read the order to every body, and to talk Turkish with the officer of the pacha, which still further increased the disgust of the Bedouins. One day whilst we were with him, there arrived a very handsome young man, named Zarrak, the chief of a neighbouring tribe. Nasser, as usual, spoke of his appointment, vaunted the greatness and power of the vizier of Damascus, and of the sultan of Constantinople “of the long sabre.”[C] Zarrak, who listened with impatience, changing colour, rose and said, “Nasser Aga,[D] learn that all the Bedouins detest thee: if thou art dazzled by the magnificence of the Turks, go to Damascus; adorn thy forehead with the caouk;[E] become the minister of the vizier; dwell in his palace; perhaps thou mayest strike terror into the Damascenes; but we Bedouins care no more for thee, thy vizier and thy sultan, than camel dung. I shall depart for the territory of Bagdad, where I shall find the Drayhy[F] Ebn Chahllan; him will I join.”

Nasser, in his turn growing pale with anger, transmitted the conversation in Turkish to the chokedar, who thought by violent menaces to alarm Zarrak. But he, looking at him fiercely, said, “It is enough: though you have Nasser on your side, I could, if I would, prevent you from ever eating bread more.” In spite of these offensive words, all three preserved their coolness; and Zarrak, mounting his horse, said to Nasser, “_Salam aleik_ (peace to thee); display all thy power; I await thee.” This challenge caused Nasser much trouble; but he still persevered in his alliance with the Turks.

The following day we learned that Zarrak had set out with his tribe for the country of Geziri, and a combination of the Bedouins against Nasser was talked of in all quarters. Mehanna, having learned what was passing, called his son to him, and said, “Nasser, will you then break the pillars of the tent of Melkhgem?” and taking his beard in his hand, “Will you,” added he, “bring contempt upon this beard at the end of my days, and tarnish the reputation I have acquired? Unhappy man, thou hast not invoked the name of God. What I had foreseen, has happened. All the tribes will unite with the Drayhy. What then will become of us? It will only remain for us to humble ourselves before Ebn Sihoud, that enemy of our race, who styles himself king of the Bedouins; he alone can defend us from the terrible Drayhy.”

Nasser endeavoured to tranquillize his father, assuring him that matters were not so bad as he feared. However, the Bedouins began to take part with one or the other; but the greater part sided with the father, who was in their true interest.

Sheik Ibrahim was very dissatisfied; he wished to penetrate farther into the desert, and proceed as far as Bagdad; and he found himself bound to a tribe that remained between Damascus and Homs. He thus lost all the summer, being able to remove only with danger of his life. He desired me to obtain some knowledge respecting the Drayhy, to learn his character, the places where he passed the summer, where he wintered, if he received strangers, and many other particulars; in short, he told me he had the greatest interest in being rightly informed.

These details were difficult to obtain without exciting suspicion: it was necessary to find some one not of the tribe of El Hassnnée. At length I became acquainted with a man named Abdallah el Chahen (the poet.) Knowing that poets are sought after by the great, I asked him about all the tribes he had visited, and learned with pleasure that he had been for a long time with the Drayhy. I obtained from him all the information I had desired.

One day Nasser made me write to Sheik Saddad, and him of Corietain, to demand from each a thousand piastres and six machlas. This claim is called right of fraternity: it is an arrangement between the sheiks of villages and the more powerful chiefs of the Bedouins, to be protected against the ravages of the other tribes. This is an annual tax. These unhappy villages are ruined to satisfy two tyrants--the Bedouins and the Turks.

Mehanna holds this fraternity with all the villages of the territories of Damascus, Homs, and Hama, which brings him in a revenue of about fifty thousand piastres. The pacha of Damascus pays him twelve thousand five hundred, and the cities of Homs and Hama furnish him besides a certain quantity of corn, rice, dried grapes, and stuffs. The small tribes bring him butter and cheese. In spite of all, he never has any money, and is often in debt, without having any expenses to incur; which greatly astonished us. We learned that he gave all away in presents to the most distinguished warriors, either of his own tribe or to others, and that he had thus raised for himself a powerful party. He is always ill-clothed, and when he receives a handsome pelisse or other article for a present, he gives it to the person who happens to be near him at the moment. The Bedouin proverb, that _generosity covers all defects_, is amply verified in Mehanna, whose liberality alone renders the conduct of Nasser bearable.

A short time after this event we went to encamp, three hours from the Orontes, upon lands called El Zididi, on which there are many springs.

Mehanna having one day been with ten horsemen to visit the Aga of Homs, returned loaded with presents from all the merchants, who cultivate his friendship, because, wheresoever dissatisfied with them, he intercepts their commerce and plunders the caravans.--Immediately upon his return, Nasser set forth on an expedition against the tribe Abdelli, which is commanded by the Emir El Doghiani, and encamped near Palmyra, on two small hills of equal size, called Eldain (the breast;) he returned after three days with five hundred camels and two hundred sheep. In this affair we lost three men, and Zamel’s mare was killed under him. On the other hand, we took three mares, killed ten men, and wounded twenty more. Notwithstanding this success, the Bedouins were indignant at Nasser’s want of faith, who had no cause of hatred against this tribe.

On all sides measures were taken with the Drayhy, to destroy the tribe El Hassnnée. The news reached the Emir Douhi, the chief of the tribe Would Ali, a kinsman and intimate friend of Mehanna, and who, as well as himself, is charged with the escort of the grand caravan; and he came with thirty horsemen to make known the danger with which he was threatened. The heads of the tribe went out to meet Douhi: having entered the tent, Mehanna ordered coffee; the emir stopped him and said, “Mehanna, thy coffee is drunk already! I come here neither to eat nor drink, but to inform thee that the behaviour of thy son Nasser Pacha (for so he styled him in derision) is bringing down destruction upon thee and thine: know that all the Bedouins have leagued together, and are about to declare against thee a war of extermination.” Mehanna, changing colour, exclaimed, “Well, art thou now satisfied, Nasser? Thou wilt be the last of the race of Melkghem.”

Nasser, still obstinate, replied that he should make head against all the Bedouins; and that he should have the support of twenty thousand Osmanlis, as well as that of Mola Ismael, the chief of the Kurdish cavalry, who bears the schako. Douhi passed the night in endeavouring to turn Nasser from his projects, but without succeeding: the day following, he departed, saying, “My conscience forbids me to join you. Our relationship, and the bread we have eaten together, prevent me from declaring war against you. Farewell; I leave you with sorrow.”

From this moment our time passed very disagreeably with the Bedouins. We could never quit them, for all the people who went to a distance from the tents were massacred. There were continual attacks on both sides, sudden changes of the encampment for greater security, alarms, reprisals, incessant disputes between Mehanna and his son; but the old man was so kind and so credulous, that Nasser always succeeded in persuading him that he was in the right.

We were told a thousand traits of his simplicity: amongst others, that being at Damascus whilst Yousouf Pacha, the grand vizier of the Porte, was holding his court there on his return from Egypt after the departure of the French, Mehanna was presented to him, as well as the other grandees; but, being little acquainted with Turkish etiquette, he accosted him without ceremony and with the Bedouin mode of salutation, and placed himself on the divan by his side without being invited. Yousouf, equally unaccustomed to the usages of the Bedouins, and ignorant of the dignity of the little shabby old man who treated him with such familiarity, ordered him to be taken from his presence and beheaded. The slaves took him out, and were preparing to execute the order, when the Pacha of Damascus cried aloud, “Hold! what is it you are doing? If there should fall a hair of his head, with all your power, you will never send another caravan to Mecca.” The vizier instantly had him brought back, and placed him by his side; he gave him coffee, had him invested with a rich Cachemire turban, a rich gombaz (robe,) and a pelisse of honour, and presented him with a thousand piastres. Mehanna, deaf, and besides not understanding Turkish, knew nothing of what was passing; but taking off the fine clothes, he gave them to three of his slaves who accompanied him. The vizier asked him, through the dragoman, if he was not satisfied with the present. Mehanna replied, “Tell the vizier of the sultan, that we Bedouins seek not to distinguish ourselves by fine clothes: I am ill clad, but all the Bedouins know me; they know that I am Mehanna el Zadel, the son of Melkghem.” The pacha, not daring to offend him, affected to smile, and to be much pleased.

The summer passed away. By the month of October the tribe was in the vicinity of Aleppo. My heart beat on finding myself so near my home; but, according to our agreement, I could not even send news of myself to my friends. Sheik Ibrahim desired to pass the winter at Damascus--no Bedouin durst conduct us. We obtained with great difficulty an escort as far as a village, two days from Aleppo, called Soghene (the hot.) The hospitable inhabitants contended for the pleasure of receiving us. A natural warm bath accounts for the name of the village; and the beauty of its inhabitants may probably be attributable to its warm springs. From thence we reached Palmyra, but with a difficulty for which we were indemnified by the pleasure of seeing Sheik Ragial again. After passing a fortnight with our friends, we went back to Corietain, where Sheik Selim and the curate Moussi welcomed us with genuine kindness;--they were never tired of hearing our accounts of the Bedouins.--Sheik Ibrahim satisfied their friendly concern about our affairs, by saying that our speculation was wonderfully advantageous; that we had gained more than we had expected; whilst in reality, between presents and losses, we only had remaining the goods deposited with Moussi.--We lost thirty days at Corietain in preparing for our departure. Winter was rapidly coming on, and no one durst furnish us with cattle, being convinced we should be plundered on the road. At last, Sheik Ibrahim bought a bad horse, I hired an ass, and in miserable weather, with a freezing wind, we set off, accompanied by four men on foot, for the village of Dair Antié. After some hours we arrived at a defile between two mountains, named Beni el Gebelain. At this spot, twenty Bedouin horsemen came upon us. Our guides, far from defending us, hid their guns and remained spectators of our disaster. The Bedouins stripped us, and left us nothing but our shirts. We implored them to kill us rather than expose us to the cold. At last, touched at our condition, they had the generosity to leave each of us a gombaz. As for our beasts, they were too sorry to tempt them. Being hardly able to walk, they would have only uselessly detained them. Night came on, and the cold was excessive, and deprived us of the use of speech. Our eyes were red, our skin blue; at the end of some time I fell to the ground, fainting and frozen. Sheik Ibrahim in despair made gesticulations to the guides, but was unable to speak. One of them, a Syrian Christian, took pity upon me and the grief of Sheik Ibrahim; he threw down his horse, which was also half dead with cold and fatigue, killed it, opened the belly, and placed me without consciousness in the skin, with only my head out. At the end of half an hour, I regained my senses, quite astonished at finding myself alive again, and in so strange a position. Warmth restored my speech; and I earnestly thanked Sheik Ibrahim and the good Arab. I took courage, and found strength to proceed. A little after, our guides cried out, “Here’s the village!” and we entered the first house. It belonged to a farrier, named Hanna el Bitar. He showed a lively sympathy in our situation, set about covering us both with camel-dung, and gave us a little wine--a few drops at a time: having thus restored our strength and warmth, he withdrew us from our dunghill, put us to bed, and made us take some good soup. After a sleep, which was indispensable, we borrowed two hundred piastres to pay our guides and carry us to Damascus, which we reached the 23d December, 1810.

M. Chabassan, a French physician, the only Frank at Damascus, received us; but as we were to pass the winter here, we afterwards took up our quarters in the Lazarist Convent, which was abandoned.

I will not describe the celebrated city of Sham (Damascus), the Gate of Glory (Bab el Cahbé), as the Turks style it. Our long residence has enabled us to know it minutely; but it has been too often visited by travellers to offer any new interest. I return to my narrative.

One day, being at the bazaar to pass away the time in the Turkish fashion, we saw running towards us a Bedouin, who embraced us, saying, “Do you not recollect your brother Hettall, who ate your bread at Nuarat el Nahaman?” Delighted with meeting him, we took him home, and having regaled him, and asked him many questions, we learned that the affairs of the tribe Hassnnée were in a bad condition, and that the league against them was extending daily. Hettall told us that he was of the tribe of Would Ali, whose chief, Douhi, was known to us. This tribe winters in the territory of Sarka and Balka; it reaches from the country of Ismael to the Dead Sea, and returns to Horan in the spring. He proposed to us to visit it, promising a good sale for our merchandise. Having consented, it was agreed that he should come for us in the month of March.

Sheik Ibrahim having received, through the intervention of M. Chabassan, a group of a thousand tallaris from Aleppo, desired me to make new purchases. When they were completed, I showed them to him, and asked whether any thing would remain for us at our return? “My dear son,” he replied, “the gratitude of every chief of a tribe brings me more than all my merchandise.--Be under no concern. You also shall receive your return in money and in reputation. You shall be renowned in your time; but I must know all the tribes and their chiefs. I depend upon you to get to the Drayhy, and for that purpose you must absolutely pass for a Bedouin. Let your beard grow, dress like them, and imitate their usages. Ask no explanations--remember our terms.” My only reply was, “May God give us strength!”

Twenty times was I on the point of abandoning an enterprise of which I perceived all the dangers without knowing the object. This silence, this blind obedience, became insupportable. However, my wish to come to the issue, and my attachment to M. Lascaris, gave me patience.

At the time agreed, Hettall arrived with three camels and two guides, and we set out the 15th March, 1811, one year and twenty-eight days after our first departure from Aleppo. The tribe was at a place called Misarib, three days from Damascus. Nothing remarkable happened on the road. We passed the nights under a starry sky; and on the third day, by sunset, we were in the midst of the tents of Would Ali. The _coup d’œil_ was delightful. Every tent was surrounded by horses, camels, goats, and sheep, with the lance of the horseman planted at the entrance: that of the Emir Douhi arose in the centre. He received us with all possible consideration, and made us sup with him. He is a man of understanding, and is equally loved and feared by his people. He commands five thousand tents, and three tribes, which are joined to his; those of Benin Sakhrer, of El Serhaan, and El Sarddié. He had divided his soldiers into companies or divisions, each commanded by one of his kinsmen.

The Bedouins are fond of hearing stories after supper. This is one that the emir told us: it depicts the extreme attachment they have for their horses, and the self-love they manifest with regard to their own qualities.

One of his tribe, named Giabal, possessed a very celebrated mare. Hassad Pacha, then vizier of Damascus, made him on various occasions all sorts of offers to part with it, but in vain, for a Bedouin loves his horse as he does his wife. The pacha then employed threats, but with no better success. At length, another Bedouin, named Giafar, came to the pacha, and asked what he would give him if he brought him Giabal’s mare? “I will fill thy barley sack with gold,” replied Hassad, who felt indignant at his want of success. This took place without transpiring; and Giabal fastened his mare at night by the foot with an iron ring, the chain of which passed into his tent, being held by a picket fixed in the ground under the very felt which served him and his wife as a bed. At midnight, Giafar creeps into the tent on all-fours, and, insinuating himself between Giabal and his wife, gently pushes first the one, and then the other: the husband thought his wife was pushing, the wife thought the same of the husband; and each made more room. Giafar then, with a knife well sharpened, makes a slit in the felt, takes out the picket, unties the mare, mounts her, and, grasping Giabal’s lance, pricks him slightly with it, calling out, “It is I, Giafar, who have taken thy noble mare; I give thee early notice!” and off he goes. Giabal instantly darts from the tent, calls his friends, mounts his brother’s mare, and pursues Giafar for four hours. Giabal’s brother’s mare was of the same blood as his own, though not so good. Outstripping all the other horsemen, he was on the point of overtaking Giafar, when he cried out, “Pinch her right ear, and give her the stirrup.” Giafar did so, and flew like lightning. The pursuit was then useless: the distance between them was too great. The other Bedouins reproached Giabal with being himself the cause of the loss of his mare.[G] “I would rather,” said he, “lose her, than lower her reputation. Would you have me let it be said in the tribe of Would Ali, that any other mare has outrun mine? I have at least the satisfaction of saying that no other could overtake her.” He returned with this consolation, and Giafar received the price of his address.

Some one else related that in the tribe of Nedgde there was a mare of equal reputation with that belonging to Giabal, and that a Bedouin of another tribe, named Daher, was almost mad with longing to possess her. Having in vain offered all his camels and his riches, he determined to stain his face with the juice of an herb, to clothe himself in rags, to tie up his neck and legs like a lame beggar, and, thus equipped, to wait for Nabee, the owner of the mare, in a road by which he knew he must pass. When he drew near, he said to him in a feeble voice: “I am a poor stranger: for three days I have been unable to stir from this to get food: help me, and God will reward you.” The Bedouin offered to take him on his horse, and carry him home; but the rogue replied: “I am not able to rise, I have not strength.” The other, full of compassion, dismounted, brought the mare close, and placed him on her with great difficulty. As soon as he found himself in the saddle, Daher gave her a touch with the stirrup, and went off, saying--“It is I, Daher, who have got her and am carrying her off.”

The owner of the mare called out to him to listen: sure that he could not be pursued, he returned, and stopped at a short distance, for Nabee was armed with his lance. He then said to him, “Thou hast my mare; since it pleases God, I wish thee success: but, I conjure thee, tell no one how thou hast obtained her.” “Why not?” said Daher. “Because some one really ill might remain without aid: you would be the cause why no one would perform an act of charity more, from the fear of being duped as I have been.” Struck with these words, Daher reflected a moment, dismounted from the horse and gave her back to her master, and embraced him. Nabee took him home. They remained together three days, and swore fraternity.