Chapter V: Part 5

On arriving at what his guides called the “Mountain of Inscriptions,” a lofty rugged eminence, which it cost them much time and toil to climb, he found--not what he had expected--but a vast Egyptian cemetery, in which were a great number of sepulchral monuments, covered with hieroglyphics. These inscriptions he was not permitted to copy at the time, because the sheïkh of the mountain apprehended he might thereby gain possession of the immense treasures concealed beneath; but one of his guides, who probably had little faith in that point of the sheïkh’s creed, afterward, on his return from Mount Sinai, enabled him to copy whatever he pleased. On his arrival at the convent of St. Catherine the monks politely refused to admit him, alleging, as their excuse, that he had not brought along with him a letter from their bishop. The patriarch’s letter, which he presented to them, they returned unopened. He was, in fact, destined to meet with nothing but disappointment in these celebrated regions; for his Arabs, having conducted him up to a certain height on Mount Sinai, refused to proceed any farther, and he was not possessed of sufficient resolution to ascend the remainder alone.

Niebuhr now hastened back to Suez, and on his return forded the Red Sea on his dromedary, a thing which no European had done before, though the guides, who were on foot, did not find the water above knee deep. Being desirous of surveying the extremity of the Arabian Gulf, he procured a guide soon after his return from Mount Sinai, with whom he set out upon this expedition. They travelled, however, in constant fear; and the sight of a stranger in the distance increased the terrors of the guide to so extraordinary a pitch, that I suspect he had blood upon his hands, and dreaded the hour of retribution.

The constant arrival of pilgrims from Egypt had now rendered Suez, in proportion to its extent, more populous than Cairo. These holy men, being on their way to the city of their prophet, regarded Christians with an evil eye, just as a bigoted Franciscan travelling to Jerusalem would regard a heretic or an unbeliever; and on this account Niebuhr greatly dreaded the voyage he was about to perform in their company from Suez to Jidda. To avoid, as far as possible, all causes of dispute with their fellow-passengers, they embarked several days before the rest, paid their passage, stowed away their luggage, and then amused themselves with observing the strange characters by which they were surrounded, not the least extraordinary of which was a rich black eunuch, who, in imitation of the great Turkish lords, travelled with his harem.

All the passengers having at length repaired on board, they set sail on the 9th of October, and sailing along coral reefs, which in bad weather are highly dangerous, they arrived next day at Tor. Near this town is a small village inhabited by Christians, to which Forskaal went alone, for the purpose of visiting what is supposed to be the site of ancient Elim. While he was absent it was rumoured on board that the Arabs had formed the intention of pursuing and arresting the Frank, who had landed with the design of sketching their mountains; upon which a number of janizaries from Cairo, who happened to be on board, immediately set out for the village, and having met with M. Forskaal, conducted him back in safety to the vessel. “Are there many Christians,” inquires Niebuhr, “who, under similar circumstances, would do as much for a Jew?”

On the evening of the 16th of October they discovered, about sunset, the Emerald Mountains on the coast of Egypt, called _Gebel Zumrud_ by the Arabs. Next day there happened an eclipse of the sun. In Mohammedan countries persons who are able to calculate an eclipse are regarded as consummate physicians. Forskaal had informed the reis, or captain, that an eclipse was about to take place; and to amuse him and keep him from interrupting his astronomical observations, Niebuhr had smoked several glasses, through which he, as well as the principal merchants, might contemplate the phenomenon. They were all greatly amused, and from that moment Forskaal enjoyed the reputation of being a second Avicenna. From a spirit of humane complaisance, which induces us to allow every one an opportunity of exhibiting his peculiar talents, men are exceedingly apt to fall ill when they come in contact with a physician. Our traveller’s Mohammedan companions were particularly polite in this way; for no sooner had they persuaded themselves that there was a physician on board than they all discovered that they were attacked by diseases which had previously lain dormant, and confidingly demanded medicines and advice. Forskaal prescribed for all. To the majority he recommended more or less sleep, and a careful attention to their diet. A pilgrim at length presented himself who complained that he was unable to see during the night. The physician advised him to light a candle. This was excellent. The Arabs, who are naturally lively, burst into a loud laugh, and all their diseases were forgotten in a moment.

Between Ras Mohammed and Hassâni the ship was twice in danger of being set on fire by the negligence of the women; but at length they reached this small island in safety, and the Mohammedans, believing the principal danger to be now over, exhibited various tokens of joy, firing muskets and pistols, illuminating the ship with lamps and lanterns, and uttering the triumphant cry of _Be, be, be!_ so commonly used by the orientals. The sailors and the pilot petitioned for a present, the former coming round to each passenger with a little boat in their hands, which, when the collection was over, was thrown into the sea. During this passage Niebuhr, who, up to his arrival at Suez, had scarcely seen the face of a Mohammedan woman, had an opportunity of viewing three or four of them naked in a bath; and his indiscreet curiosity very fortunately entailed upon him no evil consequences.

On the 29th of October they arrived at Jidda, where the usual attempts were made to defraud the custom-house. In this praiseworthy design some succeeded to the extent of their desires; but others, less adroit, or more unfortunate, were detected and compelled to pay the duties, no such atrocity as the confiscation of the whole property being ever practised. A duty of two or two and a half _per cent._ being levied upon all specie, people were most anxious to conceal their wealth: but by endeavouring to effect this, one of Niebuhr’s companions suffered severely; for in stepping from the ship into the boat, his purse, which he had tied round his body, opened accidentally, and about a hundred crowns fell into the sea. The common cash of the expedition was conveyed on shore in the bottoms of their boxes of drugs, which were not searched, it being in Arabia a general opinion that physicians, having no need of money, seldom carry any about with them.

Niebuhr had observed in Egypt that the populace looked with inexpressible contempt upon Christians, and thence inferred that in proportion as they approached the Holy City they should find this inhospitable bigotry on the increase; but his apprehensions were unfounded, for the people of Jidda, long accustomed to the sight of Europeans, and constantly experiencing the humanizing influence of commerce, were peculiarly refined, allowing strangers to do almost what they pleased. It was merely forbidden them to approach the Mecca gate; which, like the city to which it leads, is reputed holy. Our traveller, during his residence at Cairo, had formed an acquaintance with a poor sheïkh, who, for a Mohammedan, might be said to be as highly favoured by science as he was neglected by fortune; and this man, in gratitude for the knowledge he had derived from him, besides furnishing him with letters of recommendation to the Kihaya and Pasha of Jidda, had privately written to those important personages, who had honoured him for his knowledge, earnestly requesting them to show every possible mark of kindness and attention to his European friends. These were the letters from which they had least expectations, and presented last; nevertheless, when the recommendations of all their other friends had failed even to procure them a lodging, those of the poor sheïkh introduced them to powerful protectors. Niebuhr was here witness of the curious mode of catching wild ducks noticed by Pococke in Upper Egypt, and by another English traveller in China. When a number of these birds were observed in the water, the sportsman undressed, covered his head with seaweed, and then crept quietly into the water. By this means the ducks were deceived, so that they allowed the man to come near and catch them by the legs.

They remained at Jidda until the 14th of December, when they embarked in one of the country vessels for Loheia. Niebuhr was not possessed of the art of painting what he saw with the fine colours of language. His narrative is frequently dry even to insipidity. He was observant, he was calm, he was judicious, but he was destitute of eloquence, and this deficiency is nowhere in his works more strongly felt than in his account of his various voyages through the Red Sea. On the 22d they landed on the coast of Yemen, near Fej el Jelbe, inhabited by Bedouins, who are suspected of being pagans. A few tents were discovered on the shore, and as soon as the travellers had landed, which they did unarmed lest they should be taken for enemies, several of the wild natives came down to meet them. Their appearance and dress were extraordinary. Their dark hair descended in profusion to their shoulders; and instead of a turban, several of them had merely a cord tied round the head, intended, I imagine, to keep their tresses in order. Others, more careful and industrious, had woven themselves a kind of bonnet with green palm-leaves. A miserable waist-cloth constituted the whole of their dress. From the eagerness of the sailors to get their lances out of their hands they immediately discovered that they were suspected; upon which they cast the weapons on the ground, assuring the strangers that they had nothing to fear. Notwithstanding that they had landed in search of provisions the Bedouins conducted them to their tents, where two women came out to meet them. Their salutation was curious. The women, who were unveiled, kissed the arm of the sheïkh, who, in return, pressed their heads with his lips. The ladies then advanced towards the strangers. Their complexion was sallow brown, they had blackened their eyelids with surme, and died their nails with henne; and, like the lower ranks of women in Egypt, exhibited marks of tattooing on the chin, cheeks, and forehead. Cosmetics being rare in those countries, they requested our travellers to favour them with a small quantity of kohol and al henne; but they had injudiciously neglected to provide themselves with any thing of the kind, and consequently saw themselves in the disagreeable predicament of being compelled to refuse.

On their arrival at Loheia they were received with remarkable politeness by the emir and the chief merchants of the city. They had taken the small vessel in which they performed the voyage for a longer passage as far as Hodeida; and the captain, understanding that they had some intention of remaining at Loheia, secretly applied to the emir with a request that he would compel them to complete their engagement, either by proceeding all the way to Hodeida, or by paying the whole sum agreed upon. With a generosity not often displayed towards utter strangers by men in office, the emir replied, that should the travellers refuse payment of the sum in question, he himself would satisfy his demands; and the principal merchant to whom the suspicious navigator also applied entered into the same engagement. Of course they were not allowed to suffer by their grateful and astonished guests.

The above merchant, in his eastern style of hospitality, gave them a house to live in during their stay. In return the travellers amused him and the emir with the effects of their microscopes, telescopes, &c. These things filled them with wonder; crowds of people, curious but well-behaved, thronged their court from morning till night, examining with attention whatever they saw, and expressing their astonishment at every thing. This was too much for Danish politeness. They hired a porter, and stationing him at their door, gave strict orders that none but professional men should be admitted. But the curiosity of the Arabs was not to be subdued so easily; for, when all other excuses failed, they feigned illness, and gained admittance under pretence of coming to consult the physician. Sometimes Dr. Cramer, who appears to have been an uncouth creature, was requested to favour sick persons with a visit at their own houses, and one day received a pressing entreaty to repair without delay to the _emir el bahr_, or captain of the port, who had need of consulting him. Cramer, not attending to this summons immediately, was shortly afterward informed that the _emir el bahr’s_ saddle-horse was at the door waiting for him. This piece of attention was too flattering to be resisted; he therefore descended immediately, and was about to put his foot into the stirrup, when he was interrupted with the information that the horse was unwell, and had been brought there as a patient! Physicians in Arabia prescribe for horses as well as men; this, therefore, was not meant as an insult; but Cramer, who felt all his Danish blood curdle in his veins at the bare idea of prescribing for a Mohammedan horse, and was, moreover, mortified at not being allowed to mount his patient, indignantly refused to exercise the functions of a horse-doctor. Luckily, however, their European servant, who had served in a dragoon regiment, understood something of the veterinary art, and undertook the cure of the emir’s horse; which succeeding happily, he also was regarded as an eminent physician, and was allowed to elevate his ambition to the treatment of men.

As our travellers continued, as far as possible, to live after the European fashion, their manners were necessarily as much an object of curiosity to the Arabs as those of the Arabs were to them. One day two young men came to see them eat. Of these, the one was a young nobleman from Sana, whose gentle manners announced a superior education; the other a young chief from the mountains, whose country was seldom visited by strangers. This the _naïveté_ and simplicity of his manners soon rendered manifest. Upon being invited to eat, he replied, “God preserve me from eating with infidels, who have no belief in God!” Niebuhr then demanded the name of his country; “What,” said he, “can my country concern thee? Hast thou formed the design of going thither to subdue it?” He afterward made several remarks upon their manners, the simplicity of which excited their laughter; at which the Arab felt ashamed, and ran away in confusion. His companion fetched him back, however, and he returned, wondering at the amazing quantity of food which they devoured. Fowl after fowl disappeared before these mighty eaters; the poor Arab, who began to entertain awful ideas of the capacity of a German stomach, and apprehending that they might bring about a famine in the land, for a while looked on in silent amazement; but when they had already eaten as much as would, perhaps, have satisfied a whole tribe of Bedouins, he started up, upon seeing Von Haven preparing to carve yet another fowl, and seizing him by the arm, exclaimed, “How much, then, dost thou intend to eat?” This sally produced still louder peals of laughter than ever, and the poor Arab, who probably apprehended that they might finish by eating him, rushed out of the house and disappeared.

Having sufficiently observed whatever was interesting or new at Loheia, they departed thence on the 20th of February, 1763, their servants and baggage mounted on camels, and themselves on asses. Not that Europeans were here, as at Cairo, prohibited from riding on horseback, but that horses were dear and not easily to be hired, while the asses, though comparatively cheap, were large fine animals, of easy gait. Arabia, it is well known, is surrounded by a belt of burning sand, which has in all ages aided in protecting it from invasion. This our travellers had now to traverse, but they suffered no particular inconvenience from the heat, and in four days arrived at _Beit el Fakih_, the greatest coffee emporium in the world.

Niebuhr, being now in a country where travelling was attended with no risk, and desiring, apparently, to escape from the society of his companions, hired an ass, and set out alone on an excursion to several neighbouring towns. This was succeeded by several other excursions, and at length he proceeded to the Coffee Mountains, a district which offers, perhaps, as many curious particulars to the observation of a traveller as any spot in Asia. These mountains could be ascended only on foot. The road, though rugged and broken, lay through coffee plantations and gardens, and to Niebuhr, who had just quitted the burning plains of the Tehama, afforded the most exquisite gratification. The prospects, moreover, which here meet the eye on all sides are rich and beautiful. They are precisely what the hills of Judea must have been before Sion had been profaned by the heathen, when every man, confident in the protection of the Lord, sat down tranquilly under his vine or under his fig-tree. The small chain of hills, called the Côte d’Or, which traverses nearly the whole of Burgundy from north to south, and is covered with vineyards to the summit, may probably represent to a European eye the ridge of the Coffee Mountains, except that the latter have necessarily a more woody appearance, and are beautified by numerous mountain streams, which frequently leap in long cascades from the rocks. The coffee-tree, which was at this time in full flower in many places, diffuses around an agreeable odour, and somewhat resembles the Spanish jasmin. The Arabs plant these trees so close that the rays of the sun can scarcely find their way between them, which prevents the necessity of frequent watering; but they have reservoirs on the heights from which they can, when necessary, turn numerous streamlets into the plantations.

From the Coffee Mountains they returned to Beit el Fakih, whence they shortly afterward departed on another short excursion. The natives, who carefully abstained from exposing themselves to the sun during the heat of the day, expressed their well-grounded astonishment that Europeans should be imprudent enough to hazard so dangerous a step; and our travellers were, in reality, at this very time laying the foundation of those fatal diseases which shortly afterward swept them away, Niebuhr only excepted; for I am persuaded that they might have returned, even in spite of their execrable diet and destructive habits of drinking, to brave the climate of Yemen, had they timed their journeys more judiciously.

By this time their appearance was tolerably oriental; the sun had bronzed their countenances, their beards had acquired a respectable length, their dress was exactly that of the country, and they had, moreover, adopted Arabic names. Even their guides no longer took them for Europeans, but supposed them to be members of the eastern church, who by forbidden studies had succeeded in discovering the art of making gold, and were searching among the lonely recesses of their mountains for some rare plant whose juices were requisite in their alchymical processes. Niebuhr’s assiduous observation of the stars considerably aided in strengthening this delusion, which upon the whole, perhaps, was rather beneficial to them than otherwise.

In the hilly districts of Yemen our traveller observed among the Arabs a peculiar mode of passing the night. Instead of making use of a bed, each individual crept entirely naked into a sack, where, without closing the mouth of it, the breath and transpiration kept him sufficiently warm. Niebuhr himself never tried the sack, but very soon acquired the habit, which is universal among the Arabs of Yemen, of sleeping with the face covered, to guard against the malignant effects of the dews and poisonous winds. Here M. Forskaal discovered the small tree that produces the balm of Mecca, which happening to be in flower at the time enabled him to write a complete description of it, which he did seated under its branches. The inhabitants, who knew nothing of its value, merely made use of it as firewood, on account of its agreeable odour.

Upon descending from these mountainous countries, where the climate is as cool and salubrious as in most parts of Europe, Niebuhr found the heat of the Tehama almost insupportable, and entering a little coffee-house, overwhelmed with fatigue, threw himself on his mat in a current of air, and fell asleep. This heedless action nearly cost him his life. He awoke in a violent fever, which hung about him for a considerable time, and reduced his frame to such an extreme state of weakness that the slightest exertion became painful. Von Haven, too, whose supreme delight consisted in brandy, wine, and good eating, and who seldom quitted his sofa, except for the purpose of placing himself before his gods at the dinner-table, now began to experience the impolicy of feeding like an ogre in the deserts of the Tehama, and very quickly fell a victim to his imprudence.

From Beit el Fakih they proceeded to Mokha, where, as at Cairo, Europeans were compelled to enter the city by a particular gate, on foot, as a mark of humiliation. Niebuhr found that he and his companions were here taken for Turks, and they were accordingly directed to the khan, or inn, where the Osmanlis usually took up their abode. Though they understood that there was an English merchant at Mokha, they judged it unnecessary, in the first instance, to make application to him, as they had everywhere else in Yemen been received with politeness and hospitality; and besides, they were somewhat apprehensive that, from their dress and appearance, he might be led to regard them as vagabonds or renegades. They therefore addressed themselves to an Arab merchant, by whom they were well received.

The people of Mokha made some pretensions to civilization, which is unfortunate, as the term, at least in the East, means custom-house officers, and insolence towards strangers. Our travellers, though no merchants, had large quantities of baggage, which, of course, was taken to the custom-house, before they could be allowed to enjoy the use of it. I have already observed, that although Niebuhr himself was a temperate, perhaps even an abstemious man, his companions set a high value on the gratification of their senses. Von Haven himself, who, as I have already observed, shortly afterward fell a victim to his indiscretion, was still among them, and it may therefore be easily imagined that the first articles they were desirous of obtaining from the custom-house were their cooking utensils and their beds. The Arabs, however, were differently minded. They allowed their curiosity to fasten upon the cases in which the natural history specimens were packed, and resolved to begin with them. Among these, unfortunately, there was a small barrel containing various fish of the Red Sea, preserved in spirits of wine. This M. Forskaal, who had collected these fishes himself, injudiciously requested the officers to allow to pass unopened. The request immediately roused all their suspicions. He might, for aught they knew, be a magician, who had confined the Red Sea itself in that barrel, for the purpose of carrying it off, with all its fishes, into Europe. It behooved them, therefore, to bestir themselves. Accordingly the barrel was the first thing opened; but when the operation had been performed, the result anticipated by the naturalist was produced, for so pungent, so atrocious a stink was emitted from the half-putrefied fish, that the authorities very probably apprehended them to be a troop of assassins, commissioned by the devil to administer perdition through the nostrils to all true believers. The custom-house officer, however, confiding in the protection of the Prophet, determined to brave the infernal odour, and in order to explore the abomination to the bottom, took out the horrid remains of the fish, and stirred up the liquor with a piece of iron. The entreaties of the travellers to have it put on one side probably caused them to be regarded as ghouls, who made their odious repasts upon such foul preparations. The Arab still stirred and stirred, and at length in an inauspicious moment upset the cask, and deluged the whole custom-house with its contents. Had Mohammed himself been boiled in this liquid, it could not have smelt more execrably; we may therefore easily imagine the disgust with which the grave assembly beheld it flowing under their beards, infecting them with a scent which it would take several dirrhems’ worth of perfume to remove. Their ill-humour was increased when, on opening another cask, containing insects, their nostrils were again saluted with a fresh variety of stink, which they inferred must possess peculiar charms for the nose of a Frank, since he would travel so far to procure himself the enjoyment of its savour. An idea now began to suggest itself to the Arabs, which still further irritated them, which was, that the insolent Franks had packed up these odious things in order to insult the governor of the city, at the expense of whose beard, it was not doubted, they intended to amuse themselves. This persuasion was fatal to many a cockleshell. They mercilessly thrust down a pointed iron bar through the collections, crushing shells, and beetles, and spiders. The worst stroke of all, however, was yet to come. This was the opening of a small cask, in which several kinds of serpents were preserved in spirits. Everybody was now terrified. It was suggested that the Franks had no doubt come to the city for the purpose of poisoning the inhabitants, and had represented themselves as physicians in order to commit their horrid crimes the more effectually. Even the governor was now moved. In fact, his anger was roused to such a pitch, that, though a grave and pious man, he exclaimed, “By God, these people shall not pass the night in our city!” The custom-house was then closed.

While they were in this perplexity, one of their servants arrived in great hurry and confusion, with the news that their books and clothes had been thrown out through the window at their lodgings, and the door shut against them. They moreover found, upon inquiry, that it would be difficult to discover any person who would receive into his house individuals suspected of meditating the poisoning of the city; but at length a man bold enough to undertake this was found. Such was their position when they received from the English merchant above alluded to an invitation to dinner. “Never,” says Niebuhr, “was an invitation more gladly accepted; for we not only found at his house a dinner such as we had never seen since our departure from Cairo, but had at the same time the good fortune to meet with a man who became our sincere and faithful friend. The affair of the custom-house was long and tedious; but at length, by dint of bribery and perseverance, their baggage, snakes and all, was delivered to them, and they even rose, in consequence of a cure attempted by M. Cramer on the governor’s leg, into high consideration and favour.”

Niebuhr was here again attacked by dysentery, and Von Haven died. This event inspired the whole party with terror, and having with much difficulty obtained the governor’s permission, they shortly afterward departed for the interior. They travelled by night, to escape the extreme heat of the sun, but soon found the roads so bad as to render this mode of journeying impracticable. The country during the early part of their route was barren, and but thinly inhabited; but in proportion as they departed from the shore the landscape improved in beauty and fertility. At the small city of Jerim, on the road to Sana, Niebuhr had the misfortune to lose his friend Forskaal, the best Arabic scholar of the whole party, and a man who looked forward with enthusiasm to the glory to be derived from the successful termination of their travels. The bigotry of the Mohammedans rendered it difficult to obtain a place of burial for the dead, who was interred in the European fashion; which, immediately after their departure, caused the Arabs, who imagine that Europeans bury treasures with their dead, to exhume the body. Finding nothing to reward their pains, they compelled the Jews to reinter him; and as these honest people complained that they were likely to have no remuneration for their labour, the governor allowed them to take the coffin in payment, and restore the body naked to the earth.

On the 17th of July, 1763, they arrived in the environs of Sana, and sent forward a servant with a letter, announcing their arrival to the chief minister of the imam. This statesman, however, who had previously received tidings of their approach, and was desirous of receiving them with true Arab politeness, had already despatched one of his secretaries to meet them at the distance of half a league from the city. This gentleman informed them that they had been long expected at Sana, and that, in order to render their stay agreeable, the imam had assigned them a country-house at _Bir el Assab_. While they were conversing with the secretary, and secretly congratulating themselves on their good fortune, they arrived at the entrance into their garden, where the Arab desired them to alight. They of course obeyed, but soon discovered that their guide had played them a trick in the manner of the people of Cairo, for he remained on his ass during the rest of the way, which was considerable, enjoying the pleasure of beholding a number of Franks toiling along on foot beside his beast. This put them out of humour, and their spleen was increased when, on arriving at their villa, they found that, however elegant or agreeable it might be, it did not contain a single article of furniture, or a person who would provide them even with bread and water.

Next day, however, they received from the imam a present of five sheep, three camel-loads of wood, a large quantity of wax-tapers, rice, and spices. At the same time they were informed that two days at least would elapse before they could obtain an audience, a matter about which they were indifferent; but that they could not in the mean time quit their house. Though considerably chagrined at the latter circumstance, they hoped in some measure to neutralize its effects, by receiving the visits of such natives as curiosity, or any other motive, might allure to the house; and accordingly were very much gratified at the appearance of a Jew, who had performed in their company the journey from Cairo to Loheia. This young Israelite, delighted to spend a few moments in the company of persons who received him without any demonstrations of contempt, appeared to experience a gratification in obliging them; and came on the second day accompanied by one of the most celebrated astrologers of his sect, from whom Niebuhr learned the Hebrew appellations of several stars. While he was yet conversing with this learned descendant of Abraham, the secretary of the imam arrived. They were ignorant of the etiquette of the court of Sana, according to which they should have abstained from receiving as well as from paying visits; but the secretary, whose business it was to have instructed them on these points, doubly enraged by their infraction of the rules of decorum, and by a sense of his own negligence, directed all the violence of his fury against the unfortunate Jews, whose society he imagined must have been equally disagreeable to the travellers as it would have been to him. He therefore not only expelled them from the house, but, in order to protect the imam’s guests from a repetition of the same intrusion, gave peremptory orders to their Mohammedan attendant to admit no person whatever until they should have obtained their audience.

Two days after their arrival they were admitted into the presence of the imam. It is probable that, having previously formed an exalted idea of the splendour of oriental princes, the reader will be liable to disappointment on the present occasion. The riches and magnificence of the califs, however, of which we find so many glowing descriptions in the Thousand and One Nights, in D’Herbelot, and many other writers, have long passed away, leaving to the successors of those religious monarchs nothing but remembrance of ancient glory, which gleams like a meteoric light about their throne and diadem. Niebuhr, arriving at Sana from the sandy deserts of the Tehama, where poverty reigns paramount over every thing, enjoyed the advantage of possessing an imagination sobered by stern realities. His fancy depicted the court of the imam in the livery of the desert. He expected little. If he was disappointed, therefore, it was not disagreeably.

The imam, with a vanity pardonable enough in a prince who learns from his cradle to estimate his own greatness by the pomp and glitter which surround him, had in fact employed the two days elapsed since the arrival of his guests in active preparations for their reception; and the rules of etiquette forbidding strangers to pay or receive visits during the interval, were originally intended to conceal this circumstance, and create the belief that the holyday appearance of the court was its ordinary costume. Our travellers were conducted to the palace by the minister’s secretary, who here performed what is called the mehmandar’s office in Persia. They found the great court of the edifice thronged with horses, officers, and other Arabs of various grades; so that it required the ministry of the imam’s grand equerry to open them a way through the crowd. The hall of audience was a spacious square apartment, vaulted above, and having on its centre several fountains of water, which, gushing aloft to a considerable height, and falling again incessantly, maintained a refreshing coolness in the air. A broad divan, adorned with fine Persian carpets, occupied the extremity of the hall, and flanked the throne, which was merely covered with silken stuffs, and rich cushions. Here the imam sat cross-legged, according to the custom of the East. He received the travellers graciously, allowed them to kiss the hem of his garment, and the back and palm of his hand--an honour which is but sparingly granted to strangers. At the conclusion of this ceremony a herald cried aloud, “God save the imam!” and all the people repeated the same words. As their knowledge of Arabic was still very limited, they conversed with the imam by means of an interpreter, a contrivance admirably adapted for shortening public conferences, since there are few persons who, under such circumstances, would be disposed to indulge in useless circumlocution.

The result of this audience was, that they obtained the prince’s permission to remain in the country as long as they desired; and on their retiring, a small present in money was sent them, which they judiciously determined to accept. In the afternoon of the same day they were invited to the minister’s villa, where Niebuhr exhibited his mathematical instruments, his microscopes, books, engravings, &c.; at the sight of which Fakih Achmed expressed the highest satisfaction. From the various questions which he put to them, they discovered, moreover, that he himself was a man of very considerable knowledge, particularly in geography; while from his constant intercourse with foreigners his manners had acquired an ease and gracefulness which rendered his company highly pleasing. Nevertheless, Niebuhr, who feared that the cupidity of this minister, or of some other courtier, might be excited by the sight of his instruments, regretted to perceive these tokens of curiosity, and the necessity he was under of satisfying it; but his suspicions, which appear to have been as unfounded as they were illiberal, were not of long duration, for no man demanded of him any part of his property, or seemed to regard it with covetousness. He, in fact, learned shortly afterward that even the presents which it was judged necessary to make both to the imam and his minister were altogether unexpected, since they were not merchants, and demanded no favours of prince or courtiers.

Niebuhr confesses that the reception which he and his companions met with at Sana was marked by a degree of civility and friendship that far surpassed their expectations. The Arabs would seem, indeed, to have derived so much gratification from their society, that it is more than probable they would willingly have made some sacrifice to retain them; but the death of Von Haven and Forskaal had cast a damp over their imaginations; they apprehended that disease might even then be undermining their constitutions, and were therefore more desirous of flying from the country than of studying its productions or its inhabitants. When they departed from Mokha several English ships were lying there, taking in cargoes of coffee for India; and this circumstance, by promising to facilitate their progress farther towards the east, operated strongly upon their determination to quit Arabia, the original object of their mission, for other regions which appeared more agreeable. One of Niebuhr’s biographers appears to think that it was mere solicitude to transmit to Europe an account of what had been performed by the expedition, and not any apprehension of danger, which rendered him so exceedingly desirous of quitting Yemen, for that he never clung to life with any great eagerness. I have by no means an unfavourable opinion of Niebuhr’s courage, which, on the contrary, I consider to have been in general equal to the dangers to which he was exposed; but I nowhere find any traces of that stoical indifference about life and death which his biographer seems to attribute to him; and am persuaded, that on the occasion of his departure from Sana, it was the apprehension of death, united, perhaps, with a longing for European society, which actuated his movements. At the same time I acknowledge that his fears were natural, and that most travellers under similar circumstances would have acted much the same way. We miss, however, in Niebuhr, both on this and on all other occasions, the chivalrous spirit of Marco Polo, Pietro della Valle, Chardin, and Bruce, as we miss in his writings the enthusiasm which casts so powerful a charm over the records of their adventures.

The same reasons which induce me to acknowledge the rational nature of Niebuhr’s apology for suddenly quitting Yemen long before he had completed his examination and description of it, incline me likewise to accept his reasons for avoiding the road by Jerim and Táäs, which would have led him by Haddâfa and Dhâfar, where Hamyaric inscriptions were said to exist. He had already been frequently deceived by the misrepresentations of Arabic ignorance, and therefore doubted the accuracy of his informants. The three remaining members of the mission set out from Sana on the 26th of July, and, arriving at Mokha on the 5th of August, found that their apprehensions of danger at Sana, which, though excusable, were not well founded, had precipitated them into real peril; for the English ship in which they intended to embark was by no means ready to sail, so that they had to remain in that burning climate nearly a whole month, during which almost every individual in the party, servants and all, fell sick.

The ship in which Niebuhr at length set sail for India belonged to Mr. Francis Scott, a younger son of the Scotts of Harden, a jacobite family of Roxburghshire. With this gentleman Niebuhr ever after lived on terms of intimate friendship; and “five-and-thirty years afterward,” says our traveller’s son, the historian of the Roman republic, “when I studied in Edinburgh, I was received in all respects as one of the family in the house of this venerable man, who then lived at his ease in the Scottish capital on the fortune he had acquired by honourable industry.”

On his arrival at Bombay he met with the most cordial reception from the English, in whose society he had first learned to delight while in Egypt. Here he spent a considerable time in studying the manners and customs of the Hindoos, and his observations, though now destitute of value, must at that time have possessed considerable interest, above all on the Continent. He here lost Cramer, the last of his companions; Baurenfeind, the artist, having died on the voyage. During his stay at Bombay he made a voyage to Surat, famous in the history of oriental commerce and in the Arabian Nights; but his stay was short, and he returned to Bombay without pushing his researches any farther into the interior. The passion for travelling was certainly never very powerful in Niebuhr; but he was posessed by considerable curiosity, and this passion induced him to form the design of proceeding in an English ship to China; but being unwell at the time of the ship’s departure, he relinquished the design, which he never afterward resumed.

His residence at Bombay, a much less healthy place than Sana, was continued so long, that I am strongly inclined to suspect the want of European society may, after all, have numbered among his most powerful reasons for hurrying from Yemen. From this city he forwarded the manuscripts of his deceased companions as well as his own papers, by way of London, to Copenhagen; and at length, on the 8th of December, 1764, set sail in one of the company’s ships of war, bound for Muskat and the Persian Gulf. During this voyage he beheld the surface of the sea for half a German mile in extent covered at night with that luminous appearance which we denominate “phosphoric fires;” and which, according to his opinion, arises entirely from shoals of medusas, which by the English sailors are called “blubbers.” A few days afterward, as they approached the shore of Oman, they were accompanied for a considerable distance by a troop of dolphins, which, by the persevering manner in which they followed the ship, seemed, as Lucian jocularly observes, to be animated by a kind of philanthropy, as when they bore Melicerta and Arion to the shore on their backs.

They arrived at Muskat on the 3d of January, 1765; and here Niebuhr, had the interior of Arabia possessed any attractions for him, had once more an opportunity of indulging his curiosity, and fulfilling the original design of the expedition; for, from the humane and polished manners of the people of Oman, travelling was here, he says, attended with no more danger than in Yemen. He preferred, however, ascending the Persian Gulf in an English ship; and therefore, after a stay of a few days, set sail for Abusheher, where he arrived on the 4th of February.

Here Niebuhr, who had learned the English language at Bombay, found himself still in the company of one of our countrymen, from whom he obtained a plan of the city, together with much curious and valuable information respecting the country and its inhabitants. This Englishman, whose name was Jervis, spoke, read, and wrote the Persian with fluency, and amused himself with making a collection of manuscripts in that language; among which was the “Life of Nadir Shah,” by his own private secretary Mohammed Mahadi Khan. The authenticity of this work was so highly spoken of in Persia, that Niebuhr was at some pains to procure a copy of it for the King of Denmark’s library; and it was from this copy that Sir William Jones afterward compiled his “History of Nadir Shah,” once celebrated, but now sunk into oblivion. At Abusheher our traveller saw several of that species of cat numbers of which are now brought into Europe from Angola. They were procured from Kermân, and it was said that they would nowhere breed except in those countries in which the shawl goat was found--an opinion which has long been proved to have been erroneous.

Shortly after Niebuhr’s arrival at Abusheher, Mr. Jervis determined upon sending a quantity of merchandise to Shiraz; and his intention was no sooner made public, than a number of petty merchants, together with several families from the interior, who had been expelled from their homes by the troubles consequent upon the death of Nadir Shah, desired to unite themselves to his party; and thus a small kafilah was at once formed. So excellent an opportunity of visiting the most beautiful city of Persia, as well as the famous ruins of Persepolis, was not to be overlooked. Our traveller therefore joined the trading caravan, and on the 15th of February set out for the interior.

For this journey, however, he was but badly prepared. He was wholly ignorant of the Persian language, and therefore, had he not by great good fortune found some persons among the party who spoke Arabic, as well as an Armenian who was a tolerable master of the Italian, he must have been reduced to depend upon the universal but scanty language of signs. Strange to say, likewise, he had abandoned the oriental costume, though fully aware, by his own account, of the advantages to be derived from it by a traveller. In other respects he conducted himself judiciously; for, understanding that the English, notwithstanding the troubled state of Persia, had nowhere any thing to fear, he represented himself as an Englishman; and thus, without passport or formal permission, he travelled with perfect freedom and safety. He observed during this journey a curious superstition among the Armenians, of which he had nowhere else discovered any traces: having despatched his servant upon some business at a distance from the encampment, he was one day compelled to act as his own cook, and was about to cut off the head of a fowl. His face at that moment happening to be turned towards the west, an Armenian who was present informed him that a Christian should turn his face to the east when he killed a fowl, no less than when he prayed. Others (as the affair was a serious business) conjectured that he turned towards Mecca, either that his servant, who was a Mohammedan, might conscientiously partake of the food, or because that in reality was his _kebleh_. Seeing, however, that people endeavoured to decide respecting his religion by the mode in which he slaughtered a hen, he for the future relinquished to his servant the art and mystery of cookery.

Our traveller had an opportunity, near Firashbend, of visiting a Turkoman camp. He found them rich in camels, horses, asses, cows, and sheep. Their women, like those of the Bedouins, enjoyed the most perfect liberty, and wore no veils. These Turkoman women were said to be exceedingly laborious, and the small carpets so universal in Persia were of their workmanship. He likewise beheld a Kurdish family. Farther on, he had a very laughable adventure with a troop of Armenian women, which, as characteristic at once of the Armenians and of himself, merits some attention. Having travelled for some time through rain and hail, the kafilah at length halted, near the village of _Romshun_, in which Niebuhr hired a horse for a day, and purchased a quantity of wood, in the hope of enjoying a good fire until bedtime. Not desiring, however, to taste of these blessings alone, he invited several Armenians to share the advantage of his apartments, which they most readily accepted. Presently, however, a number of women and children presented themselves for admission, and appeared extremely well satisfied when he granted them permission to place themselves inside of the door. He had shortly afterward occasion to leave the house for a moment. Upon his return, he found the husbands of the women seated near the entrance of the house, while the whole harem had established itself round the fire! and conceiving that it might be imprudent to sit down by the fire among the women, or to drive them away from it, he allowed them, though certainly not from politeness, to dry themselves first. Here he was detained for twenty-four hours by bad weather. The apartments which he occupied were on the second story, and his horse, which had its quarters in the adjoining chamber, being somewhat restless in the night, broke through the floor, and fell down into the landlord’s apartment below!

The kafilah reached Shiraz on the 4th of March. Here he was hospitably received and entertained by the only European in the city, a young English merchant, whose name he should have been at the pains to learn, for assuredly it was not, as he imagined, _Mr. Hercules_. His stay at Shiraz was rendered agreeable by the politeness of the governor, who, at his first audience, informed him that he would decapitate the first person who should offer him any injury in his territories. The audience being over, one of the governor’s friends undertook to show them the palace. Several of the apartments were coated with beautiful Tabriz marble, and covered with magnificent carpets; and among the ornaments of the palace were numerous European mirrors, and pictures of Persian workmanship, among which was one representing a woman bathing, almost wholly naked. Niebuhr was greatly surprised to find pictures of this kind in the house of a Mohammedan; but, in fact, the _Shiahs_ are far less rigid on this point than the _Soonnees_; and we learn from the Arabian Nights, that even so early as the time of Haroon al Rashid painting was encouraged in Persia and Mesopotamia, since that celebrated prince is said to have adorned his palace with the performances of the principal Persian artists.

From Shiraz he proceeded to the ruins of Persepolis, the site and nature of which I have already had occasion to describe in the lives of Chardin and Kæmpfer. His head-quarters during his stay was at the small village of Merdast. From thence, as well as from the other villages, the peasants frequently came to observe him during his examination of the ruins, in which he constantly employed the whole day, from eight o’clock in the morning until five in the afternoon. The majority of these visiters were women and young girls, who were curious to see a European; and the whole of the population were so entirely harmless, that the traveller felt himself as safe in their company as he could have been in any village in Europe. He here received a visit from an Arab sheïkh, a learned, polished, and agreeable man, who had passed thirty years in Persia, during which time he had amassed considerable wealth, and now lived in independence and ease.

From Persepolis he returned by the way of Shiraz to Abusheher, where he embarked in one of the country vessels for the island of Karak, where he was hospitably received and entertained by the Dutch merchants settled there; and after a short stay, proceeded to Bassorah. Here he embarked in a small vessel which was about to sail up the Euphrates to Hillah. His companion, during this voyage, was an officer of the janizary corps, who lay in a small chamber close to Niebuhr’s cabin, and appeared to be at the point of death. In other respects this little voyage, which occupied twenty-one days, was sufficiently agreeable. The passengers were remarkable for their good-humour and obliging disposition; and often, when our traveller set up his quadrant on the banks of the stream, they stood round him in a circle, while he was making his observations, to screen him from the wind with their long flowing dresses.