Chapter XII: Part II: Egypt (7)

In Egypt Christians and the less scrupulous Mohammedans use _aqua vitæ_ to remove the present sensation. It operates as an anodyne, which is all they seek. In Dar-Fûr the leaves of senna pulverised, and, by admixture with honey, formed into balls, (the common cathartic,) is the only medicine administered with any salutary effect. I found James’s powder of great service to those with whom it operated as an emetic. The distention of the spleen prevents the stomach from receiving a proper quantity of food, yet the inclination for food is undiminished.

The liver being rendered incapable of its functions, by repeated extravasations of bile, the blood, which at all times circulates slowly from the spleen through that gland, now much retarded, occasions schirrosities of the spleen, and at length perfectly stagnant in and distending it, it becomes corrupted by the fæces contained in the colon near it, and begins to putrify. In this state the disease frequently terminates in death. But these schirrosities sometimes remain for years, without producing any very dangerous symptoms.

The passage of the bile into the intestines being intercepted, having passed from the gall bladder to the liver, it at length returns to the blood, which occasions _the jaundice_, another disease not uncommon among the Fûrians, termed by them _Saffafîr_, and, among the blacks, first visible in the eyes.

To alleviate the effects of any unusual increase of the cystic bile, the natrôn of the country is very efficacious.

_Tenia._

From the nature of their diet, which consists in a great degree of vegetables and fruits, with a large portion of sugar, honey, &c. the inhabitants of Egypt, of all denominations, are particularly subject to the Tenia or tape-worm (_Dûd_ Ar.) I have seen pieces of vast length preserved by the European physicians, who yet appear to have found no specific for it. The natives mistake the symptoms of this disease, ascarides, &c. for distinct maladies, and treat them accordingly. The commonalty, Jews, and devout Christians, who unremittingly use insalubrious food during their _fasts_, are most affected with it, though none are exempt. In those who are thus incommoded, a tumor commonly appears about the navel, and discoloration of the skin next the eyes.

Bruce seems to be of opinion, that the great prevalence of _worms_, with which the Abyssins are much afflicted, proceeds from the common use of raw meat. Not to mention that it is not yet proved that the habitual use of raw meat generates worms in the human intestines, that complaint cannot well be more common than among the people of Egypt, who never use meat but when fully prepared by fire.

_Hernia._

Ruptures are common in Egypt, chiefly among the lower orders, particularly the boatmen, few of whom are seen without a greater or less degree of this dangerous accident, and to many of whom it is fatal. Their life is almost amphibious, and it may in some measure be the effect of the pendent situation of the parts; but it seems chiefly to arise from the exertions they are obliged to make in lading and unlading their boats, and propelling them, as frequently happens, by applying their shoulders. In the people of this city, who carry heavy loads on their backs, and raise great weights, it is also common. Clumsy and ineffectual trusses are made in Kahira, which rather distress and embarrass than relieve or secure the patient. The scrotum is sometimes cauterized, and with effect, if the intestines be not incarcerated. In Dar-Fûr this disease is uncommon; yet it is sometimes seen there.

_Hydrocele._

The hydrocele is remarkably frequent in Syria, and, above all, in the town of Beirût. It is also frequent in Egypt, but most among the Christians of both countries. Some attribute it to the Nile water; others to the air; others to the use, or rather abuse of _aqua vitæ_; others to food of a particular kind: none of which seems to be the real cause. The natives of both countries have a method of inciding securely, which discharges the water, and of course produces temporary relief: but the malady is rapidly regenerated. The only radical cure is the actual cautery, which, though unskilfully, is yet successfully applied to such patients as are bold enough to encounter the danger.

_Hæmorrhoides and Fistula in ano._

The hæmorrhoides (_bowasîr_) are very common both in Egypt and Dar-Fûr. In the latter, they cure them by the cautery. The _Fistula in ano_ is also seen there, and is cured by a topical application, but without incision.

_Apoplexy._

I have known two instances in Dar-Fûr of what appeared to me to be apoplexy. The one was of a male slave, about sixteen years of age, the other of a man about forty; both of them of plethoric habit. The boy dropped down senseless, after having been standing near a large fire in cool weather. Pulsation ceased, and a great hæmorrhage took place from the nostrils. After one hour and a half he expired. Bleeding was recommended to the proprietor, but the by-standers would not consent, saying it was _Sheitân_, the devil had possessed him. The man was dead before I saw him; much extravasated blood appeared about him. He had been at work in the sun. The _coup-de-soleil_, properly so called, does not often occur. When much exposed in walking or at work, they protect their head from the ill effect of the rays descending perpendicularly, by winding their shirt round it, and leaving the trunk uncovered.

_Umbilical ruptures._

Among the slaves, and even free persons in Dar-Fûr, prominencies of the navel, and umbilical ruptures, of greater or less magnitude, are very common. Though the chord be remarked to be larger in the negroes than with us, this circumstance must probably be occasioned by ignorance, carelesness, or some mismanagement at the birth. It does not appear to be attended with positive inconvenience. The chord, when divided, is here cauterized as in Egypt.

_Accouchemens._

The accouchemens of the Arabian females are remarkably easy. There are stories of the Bedouîn women sitting down near a water and delivering themselves. Certain it is, that both the Mohammedan and Coptic females in the cities and towns are equally averse from the attendance of a man on these occasions; and however unskilful the accoucheuses may be imagined, few accidents have place.

The women of Fûr, in like manner, are assisted by their own sex, and are seldom long confined: yet nature seems to render child-bearing more difficult to them than to the Egyptians, and their care after delivery is not always such as to prevent both the mother and the child from suffering. I have known several instances where cold caught after the accident has proved of serious consequences to the mother.

_Hydrophobia._

The _rabies canina_, or hydrophobia, is either very unusual or entirely unknown both in Egypt and Fûr. I never heard of an instance of it in either country, which appears not entirely unworthy of remark, not only as multitudes of dogs are found in each, which in many instances can have no access to water, to the want of which was once vulgarly attributed that dreadful malady, but as one fact more in the series which must finally conduct us to its cause.

_Idea of Orientals respecting remedies._

Among the inhabitants of Egypt and Africa the classification of remedies is remarkably simple. They have only two _grand divisions_, مبردات refrigerants, and حمه heating medicines. They esteem all the former beneficial, and the latter generally pernicious: so that if the most skilful physician were to prescribe for his patient what the latter supposed to possess an heating quality, it would be impossible to persuade him to use it.

_Phlebotomy._

Scarification, or superficial incision of the skin, is commonly recurred to for various diseases, and at all ages, from two years till sixty. The head, breast, loins, legs, are all subjected to this simple and apparently little efficacious treatment. Sometimes, however, violent and obstinate pains in the head, proceeding from extraordinary exertion, and other causes, are removed by superficially inciding the skin, near the coronal suture, which occasions a sufficient discharge of blood.

The other mode of bleeding is by horns, prepared for that purpose, which operate on the same principle as our cupping glasses. These are applied in a very simple manner, and without occasioning any pain, remove such quantity of blood, as the operator judges necessary. Adhesion is produced by applying the mouth to the smaller aperture of the horn, which, when this is accomplished, is stopped. The incision is commonly made with a razor.

_Bruises._

The bitumen found in the mummy pits is dissolved with butter by the Egyptians, and not only applied externally, but taken inwardly, in large doses, for bruises and wounds; it is said to have a surprising effect.

_Petroleum._

Petroleum, which is brought from the western shore of the Arabian gulf, near to Suez, is taken inwardly as well as outwardly applied, and is much esteemed.

_Bezoar._

The Orientals have still great confidence in the _bezoar_, or _benzoar_. For a small one they are, not unfrequently, contented to pay a sum equal to seven guineas. Even the European physicians administer it in some cases pulverised, as an alterative, and, as they say, with success.

_Sal ammoniac._

Perhaps none of the drugs of Egypt is more extensively useful than sal ammoniac. That medicine seems, as it were, a specific, carefully provided, for the prevailing diseases of the country. Acting mildly, both as a carminative and diuretic, nothing is more effectual to remove the cephalalgia and lassitude often experienced during the great heat, which precedes the Nile’s augmentation, than a few drops of this spirit taken in water. Pulmonary complaints, occasioned by bad air, the suffocating heat of the southerly winds at certain seasons, and the ill effect of sudden transition from the burning heat of the sun to the chilling nocturnal dew, are often relieved by it. It might even be suggested, that as regular and continued transpiration seems very adverse to pestilential infection, a proper use of sp. sal. ammon. might not be wholly contemptible as an antidote to its infection.

_Aphrodisiacs._

No part of the materia medica is so much in requisition as those which stimulate to animal pleasure. The _lacerta scincus_, in powder, and a thousand other articles of the same kind, are in continual demand. For this chiefly fields are sown with _hashîsh_, the _bang_ of the East Indies. It is used in a variety of forms, but in none, it is supposed, more efficaciously than what is in Arabic called _Maijûn_, a kind of electuary, in which both men and women indulge to excess. The impotence of age, and the languor of satiety or disease, ponder in vain the oracles of the descendant of Ismaîl, for the invigorating influence of the benign deity of Canopus.

_Characteristics of the negroes._

A great and striking difference as to the firmness and density of the skin, between the negro and the white, whether it may or may not be called _specific_, as far as relates to the animal, is the cause of several peculiarities, as well when they are in health as under the power of disease. In all cutaneous maladies, or such as ultimately relieve themselves by suppuration, the sufferings of the blacks are excessive. Blows of the whip, which in a white subject would become encysted tumors, discharge, dry up, heal, and disappear in a few weeks, often remain in a negro more than a year.

The bright red colour of the muscular fibres, an apparently stronger power of contraction, and the whiteness, solidity, and weight of the bones, constitute other peculiarities. The eyes have generally very distinct vision. There are few instances of myopes, and blindness is very uncommon. The teeth are white and firm; they rarely complain of odontalgia, and retain their teeth to old age. Both the Fûrians and neighbouring negroes are attentive to preserve them clean, which is done by rubbing them with the small fibrous branches of the tree called _Shaw_.

_Natrôn._

Natrôn is much used as a veterinary medicine.

As often as the camels, horses, asses, sheep, &c. drink, a large piece of it is put into the trough of water. The natives conceive that it renders them more eager of their food, and thus tends to fatten them. Some camels refuse it, but in general they acquire a preference for that water which is most strongly impregnated. When they refuse it, the natrôn is pulverized, formed into balls, with the flour of maize, and forced down their throats before they drink.

For the human race natrôn is used to remove the head-achs, intermittent and remittent fevers, &c. which prevail during the rainy season. Two or three ounces of crude natrôn are dissolved in water, and taken fasting. It operates as a drastic purge, and with some as an emetic. With robust and plethoric habits, there seems to be no inconvenience from the use of it, but I experienced from it an unfavourable rather than beneficial effect.

_Tamarinds._

The tamarind, _Thummara Hindi_[51] one of the most useful as well as valuable of the productions of the country, supplies the want of many others. In defect of lemons and other acids, this fruit, mixed with water, constitutes an agreeable and refreshing drink. When dried by beating in a mortar, it is formed into cakes, each of 2 or 300 drams in weight. The decoction of it is a mild cathartic, and also operates as a diaphoretic; and the natives attribute to it superior virtue as an antidote against certain poisons.

_Lactation._

Savary remarks, that in Egypt each mother affords nourishment to her own infant, even in compliance with a command of the Prophet, and that this prevents many diseases. No doubt can exist that the milk of the mother, long secreted and reserved for the child, is the proper nourishment at the birth, and by its acrid quality tends to facilitate the evacuation of the fæces, accumulated during the period of gestation, much better than any thing that can be substituted in its room. But when this effect is once produced, in many cases the milk of any other woman may be better than that of the mother; nay, that of the mother may be insalubrious _à principio_; and it is as yet far from being proved, that the milk of the mother is in all cases the best possible milk for the child.

If the mother abstain not from the male embrace, and become gravid, the milk becomes, as is well known, poison to the offspring.—The Arabic language has even a single word to express, _quæ lactans consuescit viro_, which they conceive extremely injurious.

_Opium_ (_Ar. Aphiûm_).

The use of opium, as is well known, is carried to excess in Constantinople. Some persons have so long accustomed themselves to that powerful drug, that a dose of two drams, or more, will have no effect in exhilarating them, or producing that agreeable stupor which they seek. In such cases, they will swallow, in a convenient vehicle, several grains, to the amount, it is said, of ten, of corrosive sublimate of mercury, as a stimulus.

This effect of opium, as an antidote to one of the strongest mineral poisons, appears incredible, and would scarcely have been related, but on authority the least questionable. A reflection has in consequence forced itself on me, which I offer as a query. Mithridates, king of Pontus, is said to have so fortified himself with antidotes, that when misfortune obliged him to have recourse to poison to terminate his existence, though repeatedly administered to him, under different forms, it had no effect. Pontus, at that time no less than at present, furnished the best opium. Could Mithridates have used any antidote so powerful? And was not this effect of that drug more likely to be known in its native country than any where else? It may possibly be replied, that mineral poisons were not then in use, and that to the small number of vegetable ones then known, many other antidotes, capable of producing the same effect, might have been found. It is not however enquired, whether single antidotes might not have been found to obviate the influence of distinct poisons, but what could produce so complete a change in the human body, as that no poison should have any effect on it?

_Circumcision._

The practice of circumcision may be traced to such remote antiquity, that its origin baffles all research: yet apparently its history has not received all the illustration of which it is capable from a diligent collection of facts. It has been ascribed to the structure of the organs, in certain countries, which it is said impede coition, or facilitate the appearance of morbid symptoms. But what may have been perfectly true of individuals, it may perhaps not be permitted to assume with regard to a whole nation, much less with relation to the inhabitants of an extensive region.

Among the Fûrians circumcision appears to be no other than a religious ceremony, performed in compliance with an express command of the author of their faith; and it is very doubtful whether it was ever practised among them before their conversion to Mohammedism. It is now often neglected till the male have attained the age of eighteen or more years, and this omission seems to be considered by them as a matter of indifference; nor are there persons who habitually and regularly exercise that art, as in Egypt and other Mohammedan countries.

_Excision._

The excision of females is a peculiarity with which the Northern nations are less familiar: yet it would appear, that this usage is more evidently founded on physical causes, and is more clearly a matter of convenience, than the circumcision of males, as it seems not to have been ordained by the precept of any inspired legislator. A practice so widely diffused, it may be said, was hardly invented but to remedy some inconvenience commensurate in its extent. But, if so, how happens it that one race of idolatrous negroes, near Fûr, has a habit of extracting two or more of the front teeth of children before puberty? That it is customary with another race, in the same quarter, to file the teeth to a point[52]? that other nations cut open a second mouth? and innumerable other singularities which prevail among savages, and are as little to be reduced to any principle of convenience or utility.

This excision is termed in Arabic _Chafadh_ خفض, and the person who performs it خافضة. It consists in cutting off the clitoris a little before the period of puberty, or at about the age of eight or nine years[53].

Strabo is apparently the first who mentions this custom, which is nevertheless undoubtedly very antient. Lib. xvii.

—και τα παιδια περιτεμνειν, και τα θηλεα εκτεμνειν, &c.

By the terms very well marking the distinction between this operation and the circumcision of males.

The Mohammedans of Egypt conceive it to have no connexion with their religious creed. Similar are said to be the sentiments of the Christians of Habbesh. In Dar-Fûr many women, particularly among the Arabs, never undergo excision: yet it has not been my fate to see or hear of any of those κλειτοριδες μεγαλαι which are supposed to have brought it into vogue.

Thirteen or fourteen young females underwent خفض in an house where I was. It was performed by a woman, and some of them complained much of the pain, both at and after it. They were prevented from locomotion, but permitted to eat meat. The parts were washed every twelve hours with warm water, which profuse suppuration rendered necessary. At the end of eight days the greater part were in a condition to walk, and liberated from their confinement. Three or four of them remained under restraint till the thirteenth day.

It often happens that another operation accompanies that of excision, which is not, like the latter, practised in Egypt, viz. producing an artificial impediment to the vagina, with a view to prevent coition. This happens most frequently in the case of slaves, whose value would be diminished by impregnation, or even by the necessary result of coition, though unaccompanied by conception. But it is also adopted towards girls who are free; the impulse being too strong to be counteracted by any less firm impediment. This operation, like the former, is performed at all ages from eight to sixteen, but commonly from eleven to twelve; nor are they who undergo it always virgins. In some the parts are more easily formed to cohere than in others. There are cases in which the barrier becomes so firm, that the embrace cannot be received but by the previous application of a sharp instrument[54].

Among some tribes of blacks, there exists a practice of piercing the skin in certain forms by way of ornament.—Each of the punctures leaves an indelible scar, as distinctive as colour, which is not used. This practice, which is of the same description as that of some of the South-sea islands, is used on the face, breast, loins, &c.

The blacks who are castrated for the use of Kahira or Constantinople, undergo that operation in the Upper Egypt, before their arrival at the former; some families, there resident, having the hereditary exercise of this antient practice.

The numbers which undergo it are not very considerable, and it is fatal only to a very small proportion of them.

Those slaves which are emasculated for the exclusive use of the Fûrian monarch suffer within his palace.

CHAP. XXII.

FINAL DEPARTURE FROM KAHIRA, AND JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM.

_Voyage down the Nile to Damiatt — Vegetation — Papyrus — Commerce — Cruelty of the Mamlûk government — Voyage to Yaffé — Description of Yaffé — Rama — Jerusalem — Mendicants — Tombs of the kings — Bethlehem — Agriculture — Naplosa — Samaria — Mount Tabor._

Having engaged a _canjia_, or small boat, to sail down the Nile from Kahira to Damiatt, I departed on Friday the 2d of December 1796. No occurrences worthy of particular commemoration happened during this little voyage, but we passed several towns of considerable note, among which may be mentioned Mansûra, remarkable for the defeat of St. Louis; a circumstance preserved in the name which denotes, _The place of victory_. Its condition is flourishing, owing to its being a station on the road between Kahira and Damiatt; and it was then governed by a Cashef deputed by Ibrahim Bey. The mosques amount to seven, which is the only circumstance I can offer relative to its population, my stay there having been only for a few hours.

Sifté and Miet Ghrammer are on the same route, about half way between Kahira and Mansûra, and situated on opposite banks of the Nile. Both are towns of the second order, and abounding with people, chiefly Mohammedans, very few Copts residing there. The river is here narrow but deep, not exceeding three hundred yards in breadth; and it may not be improper to remark in general concerning that celebrated stream, that its greatest breadth, when free from inundation, may be estimated at seven hundred yards, or something more than one third of a mile. Where narrowest, the distance between the banks may be one hundred yards. The depth from three to twenty-four feet.

That channel of the Nile which extends from Kahira to Damiatt is in general free from windings, and is interspersed with a few small islands.

There are several populous towns in the Delta, of which Mehallé-el-Kebîr is the chief. In point of population it is said to be equal to Damiatt. The next in consideration are probably Semmenûd and Menûf.

To form a general idea of the Delta, the reader may conceive a vast plain, intersected in all directions, by minute channels, (the canal of Menûf being almost the only important stream,) by which and by pumps the interstices are watered, and brought to the utmost fertility. As to real inundation on the rise of the Nile, that must be regarded as confined to a small space bordering on the sea.

On the 5th of the same month I arrived at Damiatt. This noted port presents an agreeable aspect on the first approach from the South, the town being built somewhat in the form of a crescent on a gentle bend of the river, and being surrounded with cultivated lands, which extend to the large lake called Manzalé. The distance from the sea is about six miles, and there is a bar across the Nile, so that vessels are obliged to have part of their cargo sent after them in small boats, and put on board after they have past the bar.

Damiatt is blessed with a soil almost unrivalled, and exuberant in orange and lemon trees, and other rich vegetation of the East, which would present an appearance very striking to a traveller accustomed to an English winter. Nor were my emotions unpleasant at here beholding, for the first time, the celebrated _Papyrus_, pushing its green spikes through the mud of the adjacent ditches[55].

This plant formerly abounded so much in the vicinity of Damiatt, that it was profaned, so to speak, in the fabrication of sleeping mats, which were transported to different parts of Lower Egypt. But of late years, by the sacred ignorance and supine neglect of the Mamlûks, who regard themselves as merely tenants for life, and delapidate at will this noble domain, the channel of the Nile, which ought to flow to Damiatt, pursuing the straiter course offered to it by the canal of Menûf, deserted its bed, and left access to the sea-water. Hence the plants of papyrus, as well as the other vegetables, were deprived of the prolific influence of the Nile, and expired in the noxious effluvia of a marine marsh. I was told by an European there, who had resided between thirty and forty years, that the papyrus used to attain the height of eight, nine, or more feet. The stem was about an inch or more in diameter; and of such substance as to serve my informer and his son for walking-sticks.

The gardens of Damiatt contain some mulberry trees and plantains. The _Tethymalus_, wart-weed, is found there in great quantity. Scammony is not uncommon. The East side of the river, from Damiatt to the North extremity of the coast, consists of sand hills, and most part of the way is lined with reeds.

Among the crops of Lower Egypt in particular must not be forgotten the Lucerne, _Birsîm_, which grows with surprising luxuriance.

Damiatt is vivified by a considerable trade, being the depôt between Egypt and Syria, and the mart of all the productions of the Delta; exporting particularly rice and flax to Syria, and importing cotton in return, which is manufactured there and in other parts of Egypt. Its European commerce is very inconsiderable: some Venetian and Ragusan vessels bring small cargoes of cochineal, and other commodities. Formerly there were several French merchants, but their usual misconduct with regard to the sex occasioned their expulsion.

Of an antient round building, called the Tower of St. Louis, which was standing in Niebuhr’s time, and which till of late existed at Damiatt, nothing now remains but a piece of brick wall, which was on the outside of the foss, and of which the mortar is no less hard than the brick. The remainder of the materials were applied by Mohammed Bey Abu-dhahab to the structure, which his fear of the Russians induced him to erect at a great expense, at the extremity of the shore. It was not sufficient to build this fort on the firm ground, nearest the mouth of the river; he chose to lay the foundation in the sand and mud, at the extreme point of land on the eastern side; and though now from the strength of the foundation a part remains, much has fallen, and the rest is surrounded by, and under water.

There are two mounts of ruins near the Eastern extremity of the town, on the most Northern of which is a piece of brick wall remarkably strong, which is reported to have been part of an ancient castle. From this elevation is seen the field of battle between the Christians and Saracens, in which St. Louis was, according to the Arabs, taken prisoner. It is called the _field of blood_, as the conflict is represented as having been so obstinate, that the earth and water were stained with blood for a considerable time after.

There is nothing farther worthy of remark in this town, except two mosques. One of them is a rich foundation of the same nature as the _Jama-el-Azher_, which it is said maintains five or six hundred poor shechs, many of whom are blind or paralytic. The other is an old and famous mosque, which has been raised, as is said, on the ruins of a Christian church, part of which is reported to exist under the building. Even the mosque itself is now deserted, and in a great measure fallen to ruin; the door which leads to the passage below is bricked up, so that I could make no observations on that part. The mosque is spacious, and contains a great number of marble columns. I observed, however, only one of porphyry, and one of red granite. The rest are of common blue and white, and yellow and white marble; one of the latter is reported to have the virtue of curing the jaundice; and for this purpose the poor people affected with this disorder scrape it and drink the powder, which is in such repute that a considerable cavity may be observed in the column. Another fine porphyry column I was told was lately carried away by a Mokaddem of the Bey, employed in collecting his rents here, for the purpose of forming a tomb for himself. The population of Damiatt may be partly conceived from the number of its mosques, which are supposed to be fourteen. There is also a Greek convent, in which strangers are lodged, there being no caravanserai in the place.

The lake _Manzalé_ is of very considerable extent, being somewhat more than thirty miles in length, and is navigated by a number of small vessels employed in fishing, and in carrying the people to and from the islands. The fish called _Bûri_, a kind of mullet, particularly abounds; it is salted and dried at Damiatt, whence it is conveyed through the Lower Egypt and Syria, and even to Cyprus. It affords an insipid and insalubrious meal; yet is much used by the common people, especially by the Christians in their frequent fasts. The desert islands interspersed in the lake are haunted by numbers of aquatic birds, which migrate thither in autumn and winter: they are ensnared in nets, and furnish a livelihood to many of the lower class of the people, who sell them in the markets. The water of this lake is brackish, but not very salt. Where the most easterly branch of the Nile fell into it, still remain some ruins of the antient city of Tanis, which I had not an opportunity of visiting.

A circumstance had recently occurred, tending to paint the character of the people under the Mamlûk government. A Cashef, but not of the highest order, under Murad Bey, who had been disgraced a short time before, retired to Damiatt to avoid his master’s anger. He had not long resided there, when, having heard more favourable tidings, he made an inquiry for some person, capable of exchanging for him a sum in Turkish money, for the like in that of Europe current in the country. Accordingly three Jews were found who promised to supply him according to his desire. They went round the city, and borrowed much in addition to what they already possessed, and at length carried to the Cashef to the amount of between five and six thousand patackes. He was no sooner furnished with the money, than he directed the Jews to be murdered, and his boats being ready, caused their bodies to be packed in baskets, and put into a small boat of his train. He then set off for Kahira. On arriving at a village a little way up the river, the baskets were disembarked, and he ordered them to be safely lodged till further directions should be given. It was some time before the villagers took notice of the packages, or dared to open them in the absence of the owner. But at length having observed a quantity of blood near one of them, and entertaining suspicions, they opened the three, and news were immediately carried to Damiatt that the three Jews had been found in this condition. Those under whose cognizance such accidents are, made a memorial of the whole affair to Murad Bey. He replied only by loud laughter, saying, “Are they not three dogs? There is an end of them.”

It must not be omitted that at Damiatt there is a considerable manufactory of cotton and linen clothes, for the use of the baths and other domestic purposes.

On the 19th of January 1797, I embarked on board a little merchant vessel, trading to the coast of Syria, and commanded by an Arab. Owing to the stormy weather, and the unskilfulness of the mariners, no small danger was incurred in the voyage, and we were constrained to throw overboard a part of the cargo, which consisted in rice and raw hides. Another vessel, which sailed in company, was lost that same night.

After a navigation of five days, I arrived at Yaffé. The first land we had discovered was the mountain of Ghaza.

Yaffé presents an object rather extraordinary in the Levant, a good wharf. The situation of the town is so unequal, that the streets are paved in steps. The air, formerly deemed insalubrious, has, by the draining of some adjacent marshes, been rendered perfectly healthy; but, on the other hand, the extensive groves of orange and lemon trees, which adorned the vicinity, have been destroyed in the sieges undertaken by Ali Bey and his successor Mohammed Abu-dhahab, the latter of which was particularly destructive; the Mamlûks having used these trees for firing. The government is now mild, and the population, gradually increasing, may be estimated at six or seven thousand souls. It is walled, and has two principal gates and a smaller one; the latter and one of the former yet remain; the other is shut up. Yaffé is commanded by an eminence on the North, within musket-shot, where Ali Bey pitched his camp. Though there be a small river in the proximity, water is scarce, being carried by the women: one of the governors engaged to remedy the inconvenience, but was strangled by order of Jezzâr, Pasha of Damascus, before he could accomplish his purpose.

Ships cannot come up to the wharf, and there is no port, nor even secure place of anchorage. The commerce is inconsiderable, being solely with Egypt, and with a few pilgrims who pass to and from Jerusalem. Yaffé is governed by an officer appointed by the Porte.

There are three small convents of Christians, Armenian, Greek, and Roman-catholic, and a few Jews. When the French, about 1790, were banished by Jezzâr Pasha from his government, several retired to Jaffé, where their consul died the winter before I arrived.

It shall be only farther remarked, that the houses in Jaffé are neatly built with stone, and that considerable quantities of coral are found in the adjacent sea.

Having hired two mules for myself and a Cypriote servant, I proceeded to Rama, distant about three hours. I had previously taken care to get permission from the agent of the convent at Yaffé to travel to Jerusalem, a precaution here necessary to prevent any disturbance from the Arabs.

At Rama there is a spacious and strongly built convent of the Franciscan order, a commodious edifice, and kept in excellent repair. The town is pleasantly situated, and in a good soil. In its vicinity I observed some antient groves of olive trees. Between Yaffé and Rama seven villages appear in sight.

Having left Rama early in the morning of the ensuing day, we entered the gate of Jerusalem about sun-set. The ground between Rama and Jerusalem is rugged, mountainous, and barren. My servant having loitered behind, was seized by some Arabs, thrown from his mule, and pillaged.

I must confess the first aspect of Jerusalem did not gratify my expectation. On ascending a hill distant about three miles, this celebrated city arose to view, seated on an eminence, but surrounded by others of greater height; and its walls, which remain tolerably perfect, form the chief object in the approach. They are constructed of a reddish stone. As the day was extremely cold, and snow began to fall, the prospect was not so interesting as it might have proved at a more favourable season.

It is unnecessary to dwell on the description of a city trivial in innumerable books of travels, but a few miscellaneous remarks shall be made as they happen to arise.

Mendicants perfectly swarm in the place, allured by the hope of alms from the piety of the pilgrims. The religious of _Terra Santa_ retain great power, and there is one manufacture that flourishes in the utmost vigour, namely that of reliques, crucifixes inlaid with mother of pearl, chaplets, and the like. Yet the church of the holy sepulchre is so much neglected, that the snow fell into the middle; the beams, said to be cedar, are falling, and the whole roof is in a ruinous state.

The Armenian convent is elegant, and so extensive as to present accommodation for no less than a thousand pilgrims.

During twelve or thirteen days a very deep snow lay upon the ground. The catholic convent has a large subterraneous cistern, into which the snow, melting from the roof and other parts, is conveyed, and supplies the monks with water for a great portion of the year.

The best view of Jerusalem is from the Mount of Olives, on the East of the city. In front is the chief mosque, which contains, according to the tradition of the Mohammedans, the body of Solomon. From the same mount may be discovered, in a clear day, the _Dead sea_, nearly South-east, reflecting a whitish gleam. The intervening region appears very rocky.

The _tombs of the kings_, so denominated, are worthy of remark, being of Grecian sculpture on a hard rock. There are several ornaments on the sarcophagi of foliage and flowers, and each apartment is secured with a massive panneled door of stone. Great ravages have been made here in search of treasure. These tombs have probably been constructed in the time of Herod and his successors kings of Judea.

A very considerable part of the inhabitants is Christian, between whom and the Muslims there exists all that infernal hatred which two divinely revealed religions can alone inspire.

At about the distance of two hours, or six miles, stands Bethlehem, in a country happy in soil, air, and water. The latter is conveyed in a low aqueduct or stone channel, which formerly passed to Jerusalem. The _fons signatus_ is an exuberant spring: it is received successively by three large cisterns, one of which is well preserved. In coming from the cisterns, and at a small distance is seen what is termed the _deliciæ Solomonis_, a beautiful rivulet which flows murmuring down the valley, and waters in its course some gardens of excellent soil. The brinks of this brook are adorned with a variety of herbage. Olives, vines, and fig trees flourish abundantly in the neighbourhood. The olive trees are daily decreasing in number, as they are sacrificed to the personal enmities of the inhabitants, who meanly seek revenge by sawing down in the night those that belong to their adversaries. As this tree is of slow growth, it is seldom replaced. Such is the charity of Christians in the cradle of Christianity. A more pleasing object arises in the convent here, which contains under one roof the different tenets of Latins, Armenians, and Greeks.

About the same distance from Jerusalem, towards the wilderness, is the convent of St. John, situated in the midst of a romantic country, studded with vines and olive trees. In the village of St. John and its district the Mohammedans form the greater part of the population.

The mode of agriculture here pursued may be worthy of observation. As the country abounds in abrupt inequalities, little walls are erected, which support the soil, and form narrow terraces. Small ploughs are used drawn by oxen; and it requires no slight dexterity in the driver to turn his plough, and avoid damaging the walls. The soil thus secured is extremely favourable to cultivation. The breed of black cattle is in general diminutive. Horses are few in number, and asses resembling the European are chiefly used for travelling.

We may safely estimate the present population of Jerusalem at from eighteen to twenty thousand. It is governed by an Aga, appointed by the Pasha of Damascus; but he is allowed so few troops, that all Palestine may be regarded as in the power of the Arabs. The Christian women, who abound in Jerusalem, wear white veils, as a distinction from the Mohammedan, who wear other colours. Arabic is the general language, except among the Armenians and Greeks.

I left Jerusalem in the commencement of Ramadan, 2d of March 1797. After an uncommonly severe winter, the spring was now begun. Having rode about three hours, we arrived at Beruth, where we passed the night; and the following day, about three in the afternoon, reached Naplosa or _Nablûs_. This capital of the district called Samaria is populous. The site is remarkable and picturesque, being between two hills, upon one of which is the castle.

The adjacent country in general is fertile in vines and mulberry trees, though rather mountainous. Naplosa has several mosques, and carries on a considerable traffic with Damascus and the coast: there is also a cotton manufacture. Jews abound of the Samaritan heresy; but the inhabitants are very hostile to Christians, who have no establishments here. The town is in fact governed by the chief inhabitants, though a nominal deputy be appointed by the Pasha of Damascus.

On my journey from Naplosa to Nazareth, during the first part of the route, which was rocky and mountainous, I observed only three villages in the space of as many hours; but the vales are full of olives, fig trees, and vines, and even the rocks are shaded with a variety of verdure. Having passed the mountains of Naplosa, (_Ebal_ and _Gerizim_,) we came to an extensive plain of excellent land, which however after rain is almost inundated. Near its northern extremity is seated a small fortress, which repulsed Jezzar Pasha at the head of five thousand men, and some pieces of artillery: it displays seven or eight small round towers, and has two gates. The peasants of Samaria are hardy and warlike, and generally go well armed.

Sebasté or Samaria is now a miserable deserted village. Ginæa is a decent town, half way between Naplosa and Nazareth. The latter is a pleasant village, seated on an easy slope, with a respectable convent: most of the inhabitants are Christians. While I was there, the Samaritans had made an inroad, and carried off some cattle: the Nazareens armed themselves, and made reprisals of seventeen oxen. In the neighbourhood is Mount Tabor, whence there is a delightful prospect, and which is noted for the absurd doctrines it gave name to in the ecclesiastical disputes of the Greek empire.

CHAP. XXIII.

GALILEE — ACCA.

_Improvements by Jezzar — Trade — Taxes — White promontory, and river Leontes — Tyre — Seide — Earthquake — Kesrawan — Syrian wines — Beirût — Anchorage — Provisions — River Adonis — Antûra — Harrîsé — Tripoli — Ladakia — Journey to Aleppo or Haleb._

Galilee is here divided from Samaria by a ridge of hills. Six hours were employed in passing from Nazareth to Acré, by the Arabs more properly termed _Acca_. At a village on the route observed a sarcophage, now used for watering cattle, and some scattered fragments of columns. But few villages appear between Nazareth and Acré, though the land be fertile.

Acré is fortified with a wall of very moderate strength, having only one gate. It is a pretty large town, but many of the houses are empty: yet the population may be estimated between fifteen and twenty thousand. There remains part of a double fosse, which extended round the town, but is daily dilapidated for modern erections. There is no castle nor other relique of antiquity.

The whole face of the city has been changed, being enlarged and adorned with the improvements of the celebrated Achmet Pasha, who has built an elegant mosque and baths, two markets, a palace, and reservoirs for water. There are three Khans, or places for receiving goods, answering the purpose at once of a warehouse and inn. There are also five or six mosques, a small establishment of the Franciscans, and a Greek and Armenian church. In one of the Khans the Europeans lodge.

A mean tomb has been erected by the Pasha, to the memory of the celebrated Shech Daher, close to the sea, and at a little distance from the northern extremity of the wall.

Acré stands on a promontory, near a small gulph, and has no haven. Vessels anchor in favourable weather near the shore, but the European ships anchor opposite Haifa, a small place at the foot of Mount Carmel, where the water is generally smooth. The trade of Acré is pretty considerable; the Europeans bring broad cloth, lead, tin, and a variety of other articles, and export cotton in return. From Egypt there are large imports of rice. The soil of Egypt is not very proper for cotton, which is a staple commodity of Syria.

The long reign of Achmet Pasha _el Jezzâr_[56], accompanied with immense influence and great wealth, might naturally lead to conceive, that, blending his interests with those of his subjects, he would have exerted his authority in promoting their happiness. On the contrary, the large plain near Acré is left almost a marsh, and marks of idle magnificence have been substituted for the useful cares of agriculture. A striking contrast arises between his conduct and that of the Shech Daher, his predecessor, who raised Acré from a village to a large town, and doubled the population of the district.

Jezzâr was the first governor in the empire who laid a tax on articles of consumption, as wine, grain, and the like. Even meat and fish are materials of impost. He has erected granaries, a laudable design, but deficient in the execution; for the grain being ill preserved, and the oldest served out first, it is not only disagreeable as food, but unprolific when distributed for seed to the peasants. These imposts form the peculiar revenue of the Pasha; the other resources arising as usual from the tax on land, which amounts to about a twentieth of the rent, the capitation tax on Christians, and the customs; which last in this government are arbitrary, and neither regulated by the rules of the Porte, nor the capitulations entered into by Europeans. Nevertheless, the chief source of the riches of Jezzâr is the Pashalik of Damascus, which, by means of the usual largesses at the Porte, he contrived to add to his former government, a precedent very unusual in the Othman empire. His military force was once computed at twelve thousand; but, at the time of my visiting Acré, did not exceed four or five thousand.

Till the year 1791 the French had factories at Acré, Seidé, and Beirût. At that period they were all expelled from the territory of Jezzâr by a sudden mandate, which allowed them only three days to abandon their respective habitations, under pain of death.

Passing over the common, but just rule of supposing, that in a quarrel of this magnitude neither party was perfectly free from error, it may be fit to inquire what motives induced this ignominious expulsion, when a simple dismission, to be signified by various other means, would have answered the same purpose.

To this it can only be answered, that the character of Jezzâr is impetuous, and even capricious, on all occasions. Sometimes a warm friend, and then suddenly a bitter enemy, equally, to all appearance, without any adequate reason. As to the conduct of the French, themselves and the other nations in the Levant accord so ill, that I have never obtained a very accurate statement of it. It seems to have originated in the behaviour of a drogueman of the nation, who having in some way offended the Pasha, was by his order summarily strangled or hanged. The French remonstrated, and threatened him with an application to the Porte, which he did not greatly fear, and he punished, _as he termed it, their insolence_, (in asserting their undoubted right, according to the capitulations between them and the Porte,) in this concise manner. Many complaints were made, subsequent to this period, by the ministers of the Republic at the Porte, but to no purpose: that court in fact was otherwise engaged, and it may be doubted whether it could have punished the Pasha. The events that followed suspended the prosecution of those claims, which, as the merchants thus suddenly banished had lost much, it appeared they had a right to prefer: but at length Aubert du Bayet sent a young officer of the name of Bailli to the Pasha to demand redress in a tone perhaps rather too high.

This gentleman, on arriving at Acré, April 1797, wrote a letter in French to the Pasha, which he had the bizarre idea of finding some Levantine drogueman to translate, _verbatim_, in the presence of that personage. The terms, it seems, in which this letter was conceived were so bold, that none could be found to present it, and the Pasha, under one pretence or other, refused to see the agent. On this Bailli retired to Yaffé. The answer Jezzâr sent to the claim of the Republic was, that private merchants were at liberty to settle under his government on the footing of any other nation, but that he would acknowlege no consul, nor consent to offer them any indemnification for the losses of the late factory.

Jezzâr had early conceived an enmity against that nation, which was probably increased by those who rivalled them in commerce.

On the 2d of April 1797 I set out from Acré to Seidé. The road runs near the sea-side, through a track overgrown with thorns and thistles. The shore is abrupt, and, as usual, accompanied with deep water. Some remains of antiquity present themselves, but so much injured, and so scattered, that it is impossible to guess their destination. I slept in the house of the Shech in a small village on the South of the White Promontory. The villages between Acré and Seidé are thinly scattered, and the population apparently small. We met several parties of the Pasha’s troops, both infantry and cavalry, which seemed in excellent order.

On the following morning we passed the White Promontory, a sublime and picturesque mountain. The road is occasionally cut through the rock of calcareous stone, as white as chalk. On the right the rock is covered with bushes: the left is a perpendicular precipice to the sea, which was calm when I passed; but when it rages the scene must be tremendous. The tradition of the natives ascribes this road to Alexander the Great.

We passed the Leontes, now an inconsiderable stream, and easily fordable: but after rain it swells to a rapid torrent, as is the case with most of the rivers that fall from the Syrian mountains to the sea. After crossing four small clear streams, running over their beds of pure gravel, and the dry courses of some rivulets, we arrived at Tyre, enchanted with the beautiful, verdure and varied scenery of the adjacent country.

The magnificent city of Tyre, now corruptly called _Sûr_, is reduced to a few miserable huts inhabited by fishermen, situated in the northern extremity of the isle. The isthmus, which joins it to the continent, is about three quarters of an English mile in length; the isle itself is of an irregular form, at the broadest part not exceeding half a mile, and the circumference of the antient city could not exceed a mile and a half. Except three fragments of granite columns nothing of antiquity appeared. The isle is now desert and rocky, destitute even of shrubs and grass. It appears that the port which is on the North of the isthmus might be restored, though a back water be wanting. The few peasants or fishermen who frequent the spot seemed quite unconscious of the classic ground on which they trod.

On the land-side, a little to the South of the isthmus, observed remains of an aqueduct, which formerly conveyed water to Tyre. Under its low arches was a considerable quantity of stalactites grown to a large size. There is also a cistern, somewhat resembling those of the _fons signatus_ above mentioned, but smaller. The fountain rises with such force as to turn a mill a little lower down. Here are a few fruit trees, and a place where coffee is sold.

From the White Promontory to Seidé, antiently Sidon, extends a narrow plain by the sea-shore. North-east by East appear the summits of the mountains of Kesrawân, covered with snow. Arrived at Seidé near sun-set.