Chapter VIII: Part II: Egypt (3)

Coming as I did under considerable exceptions from the general rule of merchants trading to that country, and, in the Arabic language, rather as _Daif-es-Sultan_, the king’s stranger, in which light the people of the country had hitherto viewed me, I expected to obtain, without delay, permission to continue my journey to the royal residence. I observed to the Melek of Sweini and other public officers, in one among many conversations I had with them, that “intending to visit the Sultan, I should hardly have expected to be put back with frivolous excuses, as the nonpayment of duties which you dare not explicitly demand of me, and tributes under the name of presents, which have never yet been exacted of a stranger. If any duties be payable, beyond what have already been discharged, you are perfectly at liberty to detain all, or such part, of the articles I bring with me, as you judge sufficient to answer your claim; but not to refuse me permission to go to the Sultan, with whom I have business. Or if other reasons operate to prevent my request being complied with, and any suspicions prevail relative to my views in coming here, I desire, without further delay, to be furnished with the means of returning to Egypt, before I suffer, as commonly happens to strangers, from the effects of the climate, while I am yet in the habit of travelling, and while the funds are yet unexhausted which should support me in my progress farther.”

The misrepresentations which had been made concerning me, and which had by this time reached the Sultan, manacled the hands of the Melek, and prevented my remonstrance from having any effect. But candour and ingenuousness have no part in the character of slaves; and the antient observation is most just, that “when a man becomes a slave he loses half his virtue.” I therefore remained in perfect ignorance of the reasons of my detention. Perhaps indeed, without implicating himself, the Melek could not have declared them; or perhaps he was not thoroughly informed as to their nature. The plot that had been laid against me might indeed have deceived much abler heads than theirs, on whose caprices my fate depended.

Finding no mode of advancing, till the rest of the caravan had obtained the same permission, I resolved to follow the example of the other jelabs, and wait patiently the event. The house I was in consisted of a multitude of distinct apartments, built with clay, and covered with a slanting thatched roof, but not closed by doors. The hospitality of the owner allowed all who could find place in it to lodge themselves without distinction. At length, after the expiration of about ten days, an order from the Sultan arrived, directing that all the jelabs should be allowed to proceed to their houses on paying the duties assessed on them.

The circumstances attending myself were peculiar; and many of the disadvantages I had to contend with could not be well foreseen: it is therefore necessary to mark them, that if any occasion should offer they may be serviceable to others, and for this reason they shall be detailed at considerable length.

Before leaving Kahira I was apprised, that all commerce in Dar-Fûr was conducted by means of simple exchange. To carry on this in such a way as not to be grossly defrauded, especially having my attention engrossed by other objects, and in utter ignorance of the articles fit for bargain and sale in this country, seemed wholly impossible; I therefore sought for a person who might go through this business for me, at least with some share of probity. Such a one arose to the notice of my friends there; and knowing nothing more of the man, as indeed I could not know any thing more, than the character they gave of him, I took him on the general recommendation of being honest, and understanding the business in which he was likely to be employed. The person recommended had been a slave-broker in the market of Kahira; a circumstance which, had it been known to me earlier, would probably have prevented my employing him. Till the moment of departure I had observed in him keenness but no fraud, and in general that submissive acquiescence and absolute devotion to the will of the superior, for which the lower class of Kahirines are externally, at least, remarkable. The hour for commencing our march, however, seemed with him the signal for disobedience and insulting behaviour; and we were not yet far removed from the confines of Egypt, when this misconduct was carried to such an excess that I once levelled my gun at him with a view of inspiring terror. The merchants around us interfered, and for the time this passed off; but the man only sought an opportunity of revenge, which the prejudices of the people of Soudan, in direct opposition to my former information, too soon afforded him means to gratify.

The letters with which I was provided for different merchants in this district, under whose roof I might have had a safe lodging, could be of no use to me till I had seen the Sultan; for till then no person knew in what character to receive me. The object of this man therefore was to prevent my introduction to the Sultan, and to preclude me from any opportunity of representing my case. We were no sooner arrived at Sweini, than he found means to employ one of his associates, who had been some years established in the place, to go to the monarch, and infuse into his mind suspicions of me as a Frank and an infidel, who came to his country for no good purpose, and whose designs it behoved him to guard against; and to suggest to him that it would not be proper I should remain at large, nor yet immediately come to his presence, but that some person should be commissioned to watch over and report my actions, and thus frustrate my supposed evil intentions. He added, as I afterwards found, many anecdotes, falsified or exaggerated, of the inquiries I had made, the way I had been employed, and my general behaviour on the road.

Nor was the villain himself idle during the time his coadjutor was thus laudably engaged. I have already mentioned that there were no doors to the apartments of the house we were in. He took advantage of this circumstance and my momentary absence, to take out of a box which had been broken on the road a quantity of red coral, the most valuable article in my package. As the box remained locked, it was not till long after that I discovered this loss. By the help of this commodity he expected to make his way with the great. At the end of a few days this agent returned, bearing a specious letter impressed with the Sultan’s seal, ordering that no officer on the road should presume to detain me, or to take any thing from me, till I came to the house of _Ibrahim-el-Wohaishi_, (the name of this very agent,) in Cobbé, where I was to rest myself, till further orders should be given for my admission to his presence. I was not indeed at that time privy to the plot, yet if I could have obtained a knowlege of it, it might not have been easy immediately to counteract its influence; nevertheless I suspected something might have been practised against me.

An order from the despot, which while it was to protect me from his officers on the road, obliged me to confine myself to a particular spot, was a matter of surprise to me; but submission was unavoidable, as I was at that time unprovided even with the means of remonstrance. Had the machinations of my adversaries, which went much farther than my confinement, having been actually employed against my life, been at that time known to me, this severity would not have caused any astonishment, and the means of redress might have been less doubtful. But suspense filled the void of positive suffering—a suspense to which no apparent remedy suggested itself. Those who had known me in Egypt or on the road were dispersed to the East and West, and the people of the place were ill disposed to form any communication with me, being filled with religious horror of one supposed an infidel, but of yet undefined impiety, and whose colour, variously regarded as the sign of disease, the mark of divine displeasure, or at least, the unequivocal proof of inferiority of species, had averted their wonted hospitality, closed their compassion, and inflamed their personal pride and religious fury.

It was in this situation that, seeing no means of immediate relief, I began to feel impatience; which, as I continued in a state of perfect inactivity, communicated the more rapidly its pernicious influence to my state of health. On the fourteenth day after my arrival, I was attacked with a violent fever, attended with extreme pain in the head. How long it lasted I cannot precisely say, having on the second day lost my recollection. It was afterwards recalled by the effect of a dysentery, which lasted for two days, and left me too weak to assist myself. I had reflection enough to know, that of the aliments there to be procured, scarcely any could be found that would not be pernicious. After the first attack therefore, I confined myself to the use of bark and water, which last I drank in great quantities.

A little more than a month had elapsed, when the symptoms appearing to diminish, I again pressed to be permitted to visit the residence of the Sultan. But I had reason to regret my impatience; for having at length obtained leave, I proceeded to El Fasher, only to repeat my suffering. The rainy season was almost at an end, but the air, which still continued insalubrious, fatigue, and anxiety renewed the malady, which, after extreme abstinence, and having gone through the short catalogue of remedies which I had had the precaution to take with me, I found unabated. Excessive headachs, lassitude, thirst, occasional constipation, succeeded by extreme irritation of the viscera, continued for several months to shew the inefficacy of my precautions, and to incapacitate me from all personal exertion. At length the heat of the ensuing summer gradually increasing, and producing regular and continued transpiration, and the state of the air then meliorated, having removed the cause of indisposition, it was not long before I gained a certain degree of strength.

Arrived at El Fasher, I was first introduced to the Melek _Misellim_, one of the principal ministers. This man, when young, had been a slave, and engaged in domestic offices of the palace, but having been detected using some familiarities with one of the women, the monarch had ordered him to be deprived of the ensigns of manhood. Ignorant and uneducated, he appeared to have a certain quickness of apprehension, which, together with uncommon gaiety of humour, had rendered him acceptable at court, where he appeared more as a buffoon than a minister of state. He received me with a rude stare as an object he was unused to, which was followed by a mingled smile of contempt and aversion. He was seated with some other of the royal attendants, under a kind of awning of cotton cloth, on a mat spred upon the sand. After the common salutations, the Melek and his company entered into conversation on the nature of my visit to the country; and each made his remarks on my person, and offered his conjectures as to my character and intentions.

Their conversation was partly carried on in their vernacular idiom, partly in Arabic. At length a wooden bowl of _polenta_, and another of dried meat, were set before them. My illness deprived me of all inclination to eat; and observing the company not much inclined to invite me to join them, and yet embarrassed how to avoid that ceremony, I relieved them by declining it, and desiring them to begin. When they were satiated, and they lose no time in eating, a great number of foolish questions were asked me about Europe, some of which I waved, and satisfied them as to others in the best manner I was able.

One of the principal questions was, whether the English paid the Jizié to the Othman Emperor? This, as is well known, is a capitation tax, paid by the Greeks and others, for liberty to worship after their own manner. I replied, that England was so remote from the Imperial dominions, that no war between the two countries could well have place, till all the rest of Europe should have submitted to the Mohammedan arms, which had not hitherto come to pass: but that, for the purposes of trade, the inhabitants of the one country frequented the other, and by mutual agreement were considered as personally secure; that presents were occasionally made by the British King to the Emperor, in token of amity, but not as a mark of subjection; and that the latter, on his part, as it did not appear that the decrees of the Almighty had fixed this as the moment of general conversion to the true faith, in virtue of his dispensing power, and swayed by the general law of hospitality to strangers, sanctioned by the authority of the Prophet, judged it lawful, and even a matter of political expediency, to tolerate such Europeans as conducted themselves inoffensively in his dominions, though they did not pay the Jizié. I thought it necessary to enter into this explanation of the terms on which I conceived myself to stand in relation to them, having by this time learned how rigidly they were disposed to adhere to the letter of the Prophet’s _dictum_, viz. that no infidels are to be spared but such as pay the capitation tax. When I observed they grew tired of asking questions, I seized the opportunity of explaining why I came there, and what favour I expected would be shewn me.

“Melek,” said I, “having come from a far distant country to Misr, (Kahira,) I was there made acquainted with the magnificence, the extended empire, and, above all, the justice and hospitality of the King Abd-el-rachmân, whose dominion be eternal! Having been used to wander over various countries as a _derwish_, to learn wisdom from the aged, and to collect remedies for diseases from the herbs that spring in various soils, I grew desirous of seeing Dar-Fûr. I was told that my person and property would be secure, and that permission would be given me to go wherever I might think proper. Since my arrival within the confines, I have found that all these assurances were fallacious; my inclinations have been thwarted, my person treated with indignity, and my property plundered, while compliance has been refused even to my most reasonable demands. I ask redress.—What I have already suffered from the officers of the Sultan is passed, and cannot now be remedied, but I desire protection for the future. I desire the punishment of the man who has robbed me, and restitution of what has been taken. Nor is this all, I particularly desire permission to go to Sennaar, in order to proceed to Habbesh. I was prevented from going there last year by the straight road. Habbesh is a Christian country, abounding in slaves and gold. There are also many herbs valuable in medicine. Being there, I may easily join my countrymen, merchants who come to Moccha, in the Bahr Yemeni. I desire the Sultan will allow me to proceed thither; and, if it be necessary, grant me his protection, and three or four persons, deserving confidence, to attend me to the frontiers of Kordofân. I have a small present to offer him, consisting of such things as my circumstances permitted me to bring—I hope he may not refuse to receive it, and to grant me the favour I ask.” He answered—“Merchant, you are welcome to the _Dar_—The King is kind to strangers, and he will favour you in all you wish. Whatever you want you have only to demand. He has ordered a sack of wheat and four sheep to be sent you.—At this time it is not possible to pass through Kordofân—The Sultan has a great army there, and when the country shall be in subjection to him you may pass unmolested. When you are admitted to his presence, you will tell him who has robbed you, and what you have lost, and he will cause it to be restored.” It was now the hour of prayer, and when the company commenced their ablutions I retired.

During three or four days ensuing I suffered so violent a relapse as to be unable to perform the common offices of life, and even to suppose that it was nearly at an end. The moment any symptom of amelioration appeared, I sent word to the Melek that it was my wish to be introduced to the Sultan, and then as soon as possible to be dismissed. No reply was made to this message; but the following day he came to the tent with some of his attendants, and desired to see the merchandize that I had brought with me. As to part of the articles, consisting of wearing apparel suited to the great, &c. I very readily complied. But this was not sufficient—The Melek insisted also on seeing the contents of a small chest, which chiefly held articles useful to myself, but not designed for sale. There were also in it some English pistols, of which I intended to avail myself as presents at Sennaar, or wherever else I might be able to penetrate. I therefore positively refused to open the chest. He then threatened to have it broke open—I remained unmoved—At length his attendants proceeding to break it open, _Ali Hamad_, the man who was with me, with his usual villany, took the key from its concealment and opened the box. Every thing was taken out, and examined minutely—many small articles appeared no more. The pistols were reserved to be taken by the Sultan, (after a violent but fruitless altercation,) at the valuation made by his own servants; and my telescopes, books, of which they knew not the use, wearing apparel, &c. were graciously left me.

The valuation was to be made the following day, which was done quite against my consent, and in contempt of my warmest remonstrances. Some part of the articles were stated at their full value, and others far below it. The whole was estimated at thirty-eight head of slaves, being at the market-price worth about eighty, exclusively of a present of value for the Sultan. A pair of double-barrelled pistols, silver-mounted, which had cost twenty guineas in London, were valued at one slave, which is commonly purchasable, by those who are experienced in that traffic, for the value of fifteen piastres in Egyptian commodities. On this I exclaimed, that if they meant to plunder, and bargain and sale were not conducted in this country by consent of the parties, but by force, it would be better to take the whole gratis.—No answer was made, but the day following two camels were brought me as a present.

The violent manner in which my property had been seized, and the general ill-treatment I had received, much augmented the disorder, already severe. I had now been fifteen days in the tent, exposed to great variations of temperature, it being at the close of the rainy season, and so entirely disregarded, that though tormented with thirst, I could rarely obtain water to drink. I judged that the only means of restoration which remained were, to return to Cobbé, and avail myself of the shelter of a clay-house, and that privacy and quiet, the want of which I had so sensibly felt. Being in possession of the greater part of my property, and having left me only so much as would supply the wants of a few months, the Melek did not seem very anxious about my stay. I hired two Arabs, and with the camels that had been given me, and the property that remained, made my way on the third day to the place whence I came.

In the intervals of my illness, I visited the chief persons of the place; and as the eyes of the people became habituated to me, I found my situation growing somewhat more tolerable. Idle, as I certainly was, during this winter, with respect to the immediate objects of my voyage, I grew of course more familiar with the manners and particular dialect of the country; for the Arabic, which is spoken here, differs materially from the vernacular idiom of Egypt. I seldom, indeed, joined in the parties where _Merîsi_[35] was introduced, because it was important not to hazard becoming concerned in the riots, which are the frequent consequence of their inebriation. But I was often diverted by the mode of conducting a bargain, which sometimes lasts for several hours; and I listened, perhaps not wholly without instruction, to their legal arguments, and the cool discussions of right, which are the consequence of often submitting disputes to arbitration. I could smile at the quibbling distinctions, by which the niceties of external observance are settled; but I had generally reason to be satisfied with their theory of morals.

It is usual for the graver men, during the heat of the day, to sit and converse under a shed erected for the purpose. When convalescent, I seldom failed to be of this party; for though the conversation contained few sallies of wit, much less profundity of observation, yet it was carried on without ill-humour, with mutual forbearance, and on the whole in an equable course. Perhaps indeed the society appeared less dull, as dissipating reflections which my situation rendered unpleasant.

The following summer (1794) having in some degree recovered my strength, I determined to go and reside for a time near the Sultan, as well to have an opportunity of supplicating for redress of what I had already suffered, as to seize any moment that might offer of pressing my request for permission to advance. On leaving the house which I had inhabited at Cobbé, a dispute had arisen with the owner of it, who wanted me to sign a declaration that nothing had been lost during my residence in his house. This, which was directly the reverse of the truth, I refused to do; and in consequence he called an assembly of _Fukkara_ or sacred judges. The result, after much contest, served to skreen him from the responsibility legally attached to his conduct, without averting the charge, and determined me never to return to his roof.

On my arrival at El Fasher, my good friend the Melek Misellim being employed by his master in the South, I went under the protection of the Melek _Ibrahim_, one of the oldest persons in authority there, and lodged myself (as all strangers are obliged to lodge in the inclosure of some of the natives) in the house of a man named _Musa_, now only an inconsiderable officer, though one of the sons of Sultan _Bokar_. This Musa was one of the most upright and disinterested men I have known in that country, and indeed among the Mohammedans of any country. Calm and dignified in his demeanour, though poor and destitute of power, he never insulted, though his religion taught him to hate. No motive could have been strong enough to induce him to eat out of the same plate with a Caffre, but he was punctiliously observant of the rights of hospitality which that religion also dictated, and daily provided me with a portion of food from his kitchen. He often said that, as it was a precept of my faith to hate the Prophet, he was bound to encourage the same sentiment towards me; but that he was neither obliged to injure me, nor excused in doing so.

The Melek Ibrahim is a man of about sixty years of age, tall but not athletic, and characterised by the roughness rather than the expression of his features. He has no beard, and the little hair which remains either on his head or face is grey. His manners and even the motions of his body are ungraceful, and without the ease of superior rank, or the majesty of superior intellect. Yet his understanding seems clear and comprehensive, and his sagacity not unworthy the station assigned him—one of the first in the empire. He is indeed a bigot in matters of faith, but in all that concerns not the prevailing superstition, his judgment is cool, and little liable to error. He once held the reputation of integrity above the rest of his order, but his present riches render this character ambiguous. Generosity, however, holds no place among his virtues. The uniform tenor of his life is governed by mean avarice; and though the most opulent man in the empire, except the Sultan, so little does he possess of Arabian hospitality, that the man used to be regarded as unhappy who went supperless to his evening councils. He had never yet seen a Frank, and regarded me nearly as the British or French commonalty view the dwarfish Goîtres of the Alps. I could collect from his conversation that he looked on Europeans as a small tribe, cut off by the singularity of colour and features, and still more by their impiety, from the rest of mankind.

When I entered the court where he was sitting, he bad me welcome, and received with complacency a present which, in compliance with custom, I brought on the occasion. He even thanked me for it; but expressed strong surprise at my journey to Dar-Fûr. I complained of the injuries done me, and he assured me of redress for the past, and protection for the future. At the same time it was clear that he esteemed the present a tribute, and conceived that personal safety was more than I could reasonably expect. His conduct afterwards was a further proof of his sentiments: for though I remained at El Fasher three entire months, I saw him only when I forced myself on his notice, and experienced no return of civility, much less any compensation for what I had already suffered.

During this time I was solicitous to attend regularly the levees of the Sultan, which are from six in the morning till ten; but could very rarely obtain admittance, and when I did had no opportunity of speaking. Whether the general prejudice against me, or the machinations of my enemies, produced this pointed disregard, which, as was said, a stranger scarcely ever experienced before, circumstances afforded no sufficient ground to decide. I suspected the former; but probably both had their share.

On returning to my temporary habitation, a shed, as was usual with me on the sun’s approach to the meridian, fatigued with heat, oppressed with thirst, and not without inclination for food, my repast was commonly a kind of bread gently acid, moistened with water. I grew acquainted with a few of the people who attend the court, as well as with many strangers who were suitors there. Their conversation sometimes amused me, but more often I found their continued and unmeaning questions harassing and importunate, and their remarks either absurd or offensive. The tædium of solitude, unfurnished with the means to render it agreeable, was however removed. I occasionally frequented the markets, which are usually held from four o’clock in the afternoon till sunset. But my person being there still strange, the crowd that assembled inclined me to a precipitate retreat.

The Fûrians here seemed unacquainted with the sports of the field. I occasionally went out with a gun after the commencement of the rainy season, when the face of the country became green; but little offered itself worthy attention, either in the animal or vegetable kingdoms. During the early part of the summer the earth had been parched, and destitute of all vegetation.

After waiting in fruitless expectation at El Fasher, as the time of my departure was drawing near, an accident happened, which, though not of the most pleasing kind, contributed to make me noticed, and obtained for me at length an interview with the Sultan.—The slaves of the house used frequently to collect round me, as if to examine a strange object—I joked occasionally with them, without any other view than that of momentary relaxation. One day as I was reading in the hut, one of them, a girl about fifteen, came to the door of it, when, from a whim of the moment, I seized the cloth that was round her waist, which dropped and left her naked. Chance so determined that the owner of the slave passed at the moment and saw her. The publicity of the place precluded any view of farther familiarity, but the tumult which succeeded appeared to mark the most heinous of crimes, and to threaten the most exemplary vengeance. The man threw his turban on the earth, and exclaimed, “Ye believers in the Prophet, hear me! Ye faithful, avenge me!” with other similar expressions.—“A Caffre has violated the property of a descendant of Mohammed;” (meaning himself, which was utterly false.) When a number of people was collected around him, he related the supposed injury he had received in the strongest terms, and exhorted them to take their arms and sacrifice the Caffre. He had charged a carbine, and affected to come forward to execute his threats, when some one of the company who had advanced farthest, and saw me, called out to the rest that I was armed, and prepared to resist.

It was then agreed among the assembly that some method of punishment might be found, that promised more security and profit to the complainant, and would be more formidable to the guilty. The man whom I have already mentioned as my broker was to take the slave, as if she had really been violated[36], and agreed to pay whatever her master should charge as the price. The latter had the modesty to ask ten head of slaves. He was then to make his demand on me for the value of ten slaves, and if I carried the matter before the Cadi, which he supposed I should hardly venture to do, he had suborned witnesses to prove that I had received of him property to that amount.

On my removal from Cobbé to El Fasher, I had caused my small remaining property, among which were few articles of value, but many of much use to me, to be lodged in the house of _Hossein_, (the owner of the slave,) and his companion. On my return thither, which happened within a few days after the accident, I claimed it: they resisted, as they alleged, at the suit of my broker, and would not deliver it till the value of ten slaves should be paid to him. I had from the first considered their conduct as so violent, that if it reached the ears of the government, the claim must unquestionably be abandoned: and indeed my adversaries had only rested their expectations on the timidity which they had been accustomed to observe in Christians of the country, whose accusation and condemnation are in fact the same. I had not neglected to give the transaction all the notoriety I could, without having recourse to public authority, and those to whom I had applied were decidedly in my favour: I therefore now went to my adversaries, Hossein and his companion, and in their presence offered to Ali Hamad a promissory note for the value of ten slaves, at the market price on my arrival in Kahira. It was refused; and my chest, in which were some German dollars and other articles, was still detained by them; the rest was given up.

In the mean time much had been said on the subject, both among the natives and foreigners; and the flagrant injustice I was likely to suffer forcibly struck all that were not in a state to profit by it, but none more than the Egyptian merchants: they were indignant to see that so enormous a penalty should be forfeited to those who had no claim but effrontery to demand it; and that they had no share, and were too numerous to expect to be all rewarded for connivance; accordingly some of them were diligent in carrying the news to the monarch.

It is not to be imagined that he would have moved in the business, from any love of justice, or commiseration with the sufferings of a person to whom himself had shewn such pointed disregard, not to say manifest injustice. But he was told that the Franks enjoyed great favour with the Senjiaks, and that whatever one of their number suffered in Fûr, might be retaliated on the jelabs on their arrival at Kahira, with very little effort, by getting their property there seized by the magistrate, either as an indemnification for what should have been lost, or a security for what might happen. Add to this, he thought his own dignity compromised, should a foreigner thus be permitted to vindicate himself by force in his country. I had indeed been told that the Sultan was apprised of the transaction previously to my departure from El Fasher, and that he intended to grant me redress; but after waiting about fifteen days without hearing any thing farther of his intentions, weary of suffering, I determined to return. I had been there but a short time when a _fulganawy_ (messenger) arrived express from the court, with orders for me to repair to El Fasher immediately. The object of the message was kept in profound secrecy, nor could I discover whether it portended good or evil. I left Cobbé the same evening, and arrived at the end of my journey the following day about noon.

I repaired as before to the Melek Ibrahim, who on the following day introduced me at the public audience. The Sultan, as he retired to the palace after it was over, ordered all the parties to appear. Being come within the inner court, he stopped the white mule on which he was mounted, and began a short harangue, addressing himself to Hossein and Ali Hamad, my servant, in which he censured, in a rapid and energetic style, their conduct towards me.—“One,” said he, turning to Ali, “calls himself Wakîl of the Frank; if he were a Sherîf and a Mûslim, as he pretends, he would know that the law of the Prophet permits not a Mûslim to be Wakîl to a Caffre: another calls himself his friend—but both are agreed in robbing him of his property, and usurping the authority of the laws.—Henceforth I am his Wakîl, and will protect him.” He then ordered all the parties to repair to the house of Musa Wullad Jelfûn, Melek of the jelabs, under whose appropriate jurisdiction are all foreign merchants. Here it may not be improper to relate briefly how I had been before received by the Sultan.

On my first audience I was too ill to make much observation: I was seated at a distance from him; the visit was short, and I had no opportunity of opening a conversation. He was placed on his seat (_cûrsi_) at the door of his tent. Some person had mentioned to him my watch, and a copy of Erpenius’s Grammar, which I had with me. He asked to see both; but after casting his eyes on each he returned them. The present I had brought was shewn him, for which he thanked me, and rose to retire.

During the following summer, the first time I got admission to him, he was holding a diwan in the outer court. He was then mounted on a white mule, clothed with a scarlet _Benish_, and had on his head a white turban; which however, together with part of his face, was covered with a thick muslin. On his feet were yellow boots, and the saddle on which he was seated was of crimson velvet, without any ornament of gold or silver. His sword, which was broad and straight, and adorned with an hilt of massy gold, was held horizontally in his right hand. A small canopy of muslin was supported over his head. Amid the noise and hurry of above a thousand persons who were there assembled, I was unable to make myself heard, which the nature of my situation obliged me to attempt, though not exactly conformable to the etiquette of the court, that, almost to the exclusion of strangers, had appropriated the diwan to the troops, the Arabs, and others connected with the government.

On another occasion I contrived to gain admittance to the interior court by a bribe. The Sultan was hearing a cause of a private nature, the proceedings on which were only in the Fûrian language. He was seated on a kind of chair, كورسي, which was covered with a Turkey carpet, and wore a red silk turban; his face was then uncovered: the Imperial sword was placed across his knees, and his hands were engaged with a chaplet of red coral. Being near him I fixed my eyes on him, in order to have a perfect idea of his countenance, which, being short-sighted, and not thinking it very decent to use a glass in his presence, I had hitherto scarcely found an opportunity of acquiring. He seemed evidently discomposed at my having observed him thus, and the moment the cause was at an end, he retired very abruptly. Some persons to whom I afterwards remarked the circumstance seemed to think that his attendants had taught him to fear the magic of the Franks, to the operation of which their habit of taking likenesses is imagined by some of the Orientals to conduce. He is a man rather under the middle size, of a complexion adust or dry, with eyes full of fire, and features abounding in expression. His beard is short but full, and his countenance, though perfectly black, materially differing from the negro; though fifty or fifty-five years of age, he possesses much alertness and activity.

At another of my visits I found him in the interior court, standing, with a long staff tipped with silver in his right hand, on which he leaned, and the sword in his left. He then had chosen to adorn his head with the folds of a red silk turban, composed of the same material as the western Arabs use for a cincture. The Melek Ibrahim presented him, in my name, with a small piece of silk and cotton, of the manufacture of Damascus. He returned answer, _Barak ulla fi!_—May the blessing of God be on him!—a phrase in general use on receiving any favour, and instantly retired, without giving me time to urge the request of which I intended the offering should be the precursor. It is expected of all persons that, on coming to El Fasher, they should bring with them a present of greater or less value, according to the nature of the business in hand. It is no less usual before leaving the royal residence, to ask permission of the Sultan for that purpose. With this latter form, which was to me unpleasant, I sometimes complied, but more frequently omitted it. But on this occasion, having been long resident there, I thought fit to make a last effort to promote my design. The day preceding that which I had fixed for my return happened to be a great public audience. I found the monarch seated on his throne (_cûrsi_), under a lofty canopy, composed not of one material, but of various stuffs of Syrian and even of Indian fabric, hung loosely on a light frame of wood, no two pieces of the same pattern. The place he sat in was spread with small Turkey carpets. The Meleks were seated at some distance on the right and left, and behind them a line of guards, with caps, ornamented in front with a small piece of copper and a black ostrich feather. Each bore a spear in his hand, and a target of the hide of the hippopotamus on the opposite arm. Their dress consisted only of a cotton shirt, of the manufacture of the country. Behind the throne were fourteen or fifteen eunuchs, clothed indeed splendidly in habiliments of cloth or silk, but clumsily adjusted, without any regard to size or colour. The space in front was filled with suitors and spectators, to the number of more than fifteen hundred. A kind of hired encomiast stood on the monarch’s left hand, crying out, _a plein gorge_, during the whole ceremony, “See the buffaloe (جاموس), the offspring of a buffaloe, a bull of bulls, the elephant of superior strength, the powerful Sultan Abd-el-rachmân-el-rashîd! May God prolong thy life!—O Master—May God assist thee, and render thee victorious!”

From this audience, as from those which had preceded it, I was obliged to retire as I had come, without effecting any purpose. I was told there were occasions when the Sultan wears a kind of crown, as is common with other African monarchs; but of this practice I had no opportunity to bear testimony. When he appeared in public, a number of troops armed with light spears usually attended him, and several of his slaves were employed to bear a kind of umbrella over his head, which concealed his face from the multitude. When he passes, all the spectators are obliged to appear barefooted, and commonly to kneel—His subjects bow to the earth, but this compliance is not expected from foreigners. Even the Meleks, when they approach the throne, creep on their hands and knees, which gave occasion to an Egyptian to remark, that the _Jarea_[37] in Fûr was a Melek, and the Melek a _Jarea_—alluding to the servile behaviour of the ministers, and the publicity of women in the domestic offices of the palace.

The Sultan Abd-el-rachmân, soon after he became possessed of sovereign authority, with the ostensible motive of testifying his attachment to the religion of the Prophet, but more perhaps with a view of obtaining greater weight among his subjects, by some mark of the consideration of the first of Mohammedan princes, thought proper to send a present to Constantinople. It consisted of three of the choicest eunuchs, and three of the most beautiful female slaves that could be procured. The Othman emperor, when they were presented, had, it is said, never heard of the Sultan of Dar-Fûr, but he returned an highly-ornamented sabre, a rich pelisse, and a ring set with a single diamond of no inconsiderable value.

CHAP. XVI.

DAR-FÛR.

_Residence with the Melek Musa — Dissimulation of the Arabs — Incidents — Return to Cobbé — Endeavours to proceed farther into Africa — Necessity of exercising Medicine — Festival — Punishment of Conspirators — Art of the Sultan — Atrocious Conduct of my Kahirine servant — At length find an opportunity of departure, after a constrained residence in Dar-Fûr of nearly three years._

My reception with Musa Wullad Jelfûn was very different from that which I had experienced in the house of Misellim, or Ibrahim. All the principal people saluted me, and sought my conversation. The Melek, by those who knew him, was esteemed a man of consummate dissimulation, and boundless ambition; quick of apprehension, decisive, and energetic. I found him easy and dignified in his manner; and, by his communication with foreigners perhaps, more polished, and better informed, than the rest of his order. His behaviour toward myself was complacent; and he affected to seek opportunities of hearing my sentiments on such subjects as occurred. During three days we were generally seated with him, and partook of his table, which was remarkable for the abundant supply, if not for the delicacy of the food. On these occasions I was indeed frequently harassed with questions, the simplicity of which disgusted me, and was even in some instances indirectly reviled for my supposed attachment to a sect, whose tenets among Mohammedans are thought absurd and even impious. However, when they were led to imagine that the favour of the Sultan was beginning to brighten my prospects, their disposition on that head appeared much more easy and tolerant. But I was also frequently impressed with the clear intelligence, and penetrating sagacity, with which the claims of the respective suitors were investigated, and the equity and firmness with which they were terminated by this officer. Oftener than once even, during my short abode with him, the best constructed plans to disguise the truth, and elude the purposes of justice, were laid open and rendered abortive; for it is remarkable with how much artifice the Arabs, however ignorant in other respects, defend themselves, whether right or wrong, as long as they have any profit to hope, or loss to dread. So clear is their discernment, so retentive their memory, and so firm their resolution on these occasions, that no word, no look, not even an involuntary movement escapes them, which can in the smallest degree betray their cause; and the longest cross-examination, or questions put at the greatest distance of time, will bring to light no fact unfavourable to the interest which they are to defend.

In obedience to the Sultan’s command, I gave in an exact statement of the property I had lost, and substantiated the proof by the strongest circumstantial evidence. With regard to the slave, the most complete redress was accorded me. The charge brought against me was judged absolutely futile, and she was restored to her master; while he, on the other hand, was compelled to give up the chest, &c. which had been violently withheld. The plunder which had fallen into the hands of my servant and his accomplice was not so easily restored. The Melek, tired of gratuitous justice, began to think that a lucrative composition was more eligible. The offenders, who had been obstinate in the first instance, seeing how the cause relative to the _jarea_ (female slave) had been decided, thought proper to offer to the Melek marks of their gratitude for the lenity they expected from him; and the Sultan was unwilling to imagine that the sufferings of a Caffre could fall heavy on himself at the day of final retribution. In fact, his disgust at the complaints continually preferred, and jealousy and resentment against some of the Egyptians, who in this and other instances appeared to have usurped his authority, certainly influenced him in the first part of the proceedings, rather than any love of justice.

At length the Melek, who in reality was supreme arbiter of the contest, contented himself with giving me in intrinsic value about four head of slaves, instead of twenty-four or twenty-five, which at first he had unequivocally declared due to me, and promised I should receive. And thus the matter was terminated.

I a second time retired to Cobbé, with little expectation of ever leaving the country. Of the property which the king’s agents had on my arrival purchased, no part of the price had yet been discharged. I had been insulted with the mockery of justice, yet obliged to thank my oppressors for the compensation which their corruption and malignity alone had rendered incomplete.

I had not indeed omitted to renew to the Melek Musa, the request which had been previously made to Misellim and Ibrahim. I explained to him in the manner least exceptionable, my intention in coming thither, completely did away all the suspicions, which my enemies had at first been assiduous to excite, and too successful in establishing; and concluded with desiring permission to go to Sennaar, or to accompany the first _Selatea_ (an armed expedition for the purpose of acquiring slaves) to the South or South-west; or finally to have a safe-conduct, and one of the Sultan’s slaves, acknowleged as such, to accompany me to _Bergoo_ (the first Mohammedan kingdom to the West). By the _first_ route I hoped to have reached Abyssinia; or, if that had been impracticable, to have gone through Nubia to Egypt, or by Suakem to the Red Sea, and thence to Mocha or Jidda. By the _second_ I was almost certain of settling some important points relative to the White River, possibly of tracing it to its source. And by the _third_, either of passing directly West, and tracing the course of the Niger, or of penetrating through Bornou and Fezzan to Tripoli.

To the first proposal, he answered in a manner which gave me no reason to doubt his sincerity, that the road to Sennaar was at present impassable, the Sultan being as yet master of but one half of Kordofan; that the natives of all that part of it which remained unsubdued, were his implacable foes, and would infallibly destroy any person who came from Dar-Fûr; that he thought however, if I waited another year, that route might possibly be more secure; and in case it should be so, that he would use all his efforts to obtain the Sultan’s permission for my departure. Of the _Selatea_ he said, that I should only encounter certain death by attempting it, as between the jealousy of those who accompanied me, and the actual hostility of the country attacked, there would be no hope of escaping. I hinted that the Sultan might give me a few attendants, whom I was very ready to pay, and an order to enable me to pass unmolested, as his physician in search of herbs. He replied that he would propose such a measure, but did not expect it would receive the Sultan’s approbation, whom he represented as very adverse to strangers, and still suspicious of me individually, in consequence of the reports that had been spread on my arrival. To the third proposal, he answered, that he had no hope of my succeeding; and if I should attempt it, would by no means be answerable for what might happen, since the utmost distrust subsisted between the monarchs of Fûr and Bergoo, and the most implacable enmity to Christians in the latter country. He concluded with strongly recommending it to me to seize the first opportunity of returning to Egypt; but assured me, that if he could accomplish either of the measures I so much wished, he would not fail to inform me, and afford me the necessary aid. I left matters thus when I retired to Cobbé, dejected, and little expecting to realize even my least sanguine hopes. Not more than six weeks after this conversation had taken place, I was sent for in haste to attend the Melek, who was confined by an old disorder in his lungs. I found him yet sensible, but his eyes were fixed, and the extremities incapable of motion. In five hours afterwards he expired. Thus were blasted my returning hopes of success; for no mediator now remained between myself and the monarch, and no longer was there near the court a man, even of seeming liberality and good sense, to whom my projects might safely be opened.

The transactions I had been engaged in, and my frequent appearance in public, had given me a degree of notoriety, which I shunned rather than sought. Having learned by accident that I was in possession of a few medicines, which indeed were rather studiously concealed, all the town grew indisposed, and sought for remedies. Under various pretences, I as often as possible declined administering any; but one or two of the sick having recovered, spread the news of their supposed cure, with such additions as they thought proper. It then became necessary for me to attend at El Fasher, whither I was sent for on several occasions, in the course of the subsequent year. Soon after Musa’s death, a messenger arrived requiring my presence, but, as is usual with them, without specifying the object. Judging it might possibly be something favourable to my interests, I used all possible dispatch. On my arrival I was directed to attend the _Faqui Seradge_, the principal Imam, who was ill of a fistula. It appeared that palliatives could afford him no relief, and I declined the responsibility attached to more violent remedies. On this occasion however the Sultan had seen me, and addressed me personally, telling me that he should give orders for the payment of what was due to me, and that he should consult my inclination in all things. I began to press my request for permission to travel; but to this he turned a deaf ear, and soon left the place of audience. Another time I was called to a Melek, a man of advanced age, who had been blind of one eye for nine years, but was much displeased at being told his disorder was incurable. Many instances of the same kind occurred.

The same winter I was sent for by Misellim, to receive a part of what was due to me. He was at Gidîd, a town about forty miles from Cobbé. I was not long detained, having been permitted to return in a few hours after my arrival. But the payment was made in oxen, a commodity to me of very little value. They however afforded me subsistence for some months, which otherwise probably I should have wanted.