NARRATIVE OF FATALLA SAYEGHIR. (continued 3)

Mehanna made his dispositions for commencing the struggle: but finding the Drayhy by no means intimidated by his approach, he judged it prudent to secure a reinforcement of Osmanlis, and sent his son Fares to Hems, to claim the governor’s promised assistance; who, however, instead of investing him with the command of a body of troops, had him loaded with irons and thrown into prison; and the dismayed Mehanna, at this afflicting intelligence, beheld himself precipitated in a moment from the supreme command, to the sad and humiliating necessity, not only of submission to the Drayhy, but of even soliciting his protection against the Turks. The unfortunate old man, overwhelmed by so unexpected a reverse, was obliged to implore the mediation of Assaf Sheik of Saddad, who promised him to negotiate a peace; and actually accompanied him with a hundred horsemen within a short distance of our camp. There leaving Mehanna with his escort, he advanced alone to the tent of the Drayhy, who received him very cordially, but refused at first to accept the submission of Mehanna, till we interposed in his behalf. Sheik Ibrahim represented the hospitality with which he had received us on our arrival in the desert, and Saher, twice kissing his father’s hand, united his solicitations to ours. The Drayhy yielding at last, the principal men of the tribe marched forward to meet Mehanna,—an attention due to his years and rank. As soon as he alighted, the Drayhy assigned him the seat of honour in the corner of the tent, and ordered coffee to be brought. Mehanna hereupon rose: “I will drink none of thy coffee,” said he, “till we shall be completely reconciled, and have buried the seven stones.” At these words the Drayhy also rose; they drew and mutually presented their sabres to be kissed; after which they embraced, and the example was followed by their attendants. Mehanna with his lance made an opening in the ground, in the centre of the tent, about a foot in depth; and choosing seven small stones, he said to the Drayhy, “In the name of the God of peace, for your guarantee and mine, we thus for ever bury our discord.” As the stones were cast into the hole, the two sheiks threw earth over them, and trod it down with their feet; the women signalizing the ceremony with deafening shouts of joy: at its termination the chiefs resumed their seats, and coffee was served.[L] From that moment it was no longer allowable to revert to the past, or to mention war. I was assured that a reconciliation, to be according to rule, ought always to be solemnized in this form. After a plentiful repast, I read aloud the treaty, to which Mehanna and four other chiefs of tribes affixed their seals.[M]

Their united forces amounted to seven thousand six hundred tents; and, what was far more important still, the Drayhy became by this alliance chief of all the Bedouins of Syria, where he had no longer a single enemy. Saher went to Hems to solicit the deliverance of Fares, whom he brought back, attired in a pelisse of honour, to take part in the general rejoicing; after which the tribes dispersed, and occupied with their several stations the whole country from the Horan to Aleppo.

We now only waited the end of the summer to return towards the east, in order to conclude the negotiations we had commenced the preceding year with the tribes of Bagdad and Bussora; and this interval of calm and leisure was filled up with preparations for a marriage between Giarah, son of Fares, chief of the tribe El Harba, and Sabha, daughter of Bargiass, the most beautiful maiden of the desert. I was peculiarly interested in the affair, having known the bride during my residence with her mother. Fares begged the Drayhy to accompany him to Bargiass to make his proposals; and the chiefs of the tribe, in the richest attire, were in attendance. We reached the tent of Bargiass without any one being sent to meet us; Bargiass did not even rise to receive us: such is the usual form on such occasions; the smallest sign of forwardness would be considered unbecoming.

After a few moments’ silence the Drayhy spoke;—“Why,” said he, “do you receive us so indifferently? If you are resolved to offer us no refreshment, we will return home.” During this time Sabha, withdrawn within that part of the tent reserved for the women, observed her suitor through the opening of the curtain; for custom exacts that the lady should signify her satisfaction at the appearance of her lover, before any negotiation is entered upon; and if, after the secret survey I have just mentioned, she gives her mother to understand that the intended bridegroom does not please her, the matter rests there. On this occasion, however, a young and handsome man, of a proud and noble presence, presented himself, and Sabha gave the requisite token of satisfaction to her mother, who then responded to the Drayhy’s inquiry,—“You are all welcome! Not only will we heartily afford you refreshment, but we will grant all that you can desire.”—“We come,” returned the Drayhy, “to demand your daughter in marriage for the son of our friend: what do you require for her dowry?”—“A hundred nakas,”[N] replied Bargiass, “five horses of the race of Nedgde, five hundred sheep, three negroes, and three negresses to attend upon Sabha; and for the trousseau, a saddle embroidered with gold, a robe of damask silk, ten bracelets of amber and coral, and yellow boots.” The Drayhy made some remonstrances on the exorbitance of the demand, saying, “Thou art minded to realize the Arab proverb: ‘If thou wouldst not marry thy daughter, increase her price.’ Be more reasonable if thou desirest the conclusion of this marriage.”

The dowry was finally settled at fifty nakas, two horses, two hundred sheep, one negro, and one negress. The trousseau remained as dictated by Bargiass; saddles and yellow boots for the mother and some other members of the family were even added above his demand. Having written these articles, I read them aloud. Then the assistants at the ceremony recited the prayer Fatiha—the Pater Noster of the Mussulmans, which confers its sanction on the contract,—and camel’s milk was handed round, as lemonade had been at a town in Syria. After this refreshment the young people mounted their horses and amused themselves with the djerid,[O] and other games. Giarah, desirous to ingratiate himself with his bride, was particularly distinguished, and she remarked with pleasure his agility and grace. We separated at nightfall, and preparations for the nuptials now employed the thoughts of all.

By the evening of the third day, the dowry, or rather the price of Sabha, was ready, and a numerous procession moved with it in the following order:—A horseman led the van, with a white flag pendent from the point of his lance, and crying, “I bear the spotless honour of Bargiass.” After him followed the camels, decorated with garlands of flowers and foliage, attended by their drivers; then the negro on horseback, richly clothed, and surrounded by men on foot singing popular airs. Behind them marched a troop of warriors, armed with muskets, which they frequently discharged. A woman followed, sprinkling with incense a large vessel of fire which she carried. Then the milch ewes, under the guidance of their shepherds, who were singing like Chibouk, the brother of Antar, two thousand years earlier; for the manners of the Bedouins never change. After these came the negress, mounted upon a horse and evironed by two hundred women on foot, constituting not the least noisy of the groups; for the joyous shouts and nuptial songs of the Arab women are shrill beyond expression. The procession was closed by the camel which bore the trousseau, and formed a splendid spectacle. The embroidered housings were spread out on all sides and covered the animal; the yellow boots hung from his sides, and the jewels, arranged in festoons, completed his trappings. A child of one of the most distinguished families, mounted on this camel, repeated with a loud voice, “May we be ever victorious! May the fire of our enemies be extinguished for ever!” Other children accompanied him, crying, “Amen!” For my part, I ran from one side to the other, to enjoy the whole spectacle to the utmost.

This time Bargiass came out to meet us, attended by the horsemen and women of his tribe; the cries and chants then became truly deafening; and the horses galloping about on all sides, soon enveloped us in a whirlwind of dust.

When the presents were all displayed and ranged in order around the tent of Bargiass, coffee was made in a monstrous caldron, and every one took some, while waiting for the feast.

Ten camels, thirty sheep, and a prodigious quantity of rice formed the staple of the meal; after which a second caldron of coffee was emptied. The dowry accepted, the ceremony was concluded by a repetition of the prayer; and it was agreed that Giarah should come at the expiration of three days to fetch his bride. Before my departure, I visited the women in their apartments, to introduce Sheik Ibrahim to a more intimate acquaintance with Bargiass’s wife, and to reiterate my thanks for her care of me. She replied by expressing her readiness to increase my obligations by bestowing her niece on me in marriage; but Sheik Ibrahim deferred taking advantage of her favourable intentions towards me till the following year.

On the eve of the day fixed for the wedding, a rumour arose that a formidable army of Wahabees had appeared in the desert: couriers flew from tribe to tribe, exhorting them to unite three or four in a company, that the enemy might find them prepared on all points to receive them; and the espousals had nearly been consummated by a mortal combat, instead of the sham fight which is customary on such occasions.

The Drayhy and the other chiefs set out very early in the morning with a thousand horsemen and five hundred women to achieve the conquest of the beautiful Sabha. At a short distance from the camp, the procession halted: the women and old men alighted and awaited the issue of a combat between the young people who came to carry off the betrothed, and those of her tribe who opposed their design. These contests have sometimes fatal results; but the bridegroom is not permitted to take part in them, lest his life should be exposed to hazard from the machinations of his rivals. On this occasion the combatants came off with about a score of wounds; and victory, as was reasonable, decided for our party, who carried off the bride in triumph and consigned her to the women of our tribe. Sabha’s train was composed of a score of maidens with three well-laden camels; the first carrying her howdah covered with scarlet cloth, trimmed with fringes and tufts of various-coloured worsted, and adorned with ostrich-feathers: the interior was decorated by festoons of shells and strings of coloured glass, forming a sort of frames to small mirrors, which, placed at intervals, reflected the scene on all sides; and furnished with silken cushions for the reception of the bride. The tent formed the burden of the second camel, and the carpets and kitchen utensils that of the third. The queen of the festival being placed in her howdah, surrounded by the wives of the chiefs mounted on their camels, and by other women on foot, the procession commenced its retrograde march. Horsemen prancing in the van announced its progress to the tribes we might meet, who were expected to greet us by throwing incense and killing sheep under the feet of the bride’s camels. It is not possible to convey a very exact idea of this scene, nor of that which lasted during the whole day and night; nor to describe the dances, the songs, the bonfires, the banquets, the tumult, and the cries of all sorts, which her arrival occasioned. Eight tribes were entertained by the hospitality of Fares. Two thousand pounds of rice, twenty camels, and fifty sheep, furnished out the feast; and in the middle of the night the cry was still, “Let him who is hungry come and eat.” So great was my reputation among them, that Giarah begged a talisman from me to insure the happiness of this union: I accordingly wrote his cipher and that of his spouse in European characters; placed the charm solemnly in his hands; and no one doubted the efficacy of it, when they observed the satisfaction of the new-married couple.

Some days afterwards, hearing that the Wahabees, ten thousand strong, were besieging Palmyra, the Drayhy gave orders for marching against them. We encountered them at El Dauh, and exchanged some musket-shots till nightfall, but without coming to a pitched battle. I had here leisure to appreciate the advantage of the mardouffs, in these wars of the desert, in which it is always necessary to carry about the commissariat of the army, and often for a considerable time. These camels, mounted each by two soldiers, are like moving fortresses, provisioned with everything necessary for the nourishment and defence of their riders. A budget of water, a sack of flour and another of dried dates, a jar of sheep’s butter, and the munitions of war, are formed into a sort of square tower on the animal’s back. The men, conveniently placed on each side on seats composed of cordage, thus carry with them everything of which their temperate habits have need. When they are hungry, they knead a little of the meal with butter, and eat it in that state without baking; a few dates and a small quantity of water completing their moderate repast: nor do they quit their post to sleep, but throw themselves across the camel in the manner I have already described. The next day’s engagement was more serious. Our Bedouins fought with more inveterate obstinacy than their adversaries, because their women and children were in their rear, while the Wahabees, far from home, and with no other object than pillage, were little disposed to risk their lives in the cause. Night separated the combatants, but with the earliest dawn the battle recommenced: at length, towards evening, victory declared in our favour; the enemy having lost sixty men killed, took to flight and left us in possession of the field of battle, besides twenty-two prisoners, forty beautiful mares, and sixty camels. This victory still enhanced the reputation of the Drayhy, and filled Sheik Ibrahim with joy; in the exuberance of which he exclaimed, “Thanks be to God, our affairs prosper!”

Having no longer any enemies to fear in the Syrian desert, Sheik Ibrahim parted company for a time from the Drayhy, and went to Hems to purchase merchandise and write to Europe. During our stay in that place he left me perfectly at liberty to seek amusement, and to recover from all my fatigues; and I made daily excursions into the country in company with some of my young friends, doubly enjoying this life of pleasure from its contrast with that which I had led amongst the Bedouins. But, alas! my joy was to be of short duration, and was soon converted into bitter anguish. A messenger, who had been to Aleppo to fetch remittances for M. Lascaris, brought me a letter from my mother, couched in terms of the deepest affliction, and announcing the death of my elder brother by the plague. Grief made her writing almost incoherent. She had been ignorant of my destiny for nearly the last three years, and conjured me, if still in existence, to go to her.

This dreadful intelligence deprived me of the use of my senses, and for three days I was unconscious where I was, and refused all nourishment. Thanks to the attentive care of M. Lascaris, I gradually recovered my recollection; but all that I could obtain from him was permission to write to my poor mother. Neither was I allowed to despatch my letter till the eve of our departure, for fear she should come herself to seek me. But I pass over the detail of my personal feelings, in which the reader can have no interest, to return to our travels.

The Drayhy having advertised us that he would shortly set out for the east, we hastened to join him, with three camels, two mares, and four guides, whom he had placed at our disposal. The day of our departure from Hems, I felt so extraordinary a weight upon my heart that I was tempted to regard it as a fatal presentiment. It struck me that I was advancing to a premature death. I made the best use, however, of my reasoning powers, and at length persuaded myself that the oppression I experienced resulted from the dejection into which my mother’s afflicting letter had plunged me. We set out on a journey of twenty hours, and though wearied by travelling the whole day, were persuaded by our guides not to halt till we had completed it. Nothing particular occurred till midnight; when growing drowsy from fatigue and the monotonous movement of the march, we were alarmed by a sudden cry from the advanced guide—“Rouse yourselves, and look well about you, for we are on the brink of a tremendous precipice!” The road was but a foot in breadth; on the right was a perpendicular mountain, and on the left the precipice called Wadi el Hail. I woke in surprise, rubbed my eyes, and reseized the bridle, which I had allowed to hang loosely over the neck of my mare. But this precaution, which ought to have saved me, was the very thing that had nearly caused my death; for the animal having stumbled against a stone, fear made me draw the reins too hastily. She reared, and in coming down lost her footing, stepped only on vacancy, and rolled over with her rider to the bottom of the precipice. What passed after that moment of agony I know only from Sheik Ibrahim, who has since told me, that he dismounted in terror, and endeavoured to distinguish the nature of the gulf in which I had disappeared; but the night was too dark,—the noise of my fall was the only notice he had of it, and he could discern nothing but an abyss beneath his feet. He then betook himself to weeping, and conjuring the guides to go down the precipice. But this they declared impossible in the darkness, assuring him moreover, that it would be useless trouble, since I must not only be certainly dead, but dashed to pieces against the points of the rocks. Whereupon he announced his resolution not to stir from the spot till the daylight should enable him to make his researches, and promised a hundred tallarins to whoever should recover my body, however mutilated it might be, as he could not, he said, consent to leave it a prey to wild beasts. He then sat down on the edge of the gulf, waiting in mournful despair for the first glimmerings of daylight.

No sooner were they perceptible, than the four men descended the abyss with much difficulty, and found me, insensible, suspended by my sash, my head downwards. The mare lay dead a few toises below, at the extremity of the ravine. I had ten wounds on my head, the flesh torn from my left arm, my ribs broken, and my legs scratched to the bone. I was deposited, without any sign of life, at the feet of Sheik Ibrahim, who threw himself upon me in tears. But having a little knowledge of medicine, and carrying always some valuable remedies about with him, he did not long abandon himself to a useless grief. Having satisfied himself, by the application of volatiles to the nostrils, that I was not absolutely dead, he placed me carefully on a camel, and retraced his steps as far as the village of El Habedin. During this short journey my body swelled prodigiously, without giving any other sign of life. The village sheik having placed me on a mattress, sent to Hems for a surgeon. For nine whole hours I remained perfectly insensible; and at the end of that time opened my eyes without the smallest perception of the objects around me, or recollection of what had befallen me. I felt as if under the influence of a dream, but without being sensible of pain. In this state I lay for four-and-twenty hours, and recovered from my lethargy only to suffer such indescribable agonies that I fancied it would have been better a hundredfold to have remained at the bottom of the precipice.

Sheik Ibrahim never quitted me for an instant, and offered the highest rewards to the surgeon in case he should succeed in saving me. The latter was zealous, but by no means skilful; and no amendment appearing at the expiration of thirty days, gangrene was apprehended. The Drayhy had visited me immediately on being informed of my accident; and he also wept over me, and offered rich presents to stimulate the surgeon’s efforts: but at the highest point of his sensibility he could not suppress his regret for the loss of his mare Abaige, who was of pure blood, and worth ten thousand piastres. Nevertheless, he was in real distress, as was Ibrahim; for they not only feared my loss, but foresaw in it the miscarriage of all their operations. I endeavoured to encourage them, telling them that I did not believe myself dying. But it was too true, that though, I should be spared, there was no probability of my being for a long while in a condition to travel.

The Drayhy was obliged to take leave of us to pursue his migration eastwards; and Sheik Ibrahim was in despair at seeing me grow daily worse. Hearing at length that a more skilful surgeon resided at El Dair Attia, he sent for him. The surgeon refused to come, requiring that the patient should be taken to him. I was therefore put upon a sort of litter in the best manner that could be contrived, and carried to him, at the hazard of expiring on the road. The new surgeon entirely changed the dressing of my wounds, and washed them with warm wine. Three months I stayed with him, suffering martyrdom, and a thousand times regretting the death I had escaped. I was then transported to the village of Nabek, where for three months longer I kept my bed. From that period I may date the actual commencement of my recovery, though it was retarded by frequent relapses. Upon the sight of a horse, for example, I fainted, and continued for a month in a state of extreme nervousness, which at length, and by degrees, I conquered: but I am bound to confess that to this moment the presence of that animal causes me a shudder; and I made a resolution never again to mount a horse, except in a case of absolute necessity.

My illness cost Sheik Ibrahim five hundred tallarins. But how shall I estimate his attentions, his paternal care! I am assuredly indebted to him for my life.

During my convalescence he learnt that our friend the Pacha of Damascus had been replaced by another, Soliman Selim. This news greatly disconcerted us, as it appeared indicative of the loss of our credit with the Turks.

Ten months had elapsed—a second spring was come, and we were expecting with impatience the arrival of the Bedouins, our allies, when, to our great joy, a courier announced their approach. We forwarded him in haste to the Drayhy, who liberally rewarded him for the good news he brought of my recovery, which produced universal joy in the camp, where I had long been supposed dead. We waited some days longer, till the tribe advanced nearer; and in the interval a singular story came to my knowledge, which I think worthy of insertion, as an illustration of Arab manners.

A merchant of Anatolia, escorted by fifty men, was leading ten thousand sheep to be sold at Damascus. On the road he made acquaintance with three Arabs, with one of whom he formed a close intimacy, and at parting was desired to swear fraternity with him. The merchant could not discover in what respect he, who was the proprietor of ten thousand sheep, and was escorted by fifty soldiers, could be benefitted by having a brother amongst the poor Bedouins; but the Bedouin, whose name was Chatti, was so importunate, that, to satisfy him, he consented to give him two piastres and a handful of tobacco as pledges of fraternity. Chatti divided the two piastres between his companions, saying, “Be ye witnesses that this man is become my brother.” They then separated, and the merchant thought no more of the matter, till, at a place called Ain el Alak, a party of Bedouins, superior in number to his escort, attacked and routed them, took possession of his sheep, and stripped him to his shirt; in which pitiable condition he arrived at Damascus, imprecating curses upon the Bedouins, and especially upon his pretended brother Chatti, whom he accused of betraying and selling him.

Meanwhile the news of so rich a capture was quickly spread in the desert, and reached the ears of Chatti, who, having with some difficulty found his two witnesses, brought them before Soultan el Brrak, chief of the tribe of El Ammour, to whom he declared that he was brother to the merchant who had just been robbed, and called upon the chief to enable him to fulfil the duties of fraternity, by restoring the property. Soultan, having taken the depositions of the two witnesses, was obliged to accompany Chatti to El Nahimen, the sheik of the tribe which had carried off the sheep, and to reclaim them in conformity with their laws. The sheik was under the necessity of restoring them; and Chatti, having first ascertained that none were missing, took the road to Damascus, with the flocks and their shepherds.

Leaving them outside the town, he entered it in search of his brother, whom he found seated in a melancholy mood in front of a coffee-room of the Bazaar. He went straight to him with a joyful air; but the other turned angrily away, and Chatti had great difficulty in obtaining a hearing, and still greater in persuading him to believe that his sheep were waiting for him outside the walls. He apprehended a new snare, and would not for a long while consent to follow the Bedouin. Convinced at last by the sight of his sheep, he threw himself on Chatti’s neck, and after giving full expression to his gratitude, vainly exerted himself to induce him to accept a recompense proportioned to such a service. The Bedouin could only be persuaded to receive a pair of boots and a cafia (handkerchief), not worth above a tallarin at the utmost, and, after partaking of his brother’s bread, returned to his tribe.

Our first interview with the Drayhy was truly affecting. He came himself, with the principal members of his tribe, to seek us at the village of Nabek, and took us back in a sort of triumph to the camp. By the way he gave us the history of the wars he had waged in the territory of Samarcand, and his good fortune in vanquishing four of the principal tribes,[P] and afterwards inducing them to sign the treaty. It was important to have detached these tribes in time from their alliance with the Wahabees, to whom they were formerly tributary; for it was reported that our enemies were preparing a formidable army, and flattered themselves with obtaining the supremacy of all Syria. Soon afterwards we heard that the army was on its march, spreading terror and devastation everywhere on its passage.

The Pacha of Damascus despatched orders to the governors of Hems and Hama, to keep guard day and night, and to hold their troops in readiness for battle: while the inhabitants fled towards the coast, to escape the sanguinary Wahabees, whose name alone sufficed to drive them from their homes.

The Drayhy was invited by the pacha to a conference with him at Damascus; but fearing some treason, he excused himself under pretence of the impossibility of deserting his post at so critical a moment. He even requested from him some auxiliary troops, hoping by their assistance to be able to keep the enemy in check.

While waiting for the expected reinforcement, the Drayhy caused a solemn declaration of war to be made, according to the custom of the Bedouins on very particular occasions, in the following form:—A white female camel was selected, and blackened all over with soot and oil; reins made of black hair were then put over her, and she was mounted by a young maiden dressed in black, with her face and hands also blackened. Ten men led her from tribe to tribe, and on reaching each she proclaimed aloud three times,—“Succour! succour! succour! Which of you will make this camel white? she is a relic from the tent of the Drayhy menacing ruin. Fly, fly, noble and generous defenders! The Wahabees are coming! they will carry away your allies and your brothers: all you who hear me, address your prayers to the prophets Mahomet and Ali, the first and the last!”

Saying which, she distributed amongst the tribe handfuls of black hair, and letters from the Drayhy, indicating the place of rendezvous on the banks of the Orontes. Our camp was in a short time augmented by the coalition of thirty tribes, assembled in the same plain, and so thickly encamped that the ropes of our tents touched. The Pacha of Damascus sent ten thousand men to Hama, commanded by his nephew Ibrahim Pacha, there to wait for other troops which the Pachas of Acre and Aleppo were to furnish. Scarcely had they met, when the arrival of the Wahabees at Palmyra was announced by the inhabitants, who fled to take refuge in Hama. Ibrahim Pacha wrote to the Drayhy, who repaired to him, and they arranged together their plan of defence. The Drayhy, who took me with him as his counsellor, acquainted me with the stipulations agreed upon; when I pointed out to him the danger of uniting Bedouins and Turks in the same camp, the latter having no means of distinguishing in the confusion of battle their friends from their enemies. The Bedouins themselves, indeed, recognize each other in the heat of the fight only by their war-cries, each tribe incessantly repeating its own,—“Khrail el allia Doualli,—Khrail el bionda Hassny,—Khrail el hamra Daffiry,” &c.;—Khrail signifying horsemen; allia, bionda, hamra, indicating the colour of their favourite mare; Doualli, Hassny, Daffiry, are the names of the tribes. This war-cry, therefore, is equivalent to the words, horsemen of the red mare of Daffir, &c. Others invoke their sister, or some other beauty; hence the Drayhy’s war-cry is, Ana Akhron Rabda,—I the brother of Rabda; that of Mehanna,—I the brother of Fodda: both have sisters renowned for their beauty. The Bedouins pride themselves greatly in their war-cries, and would consider that man a coward who should hesitate to pronounce it in the moment of danger. The Drayhy saw the force of my argument, and persuaded Ibrahim Pacha, though with difficulty, to consent to a division of their forces.

The next day we returned to the camp, followed by the Mussulman army, composed of Dalatis, Albanese, Mogrebins, Houaras, and Arabs; in all, fifteen thousand men. They had with them some pieces of ordnance, a few mortars and bombs, and pitched their tents half an hour’s march from ours: the pride of their bearing, the variety and richness of their costumes, and their banners, altogether formed a magnificent spectacle; but, in spite of their fine appearance, the Bedouins jested upon them, and asserted that they would be the first to fly.

In the afternoon of the second day a broad cloud was observable towards the desert, spreading itself like a thick fog as far as the eye could reach: by degrees the cloud cleared up, and the enemy’s army appeared in view.

This time they brought their wives, their children, and their camels, and established their camp, composed of fifty tribes, forming seventy-five thousand tents, at an hour’s march from ours. About each tent, camels and a great number of sheep were tied; presenting, together with the horses and warriors, a formidable mass to the eye. Ibrahim Pacha was in consternation, and sent in great haste in search of the Drayhy, who, having succeeded in reanimating his courage a little, returned to the camp, to order the necessary entrenchments. For this purpose all the camels were assembled, bound together by their knees, and placed in double files in front of the tents; and, to complete the rampart, a trench was dug behind them. The enemy on his part did the same, and the Drayhy ordered the hatfé to be prepared. This singular ceremony consists in selecting the most beautiful amongst the Bedouin girls, to be placed in a houdah, richly ornamented, borne by a tall white camel. The choice of the maiden who is destined to occupy this honourable but perilous post is very important, for the success of the battle depends almost entirely upon her. Placed opposite to the enemy, and surrounded by the bravest warriors, it is her duty to excite them to the combat: the principal action always takes place around her, and prodigies of valour defend her. All would be lost should the hatfé fall into the enemy’s hands; and, to avoid so irreparable a misfortune, half the army must always be stationed about her. Warriors succeed each other on this point, where the battle is always hottest, and each comes to gather enthusiasm from her looks. A girl named Arkia, uniting in an eminent degree courage, eloquence and beauty, was chosen for our hatfé. The enemy also prepared his, and the battle soon afterwards commenced. The Wahabees divided their army into two corps: the first and most considerable, commanded by Abdallah el Hedal, the general-in-chief, was opposed to us; the second, under the command of Abou Nocta, to the Turks. Both the character of the latter, and their mode of fighting, are totally different from those of the Bedouins, who, prudent and cool headed, begin the action calmly, but growing gradually animated, become at last furious and irresistible. The Turk, on the contrary, proud and arrogant, rushes impetuously upon the enemy, and fancies he has only to appear and conquer: his whole energy is thus expended on the first shock.

The Pacha Ibrahim, seeing the Wahabees attack coldly, deemed himself sufficiently strong to disperse their entire army without assistance; but, before the end of the day, he had learned by dear-bought experience to respect his enemy, and was forced to permit his troops to fall back, leaving us to sustain the whole weight of the action.

Sunset suspended the engagement, but not till both parties had suffered a severe loss.

The next morning brought us a reinforcement, in the tribe of El Hadidi, four thousand strong, all mounted on asses, and armed with muskets. We numbered our forces, which amounted to eighty thousand men; but the Wahabees had a hundred and fifty thousand, and this day’s battle terminated in their favour. Our defeat, exaggerated, as always happens in similar cases, was reported at Hama, and filled the inhabitants with dismay; but two days afterwards their fears for us were removed, and for three weeks we were alternately discomfited and successful. The actions became daily more sanguinary; and on the fifteenth day of this trying campaign, a new enemy, more formidable than the Wahabees, arose in the shape of famine. The town of Hama, which alone could furnish subsistence to either army, was exhausted, or concealed its resources. The Turks took to flight; our allies dispersed, to avoid perishing with hunger; the camels, forming the rampart of our camp, began to devour one another. Amidst such frightful calamities, the courage of Arkia never for an instant wavered. The bravest of our warriors were slain by her side; but she ceased not to encourage them, and to excite and applaud their efforts. She animated the old by extolling their valour and experience; the young, by the promise of marrying him who should bring her the head of Abdallah el Hedal. Keeping my station near her houdah, I saw all the warriors present themselves to her for some words of encouragement, and then rush to the combat, excited to enthusiasm by her eloquence. I confess I preferred hearing these compliments to receiving them myself, for they were almost uniformly the forerunners of death.

I one day saw a fine young man, one of our bravest soldiers, present himself before the houdah: “Arkia,” said he, “O thou fairest amongst the fair, allow me a sight of thy face, for I go to fight for thee!” Arkia, unveiling, replied: “Behold, O thou most valiant! Thou knowest my price; it is the head of Abdallah!” The young man brandished his spear, put spurs to his courser, and rushed into the midst of the enemy. In less than two hours he sank covered with wounds. “Heaven preserve you!” said I to Arkia, “this brave man is killed.”—“He is not the only one who has never returned,” she sorrowfully replied. At this moment a warrior made his appearance, armed from head to foot; even his boots were defended with steel, and his horse covered with a coat of mail, (the Wahabees reckoned twenty such warriors amongst them; we had twelve.) He advanced towards our camp, challenging the Drayhy to single combat: this has been the custom amongst the Bedouins from time immemorial; he who is thus defied, cannot without forfeiting his honour refuse to fight. The Drayhy, hearing his name, prepared to answer to the challenge: but his kinsmen joined with us to prevent it. His life was of too much importance to be thus risked; for the loss of it would have entailed the total ruin of our cause, and the destruction of the two allied armies. Persuasion becoming useless, we were obliged to have recourse to coercion. We bound him with cords hand and foot to stakes driven into the ground in the middle of his tent: the most influential chiefs supported him, and entreated him to calm himself, urging the imprudence of risking the welfare of the army for the purpose of answering the insolent bravado of a savage Wahabee. Meanwhile, the latter incessantly exclaimed: “Let the Drayhy come forth! this shall be his last day; I am waiting to terminate his career.” The Drayhy, who heard him, becoming more and more furious, foamed with rage and roared like a lion; his blood-shot eyes almost starting from his head, while he fought with terrible strength to disencumber himself of his bonds. This tumult attracted a considerable multitude around the tent, when suddenly a Bedouin, making his way through the crowd, presented himself before the Drayhy. His sole clothing was a shirt bound round his loins with a leathern girdle, and a turban on his head; he was mounted upon a bay horse, and armed only with a spear; and thus singularly equipped, he came to ask, in the following metrical style, permission to fight the Wahabee instead of the sheik: “This day, I, Tehaisson, have become master of the horse Hadidi: it has long been the object of my ambition; I wished to receive upon his back the praises due to my valour. I am about to fight and to vanquish the Wahabee, for the beautiful eyes of my betrothed, and to render myself worthy of his daughter who was always conqueror.” So saying, he rushed to combat the hostile warrior. No one imagined that he could for one half hour resist his formidable antagonist, whose armour rendered him invulnerable; but if the blows he dealt were thus robbed of their murderous power, he avoided with wonderful dexterity those that were aimed at himself during the two hours that the struggle lasted. Meanwhile, all was suspense; the deepest interest was manifested on both sides. At length our champion turned round, and apparently took to flight. All hope was now lost; the enemy was about to proclaim his triumph. The Wahabee pursued, and, with a hand strengthened by the assurance of success, flung his lance; but Tehaisson, foreseeing the blow, stooped even to his saddle-bow, and the weapon flew whizzing above his head; then, suddenly returning, he thrust his spear into the throat of his adversary, taking advantage of the moment when the latter, being obliged to curb his horse hastily before him, was in the act of raising his head. This movement leaving a space between the helmet and the cuirass, the spear passed through from side to side, and killed him on the spot: but his armour supporting him in the saddle, he was carried by his horse into the midst of his followers; and Tehaisson returned in triumph to the tent of the Drayhy, where he was enthusiastically received. All the chiefs embraced him, loading him with eulogies and presents; and Sheik Ibrahim was not backward in testifying his gratitude.

Meanwhile, the war and the famine continued to rage: even in the Drayhy’s tent we were two days without food; on the third, he received a considerable supply of rice, which Mola Ismael, chief of the Dallatis, sent him as a present. Instead of husbanding it as a last resource, he ordered that the whole should be dressed, and invited all present to sup with him. His son Saher would not sit down to table; but, being importuned by his father, he requested that his portion might be given to him, and carried it to his mare, declaring that he had rather suffer himself, than see her die for want of food.

We had now arrived at the thirty-seventh day from the commencement of the war: on the thirty-eighth, the battle was terrible. The camp of the Osmanlis was taken and pillaged: the pacha had scarcely time to escape to Hama, whither he was pursued by the Wahabee, who there besieged him.

The defeat of the Turks was the more fatal to us, as it left the second corps of the hostile army, commanded by the famous Negro Abou Nocta, at liberty to unite with Abdallah, and make a combined attack upon us. The following day witnessed the commencement of a frightful struggle, which lasted eight days without intermission. The combatants were so intermingled together, that it was impossible to distinguish one party from another. They fought with the sabre man to man; the entire plain was deluged with blood, the colour of the ground being totally invisible: never perhaps was such a battle fought. The inhabitants of Hama, fully persuaded that we were utterly exterminated, no longer sent us those occasional supplies of provisions which, coming at our utmost need, had hitherto preserved us from starvation. At length the Drayhy, finding his misfortunes accumulate, assembled his chiefs, and addressed them thus: “My friends, it now becomes necessary that we should make a last effort. To-morrow we must either conquer or die. To-morrow, by God’s permission, I will destroy the enemy’s camp: to-morrow we will feast upon its spoils.” This harangue was received with a smile of incredulity; until one, more daring than the rest, replied: “Give but the word, and we will obey.”—“This night,” he continued, “you must noisely transplant your tents, your wives, and your children, to the other side of the Orontes. The whole must have disappeared before sunrise, without the cognisance of the enemy. Then, having no longer any care to trouble us, we will make a desperate attack upon them, and will exterminate them, or perish ourselves in the attempt: but God will be on our side, and we shall conquer.” Every one hastened to execute the commands thus given, with incredible order, celerity, and silence. The next day, the efficient warriors alone remained. The Drayhy divided them into four corps, ordering a simultaneous attack upon the four sides of the enemy’s camp. The troops, in desperation, threw themselves upon their prey like hungry lions; and the impetuous but well-concerted onset was attended with all the success which could have been wished. Confusion and disorder spreading rapidly amongst their unexpectedly enclosed ranks, the Wahabees took to flight, abandoning their women and children, their tents and their baggage. The Drayhy, without allowing his men time to seize upon the booty, obliged them to pursue the fugitives to Palmyra, and gave them no respite until they had accomplished the total dispersion of the enemy.

No sooner had victory declared itself in our favour, than I departed with Sheik Ibrahim to announce the joyful intelligence at Hama; but nobody there would give credit to it, and the inhabitants would fain have treated ourselves as fugitives. They exhibited the utmost perturbation: some climbed the heights, whence they could perceive nothing but clouds of dust; others prepared their mules for flight towards the coast. The defeat of the Wahabees being, however, speedily confirmed, the most extravagant demonstrations of joy succeeded to this terrible alarm. A Tartar was despatched to Damascus, and brought back with him forty loads of wheat, twenty-five thousand piastres, and a sabre and a robe of honour for the Drayhy, who made his triumphal entry into Hama, escorted by all the chiefs of the allied tribes. He was received by the governor, the agas, the pacha, and all his court, in the most splendid manner.

After four days of rejoicings we quitted Hama, to rejoin our tribes, and conduct them to the east before the approach of winter. The Drayhy was personally attended by a company of twelve; the others, in groups of five or six, dispersed themselves in the desert of Damascus. Our first stay was at Tall el Dehab, in the territory of Aleppo, where we encountered four tribes who had taken no part in the war. The chiefs came forward to meet the Drayhy, penetrated with respect for his recent exploits, and soliciting the favour of being admitted to sign the treaty of alliance with us.[Q] From thence we marched without interruption to join our friend, the Emir Faher, who received us with the most lively demonstrations of joy. In company with his, and several other tribes, proceeding like ourselves to Mesopotamia, we crossed the Euphrates, some establishing themselves in the neighbourhood of Hamad, others in the desert of Bussora.

On the road we received a letter from Fares el Harba, announcing that six considerable tribes, who had fought on the side of the Wahabees against us, were encamped in the Hebassia, near Machadali, and were well disposed to enter into alliance with us; and that if the Drayhy would send me to him furnished with full powers to treat, he believed himself certain of success. I lost not a moment in availing myself of this invitation, and, after a journey of six hours, reached him without accident. Fares el Harba immediately broke up his camp, and conducted me to the distance of a day’s journey from the tribes.[R] I then wrote in his name to the Emir Douackhry, chief of the tribe El Fedhan, exhorting him to make an alliance with the Drayhy, and promising oblivion of the past. Douackhry came in person to Fares el Harba, and we were soon agreed; but he disclaimed answering for more than his own tribe, considering that it would be extremely difficult to succeed with the others. He proposed, however, that I should accompany him back, when he would assemble the chiefs of all the tribes, and exert his utmost influence with them. I accepted the invitation, and departed with him; but when arrived in the centre of what ought to have been an encampment, I was painfully affected to behold hordes of Arabs crouching on the ground under the full blaze of the sun: having lost their tents and baggage in the battle, their only bed was the bare ground, their only canopy the sky. A few rags suspended here and there upon pikes did indeed afford a semblance of shade to these unfortunate beings, who, having stripped themselves of their only garments to furnish this slender shelter from the fervent heat of the sun, were exposed to the sting of insects, and to the thorny points of the plants on which their camels browse. Many were wholly destitute of any defence either from the heat of day or the cold of night, at that autumnal season, when the contrasts of temperature are most fatal.

Never had I conceived an idea of wretchedness so complete: the sad spectacle oppressed my heart and drew tears from my eyes, and it was some time before I could recover from the agitation it occasioned me.

The next day Douackhry assembled the chiefs and old men to the number of five hundred. Alone in the midst of them, I despaired of making myself heard, and especially of being able to unite them in one counsel. Independent in their character and manners, and irritated by misfortune, they all mooted different opinions; and if neither hoped to make his own prevail, at least each made it a point of honour to maintain it obstinately, leaving all the others at liberty to do the like. Some proposed removing to the Nedgde country, others to retire to Samarcand: these vociferated imprecations against Abdallah, chief of the Wahabee army; those denounced the Drayhy as the author of all their misfortunes. Amid the conflict of voices, I armed myself with patience, and endeavoured to conciliate all parties. I began by shaking their confidence in the Wahabees; showing them that Abdallah must necessarily have become their enemy, since they had abandoned him on the last day of the battle, and that he was now seeking vengeance upon them: that in going to Nedgde they voluntarily threw themselves under the domination of Ebn Sihoud, who would extort from them oppressive contributions, and compel them to bear the whole burden of a disastrous war: that having once deserted his cause, and effected their withdrawal from his power, they should not follow the example of the foolish bird, who no sooner escapes the sportsman’s shot than he falls into the fowler’s net. At last, the fable of the bundle of sticks occurred to my mind; and thinking so simple a demonstration would make an impression on their unsophisticated minds, I determined to make a practical application of it before their eyes. Having exhorted them to be united, and by their union to resist all oppression, I took from the hands of the sheiks about thirty djerids, and presented one to the Emir Fares, requesting he would break it, which he effected with ease. I then presented him with two, and afterwards with three, all of which he broke in the same manner, for he was a man of great muscular strength. I then placed in his hand the whole bundle, which he could neither break nor bend. “Machala,” said I, “thy strength is not sufficient;” and I then passed the united spears to another, who succeeded no better. A general murmur now arose in the assembly: “Who could split such a mass?” cried they unanimously. “I take you at your word,” said I; and in the most energetic language I could command, I applied the apologue to their reasoning faculties,—adding, that so powerfully had I been affected by their destitute condition, without clothing or shelter, that I pledged myself to solicit from the Drayhy the restitution of their baggage and tents, and that I was sufficiently acquainted with his magnanimity to answer for the success of my application, if they entered heartily into the alliance, of which I had just proved the advantages. Upon this they all exclaimed with one voice: “Thou hast conquered, Abdallah; we are thine in life and in death!” and all ran forward to embrace me. It was then determined that they should give the Drayhy the rendezvous in the plain of Halla, to affix their seal to the treaty.

Recrossing the Euphrates the next morning, I rejoined our tribe on the fifth day, and found my friends uneasy at my protracted absence; but the report of my fortunate negotiation filled them with joy. I have already so frequently detailed meetings, feasts, and rejoicings of every kind, that I shall not repeat the same narrative by describing those which took place on this occasion.

The Emir Douackhry buried the seven stones, and thus consummated the alliance; and after dinner I witnessed for the first time the ceremony of swearing fidelity over bread and salt. The Drayhy then declared that he was ready to fulfil the engagement I had contracted in his name, by restoring the booty taken from the six tribes who had just united their cause with his. But the generous will was insufficient—the means of its execution were still to be provided. In the pillage of the Wahabee and allied camp, the plunder of fifty tribes was confounded, and to identify the property of each was no easy matter. It was decided that the women alone were competent to the task; and it would be impossible to form an idea of the exertion and fatigue of the five days employed by them in recognising the cattle, tents, and baggage of the various tribes. Every camel and sheep has two ciphers stamped with a hot iron on the leg, those of the tribe and the proprietor. But when, as it often happens, the ciphers are similar, or half effaced, the difficulty of identifying them is extreme; and under the exhausting task of reconciling such various pretensions, and deciding such harassing controversies, which it required something more than generosity to endure with patience, I was sometimes tempted to repent my momentary impulse of compassion and my imprudent promise.

At this time a great caravan from Bagdad to Aleppo passed, and was plundered by the Fedans and Sabhas. It was very richly laden with indigo, coffee, spices, Persian carpets, Cashmires, pearls, and other valuable articles, which we estimated at ten millions of piastres. No sooner was the capture known, than merchants flocked to the desert, some from a great distance, to purchase these treasures from the Arabs, who sold, bartered, or rather gave them away almost for nothing. For instance, they exchanged a measure of spices against an equal measure of dates; a Cashmire shawl, worth a thousand francs, against a black saddle-cloth; a chest of indigo for a linen dress; entire pieces of India muslin for a pair of boots. A merchant from Moussoul bought, for a shirt, a saddle-cloth, and a pair of boots, goods worth fifteen thousand piastres; and a diamond ring was sold for a roll of tobacco. I might have made my fortune on the occasion, but M. Lascaris prohibited my either purchasing or receiving any thing as a gift, and I scrupulously obeyed. Every day tribes arrived from the Nedgde country, deserting the Wahabees to join us; some attracted by the Drayhy’s extraordinary reputation, others driven by dissensions with King Ebn Sihoud. One circumstance of that nature brought us five tribes in a body. The emir of the tribe Beny Tay had a very beautiful daughter, named Camara (the moon); Fehrab, son of the chief of a neighbouring tribe, and a relative of the Wahabee, became enamoured of her, and contrived to gain her affection; but the girl’s father discovering their passion, forbade her speaking to the prince, and himself refused to receive him or listen to his proposals, designing Camara for her cousin Tamer; for it is a custom amongst the Bedouins, which reminds one of those transmitted to us by the Bible, for the nearest kinsman to be preferred to all other suitors when a maiden’s marriage is in question.

Camara, however, neither swayed by the usages of her people, nor intimidated by her father’s menaces, positively refused to espouse her cousin; and her attachment acquiring strength in proportion to the obstacles opposed to it, she lost no opportunity of corresponding with her lover. The latter, seeing no hope of obtaining her parent’s consent, resolved to run away with her, and opened the proposition to her through an old woman whom he had gained. She gave her consent; and he introduced himself into the tribe Beny Tay in the disguise of a mendicant, and arranged with her the hour and circumstances of the elopement. In the middle of the night the maiden stole fearfully out of her father’s tent, to the prince, who was waiting for her at the entrance of the camp. He placed her behind him on his mare, and dashed across the plain; but the celerity of their flight could not conceal them from the jealous eye of Tamer: enamoured of his cousin, and determined to maintain his right, he had long watched the proceedings of his rival, and every night mounted guard near Camara’s tent. At the moment the lovers escaped, he was making his circuit; but immediately perceiving them, he galloped in pursuit. Fehrab’s mare, endowed by nature with all the fleetness of the Nedgdian race, and stimulated to greater exertions by her master’s impatience, urged her course to its highest speed; but, pressed by a double burden, she could at length no longer give her wonted aid to her master—she fell; and Fehrab, seeing himself on the point of being overtaken by Tamer, lifted his beloved from the horse, and prepared for her defence. The combat was terrible, and its sequel tragical. Tamer was victor, slew Fehrab, and seized his cousin; but, exhausted by fatigue, and now in full security, he fell asleep for a moment by her side. Camara, who had watched the influence of slumber stealing over his senses, snatched up his sabre, stained with the blood of her lover, and cut off the head of her ravisher; then precipitating herself upon the point of his lance, pierced her own heart. The three dead bodies alone were found by those who went in search of them.

A murderous war between the two tribes was the consequence of this melancholy event;—that of Fehrab, supported by the Wahabees, forced Beny Tay to a retreat; and the latter, with four other tribes,[S] its allies, came to solicit protection from the Drayhy, whose power was henceforth unrivalled. Five hundred thousand Bedouins, allied in our cause, formed but one camp, and overspread Mesopotamia like a cloud of locusts.

While we remained in the neighbourhood of Bagdad, our allies pillaged another caravan coming from Aleppo, laden with productions of European manufacture; cloths, velvets, satins, amber, coral, &c.; and although the Drayhy took no part in these spoliations, he was too well versed in Bedouin habits to think of offering any opposition. The Pacha of Bagdad demanded satisfaction, but obtained none; and perceiving that to enforce justice would require an army of at least fifteen thousand men, he renounced his claim, happy to continue in friendship with the Bedouins at any sacrifice.

Sheik Ibrahim now saw his hopes realized beyond even his most sanguine anticipations; but as long as any thing remained to be done, he would allow himself no repose: crossing the Tigris, therefore, at Abou el Ali, we continued our march, and entered Persia. Here, also, the reputation of the Drayhy had preceded him, and the tribes of the country came continually to fraternize with us; but in our vast plan of operations, these partial alliances were insignificant,—we required the co-operation of the great prince, chief of all the Persian tribes, the Emir Sahid el Bokhrani, whose command extends to the frontiers of India. The family of this prince has for many years reigned over the errant tribes of Persia, and claims its descent from the kings Beni el Abass, who conquered Spain, and whose descendants still call themselves the Bokhrani. We learned that he was in a very distant province. The Drayhy having convoked all the chiefs to a general council, it was decided to traverse Persia, keeping as near as possible to the sea-coast, notwithstanding the probable scarcity of water, in order to avoid the mountains which intersect the interior of this country, and to find pasturage. In the itinerary of a tribe, a plentiful supply of grass is more important than water: the latter may be transported, but nothing can remedy a deficiency of food for the cattle, on which the very existence of the tribe itself depends.

This march occupied fifty-one days. During the whole time we encountered no obstacle on the part of the inhabitants, but were often seriously incommoded by the scarcity of water. On one of these occasions, Sheik Ibrahim, having observed the nature of the soil and the freshness of the grass, advised the Drayhy to dig for water. The Bedouins of the country treated the attempt as madness, saying that no water had ever been known in those parts, and that it was necessary to send for it to a distance of six hours. But the Drayhy persevered: “Sheik Ibrahim is a prophet,” said he, “and must be obeyed.”

Holes were accordingly dug in several places, and at the depth of four feet excellent water was found. Seeing this happy result, the Bedouins by acclamation proclaimed Sheik Ibrahim a true prophet, his discovery a miracle, and, in the excess of their gratitude, had well nigh adored him as a god.

After journeying several days among the mountains and valleys of the Karman, we reached the deep and rapid river Karassan; and having crossed it, proceeded in the direction of the coast, where the road was less difficult. We made acquaintance with the Bedouins of the Agiam Estan, who received us in a very friendly manner; and on the forty-second day after entering Persia, we arrived at El Hendouan, where one of their greatest tribes was encamped, commanded by Hebiek el Mahdan. We hoped that our long pilgrimage was drawing towards its close; but the sheik informed us that we were still distant nine long days’ journeys from Merah Fames, the present residence of the Emir Sahid, on the frontiers of India. He offered us guides to conduct us thither, and described the points where it would be necessary to lay in a provision of water; without which information, we should have been exposed to great danger in this last expedition.

We despatched couriers before us, to give notice to the grand prince of our approach, and of our pacific intentions. On the ninth day he came to meet us, at the head of a formidable army. It did not at first appear very clear whether this demonstration of strength was to do us honour or to intimidate us. The Drayhy began to repent of having ventured so far from his allies. However, he showed no symptom of fear, but placing the women and the baggage behind the troops, he advanced with the choicest of his cavalry, accompanied by his friend the Sheik Saker,—the same to whom in the preceding year he had delegated the command of the desert of Bassora, and who had negotiated all our alliances there during our stay in Syria.

The prince soon satisfied them respecting his intentions; for, detaching himself from this numerous host, he advanced with a small train of horsemen to the middle of the plain which separated the two armies; the Drayhy did the same; and the two chiefs, on meeting, alighted and embraced with every expression of cordiality.

If I had not so frequently described the hospitality of the desert, I should have much to say on the reception we experienced from the Emir Sahid, and the three days’ festivities with which he welcomed us: but, to avoid repetitions, I shall pass over this scene, only remarking, that the Bedouins of Persia, more pacific than those of Arabia, entered readily into our views, and fully understood the importance of the commercial intercourse we were desirous of establishing with India. This was all that it was needful to explain to them of the nature of our enterprise. The emir promised us the co-operation of all the tribes of Persia under his dominion, and offered his influence with those of India, who hold him in high consideration, on account of the antiquity of his race, and of his personal reputation for wisdom and generosity. He entered into a distinct treaty with us, which was drawn up in the following terms:—

“In the name of the clement and merciful God, I, Sahid, son of Bader, son of Abdallah, son of Barakat, son of Ali, son of Bokhrani, of blessed memory: I hereby make a declaration of having given my sacred word to the powerful Drayhy Ebn Chahllan, to Sheik Ibrahim, and to Abdallah el Katib. I declare myself their faithful ally; I accept all the conditions which are specified in the general treaty now in their hands. I engage to assist and support them in all their projects, and to keep their secrets inviolably. Their enemies shall be my enemies; their friends, my friends. I invoke the great Ali, the first of men, and the well-beloved of God, to bear witness to my word.

“Health.”

(Signed and sealed.)

We remained six days encamped with the tribe of Sahid, and had thus an opportunity of observing the difference between the customs of these Bedouins and those of our provinces. The Persians are milder, more sober, and more patient; but less brave, less generous, and less respectful to the women: they have more religious prejudices, and follow the precepts of the sect of Ali. Besides the lance, the gun, and the sabre, they use the battle-axe.

Prince Sahid sent to the Drayhy two beautiful Persian mares, led by two negroes: the latter, in return, made him a present of a black mare of great value, of the race of Nedgdie, named Houban Neggir, and added some ornaments for his wives.

We were encamped not far from Menouna, the last town of Persia, twenty leagues from the frontiers of India, on the banks of a river which the Bedouins call El Gitan.

On the seventh day we took leave of Sahid, and recommenced our march, in order to reach Syria again before the heats of summer set in. We marched rapidly, and without precautions, till one day, while we were passing through the province of Karman, our beasts were carried off; and the next day we were ourselves attacked by a powerful tribe, commanded by the Emir Redaini, an imperious man, and jealous of his authority, who constitutes himself the guardian of the caliphate of Persia. These Bedouins, very superior in number, were as much our inferiors in courage and tactics: our troops were vastly better commanded. Our position was, however, extremely critical—we were lost if the enemy gained the smallest advantage; for all the Bedouins of the Karman would at once have surrounded us, and hemmed us in as with a net, from which there would have been no possibility of escaping. The necessity, then, of inspiring them with respect by a decisive victory, which should at once cure them of any inclination to try their strength with us for the future, was imperative; and the Drayhy made the most skilful and best combined dispositions for ensuring the triumph of courage over numbers: he displayed all the resources of his military genius and long experience, and himself performed prodigies of valour,—he had never commanded more calmly, nor fought more impetuously: accordingly, the enemy was obliged to retreat, leaving us at full liberty to pursue our homeward journey. The Drayhy, however, considering that it would not be prudent to leave behind him a hostile though beaten tribe, slackened his march, and sent a courier to the Emir Sahid, to give him intelligence of what had passed. The messenger returned in a few days, bringing a very friendly letter to the Drayhy, enclosing a second, addressed in the following terms to Redaini:

“In the name of God the supreme: Be homage and respectful prayers ever addressed to the greatest, the most powerful, the most honorable, the wisest, and the handsomest of prophets! the bravest of the brave, the greatest of the great, the caliph of caliphs, the master of the sabre and of the red ruby, the converter of souls, the Iman Ali. This letter is from Sahid el Bokhrani, the grandee of the two seas and of the two Persias, to his brother the Emir Redaini, the son of Kronkiar. We give you to know that our brother the Emir Drayhy Ebn Chahllan, of the country of Bagdad and Damascus, is come from far to visit us and form an alliance with us. He has marched on our land and eaten of our bread; we have granted him our friendship, and moreover have entered into particular engagements with him, from which great good and general tranquillity will result. We desire that you do the same: take care that you do not fail in this point, or you will lose our esteem, and act in opposition to the will of God, and of the glorious Iman Ali.”

Here followed many citations from their holy books, the Giaffer el Giameh, and the customary salutations.

We sent this letter to the Emir Redaini, who thereupon came to us, accompanied by five hundred horsemen, all richly dressed in gold brocades: their arms were mounted in chased silver, and the Damascus blades of their sabres exquisitely worked. Some amicable explanations having passed, Redaini copied with his own hand the particular treaty of the Emir Sahid, and signed it: he then took coffee, but refused to dine with us, the fanatics of the sect of Ali being prohibited from eating either with Christians or Turks. To ratify his contract, however, he swore upon bread and salt, and then embraced the Drayhy with great protestations of fraternity. His tribe, called El Mehaziz, numbers ten thousand tents. After taking leave of him, we continued our journey by forced marches, advancing fifteen leagues a day without halting. On reaching Bagdad, Sheik Ibrahim went into the city to take up money; but the season requiring expedition, we lost as little time as possible. In Mesopotamia we got news of the Wahabees. Ebn Sihoud had given a very ill reception to his general, Hedal, after his defeat, and had sworn to send a more powerful army than the former, under his son, to take vengeance upon the Drayhy, and exterminate the Bedouins of Syria; but after having obtained more correct information respecting the resources and personal reputation of the Drayhy, he changed his tone, and resolved to make an effort towards concluding an alliance with him. Foreign events also gave an air of probability to these rumours; for the Pacha of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, was preparing an expedition to invade Arabia Petrea, and to take possession of the riches of Mecca, which, for the present, were in the hands of Ebn Sihoud. Either of these prospects was agreeable to our projects, which would have been equally forwarded, whether his proposed alliance took effect, or whether he was weakened by a foreign power. We were continually meeting on our route tribes which had not yet signed the treaty, but which eagerly took advantage of the opportunity of doing so.[T] On arriving in Syria, we received a courier from the King of the Wahabees, who brought us a little bit of paper, about three fingers in breadth, and twice as long. They affect to use these diminutive missives in contrast to the Turks, who write their firmans upon large sheets of paper. The Arabian character takes so little room, that in this small space was written a very long and sufficiently imperious letter. It commenced with a sort of confession of faith, or declaration, that God is one, universal, and without equal; then came all the titles of the king whom God has invested with his sabre to maintain his unity against the idolaters (the Christians) who affirm the contrary. And it continued thus:—

“We, Abdallah, son of Abdel Aziz, son of Abdel Wahabs, son of Sihoud: We give you to know, O son of Chahllan, (may the only adorable God direct you in the right way!) that if you believe in God, you must obey his slave Abdallah, to whom he has delegated his power, and come and see us without fear. You shall be our well-beloved son; we will pardon the past, and treat you as one of ourselves. But beware of obstinacy and resistance to our call; for he who listens to us is reckoned in the number of the inhabitants of paradise.

“Health.

“Signed,

El Manhoud Menalla Ebn Sihoud Abdallah.”

On the reception of this letter we held a great council of war; and after having deliberately weighed all the perils of the journey against the advantages of the alliance of Ebn Sihoud, the Drayhy determined to comply with this authoritative invitation. Sheik Ibrahim having asked me if I felt my courage equal to undertaking a visit to this fanatic, I replied:

“I am well aware that my risk is greater than that of others, on account of his hatred of all Christians; but I put my confidence in God. I must die once, and having already made a sacrifice of my life, I am willing to undertake any task likely to promote the entire execution of the enterprise upon which I have entered.”

A desire of seeing this extraordinary man and his curious country also excited my courage, and having earnestly recommended my poor mother to the protection of M. Lascaris, if I should die in this expedition, I set out with the Drayhy, his second son Sahdoun, his nephew, his cousin, two of the principal chiefs, and five negroes, all mounted on dromedaries. During his father’s absence, Saher was to command the tribe, and conduct it to Horran, to meet the Drayhy, who proposed returning by the Hegiaz. We made our first halt among the Bedouins Beny Toulab, whose sole wealth consists in a few asses, and who live by hunting gazelles and ostriches. They wear the skins of gazelles coarsely sewed together, forming long robes with very large sleeves; and the fur being outside, their appearance much resembles that of wild beasts: I have never seen anything so savage as their aspect. They showed us an ostrich hunt, in which I was greatly interested. The female ostrich lays her eggs in the sand, and takes up her station at some distance, looking fixedly upon them: she covers them as it were, with her eyes, which she never turns from the nest. She remains thus immovable for half the day, until the male comes to relieve her. She then goes in search of food whilst her mate keeps guard in his turn. The hunter, when he has discovered the eggs, constructs a sort of shed with stones to conceal himself, and waits behind it for the favourable moment. When the female is left alone, and the male at a sufficient distance to prevent his taking alarm at the report, he draws his trigger, runs to pick up the unfortunate bird who has received her mortal wound, wipes away the blood, and replaces her in her former position near the eggs; the male, on his return, approaches fearlessly to assume his office of guard, when the hunter, who has remained in ambuscade, shoots him also, and thus bears away a double prize. If the male has had any cause of alarm, he runs with velocity to a distance; and if pursued, defends himself by flinging stones behind him with extraordinary force, to the extent of a musket-shot:—it is moreover prudent to keep at a distance from him when in a state of irritation, for his elevated stature and vigorous strength would render a close encounter very perilous, especially to the hunter’s eyes. When the season of the ostrich chase is over, the Bedouins carry the feathers to Damascus, or even as far as Bagdad, for sale.

These hunters, when about to marry, pledge half the profits of the ensuing year’s chase to the father of the intended bride, as her dowry. They hold the memory of Antar in high veneration, and proclaim themselves his descendants: but how far the pretension is admissible, I know not. They recite, however, numerous fragments of his poem.

After taking leave of them, we still proceeded at the rapid pace of our dromedaries, and encamped on the borders of a very extensive lake, called Raam Beni Hellal, which receives its waters from a mountain which we had skirted.

The next day, having reached the middle of a dry and barren desert, we discovered a little oasis, formed by the shrub called jorfa, and had arrived within a few paces of it, when our dromedaries suddenly stopped short, which we at first attributed to their inclination for resting in a spot where the appearance of vegetation announced the probable presence of water; but it was soon evident that their repugnance arose from instinctive terror, manifested by all its outward tokens: neither caresses nor menaces could induce them to stir. My curiosity being excited to the highest degree, I alighted to investigate the cause of their alarm: but I had no sooner entered the thicket, than I involuntarily recoiled, for the ground was strewed with the skins of serpents of all sizes and species. There were thousands of them; some of the thickness of a ship’s cable, others as small as needles. We hurried from the spot, offering up thanksgivings to God that the skins alone of these venomous reptiles had fallen in our way. No shelter appearing as night closed in, we were obliged to pass it in the open desert: but the horrible spectacle of the thicket was too forcibly impressed upon my imagination to permit me to close my eyes; I expected every moment to see an enormous serpent glide under the covering of my tent, and rear its menacing head beside my pillow.

The following day we overtook a considerable tribe of Wahabees coming from Samarcand: we carefully concealed our pipes from them,—for Ebn Sihoud severely prohibits smoking, and punishes any infraction of his laws with death. The Emir Medjioun hospitably entertained us, but could not suppress his surprise at our hardihood in thus placing ourselves at the mercy of the Wahabee, whose ferocious character he depicted to us in the most frightful terms. He did not dissemble that we ran great hazard; Ebn Sihoud’s deceitful promises, which he lavishes without scruple, being no guarantee against the most infamous treachery. The Drayhy himself, full of loyalty, had advanced on the faith of the king’s invitation, his imagination never suggesting the possibility of a breach of promise, and began now to repent his too credulous confidence; but pride prevented his retreating, and we prosecuted our journey. We soon reached the Nedgde, a country intersected with mountains and valleys, studded with nomade camps, and abounding in towns and villages, the former of which appear to be very ancient, and attest a former population much richer and more numerous than that by which they are now occupied. The villages are peopled with Bedouin husbandmen; and the soil produces corn, table vegetables, and dates in abundance. We were told by the inhabitants, that the aborigines had abandoned their country to establish themselves in Africa, under the conduct of one of their princes, named Beni Hetal.

We everywhere experienced a warm-hearted hospitality, but heard interminable complaints of the tyranny of Ebn Sihoud, under whose dominion these people seem to be retained by fear alone.

At length after fourteen days’ journey, at the pace of our dromedaries, which may be reckoned at triple the distance traversed by a caravan in the same space of time, we arrived in the capital of the Wahabees. The city is surrounded and concealed by a wood of palms, called the Palm-trees of Darkisch, which serves it as a rampart, and is so thickly planted as scarcely to admit the passage of a horseman between the trunks of the trees. Having made our way through these, we came to a second barrier, composed of little hillocks of date-stones, resembling a bank of small pebbles, and behind it the town-wall, along which we rode to the entrance-gate, and, passing through it, soon reached the king’s palace, a large edifice of two stories, built of white hewn stones.

Ebn Sihoud, on being informed of our arrival, ordered us to be ushered into an elegant and well-furnished apartment, where a plentiful repast was set before us. This beginning seemed to augur well, and we congratulated ourselves upon not having yielded to the suspicions which had been suggested to us. The same night, having suitably attired ourselves, we were presented to the king; whom we found to be about forty-five years of age, with a harsh countenance, a bronzed complexion, and a very black beard. He was dressed in a robe fastened round the loins by a white sash, a striped turban of red and white on his head, and a black embroidered mantle thrown over his left shoulder, holding in his right hand the sceptre of the King of Mahlab, the ensign of his authority. He was seated, surrounded by the grandees of his court, at the extremity of a large audience-chamber, richly furnished with mats, carpets, and cushions. The draperies, as well as the king’s habiliments, were of cotton or the wool of Yemen,—silk being prohibited in his dominions, together with everything that would recall the luxury or customs of the Turks. I had leisure for making my observations; for when Ebn Sihoud had answered concisely and in a chilling tone to the Drayhy’s compliments, we seated ourselves, and waited in silence till he should propose a subject of conversation. The Drayhy, however, observing that after half an hour had elapsed he neither ordered coffee nor cleared his brow, opened the conference himself by thus addressing him:—

“I see, O son of Sihoud, that our reception from you is not such as we had a right to expect. We have travelled through your territories, and are come under your roof, upon your own invitation: if you have anything to allege against us, speak—conceal nothing from us.”

Ebn Sihoud, casting a fiery glance at him, replied:

“Yes, truly, I have many things to allege against you: your crimes are unpardonable! You have revolted against me; you have refused to obey me, and you have devastated the tribe of Sachrer, in Galilee, knowing that it belonged to me.

“You have corrupted the Bedouins, and confederated them against me, and against my authority.

“You have destroyed my armies, pillaged my camps, and supported my mortal enemies, those idolaters, those profaners, those rascals, those debauchees, the Turks.”

Growing more and more exasperated as he spoke, and accumulating invective upon invective, his rage at last exceeded all bounds, and he concluded by commanding us to leave his presence and await his pleasure.

I saw the Drayhy’s eyes kindle, his nostrils swell, and I dreaded every instant an explosion of impotent wrath, which could only have served to drive the king to extremities; but, reflecting that he was entirely defenceless, he refrained himself, rose with dignity, and slowly retired to meditate what course he should pursue. All men trembled before the fury of Ebn Sihoud, and none dared to oppose his will. For two days and nights we remained in our apartment, hearing and seeing nothing. No one cared to approach us; even those who on our first arrival appeared most forward in our service, either shunned us, or laughed at our easy credulity in the good faith of a man whose perfidious and sanguinary character was so well known. We expected momentarily to see the tyrant’s satellites appear to massacre us, and sought in vain for some means of extricating ourselves from his grasp. On the third day, the Drayhy, declaring he preferred death to suspense, sent for one of the ministers of the Wahabee, named Abou el Sallem, and commissioned him to deliver this message to his master.

“What you propose to do, do quickly; I shall not reproach you—I shall blame myself alone for surrendering myself into your hands.”

El Sallem obeyed, but returned not; and our only answer was the sight of twenty-five armed negroes, who ranged themselves before our door. We were then decidedly prisoners!—how I deprecated the foolish curiosity which had so gratuitously drawn me into peril! The Drayhy had no fear of death; but constraint was insupportable to him,—he walked to and fro with rapid strides, like a lion before the bars of his cage, and at last broke out:—

“I am determined to make an end of the matter; I will speak to Ebn Sihoud and reproach him with his perfidy; I see that mildness and patience are unavailing, and I am resolved to die with dignity.”

Again he summoned El Sallem; and the moment he appeared, “Return to your master,” said he, “and inform him that by the faith of the Bedouins I demand the right of speaking to him: there will still be time to follow his own pleasure after he has heard me.”

The Wahabee granted an audience, and El Sallem introduced us. Arrived in his presence, the king left us standing, and made no return to our customary salutations.

“What do you want?” said he roughly.

The Drayhy, drawing himself up with dignity, replied:

“I am come to see you, O son of Sihoud, on the faith of your promises, and with a suite of only ten men: I command thousands of warriors. We are defenceless in your hands, you are in the centre of your power:—you may crush us like ashes; but know, that from the frontier of India, to the frontier of Nedgde, in Persia, in Bussora, in Mesopotamia, Hemad, the two Syrias, Galilee, and Horan, every man who wears the caftan will demand my blood at your hands, and will take vengeance for my death. If you are, as you pretend, the King of the Bedouins, how can you stoop to treachery? that is the vile practice of the Turks. Treachery is not for the strong, but for the weak or the cowardly. You who boast of your armies, and claim to hold your authority from God himself, if you would not tarnish your glory, restore me to my country, and openly contend with me by force of arms; for by abusing my confidence, you will dishonour yourself, render yourself an object of universal contempt, and occasion the ruin of your kingdom. I have said: now take your pleasure,—but you will one day repent it. I am only one among thousands; my death will not diminish my tribe, will not extinguish the race of Cholan. My son Sahen will supply my place: he remains to lead my Bedouins, and to avenge my blood. Be warned then, and open your eyes to the truth.”

During this harangue, the king stroked his beard, and gradually calmed himself. After a moment’s silence:

“Go in peace,” said he; “nothing but good will happen to you.”

We then retired, but were still guarded.

This successful beginning encouraged the courtiers, who had heard with terror the daring words of the Drayhy, and were astonished at the tyrant’s endurance of them. They began again to gather round us, and Abou el Sallem invited us to dinner. But I did not feel very confident on my own score; I thought indeed Ebn Sihoud might not venture upon extremities with the Drayhy, but feared lest he might ascribe his wrongs to my counsels, and sacrifice me, an obscure giaour, to his resentment. These apprehensions I imparted to the Drayhy, who reassured me, swearing that no attempt should reach me but over his corpse, and that I should first pass out through the gates of Darkisch.

The next day Ebn Sihoud sent for us, received us very graciously, and had coffee served to us. Presently he began to question the Drayhy about the persons who accompanied him. My turn is now coming, thought I, and my heart palpitated a little. I recovered myself, however; and when the Drayhy had named me, the king, turning towards me, said:

“You then are Abdallah the Christian?”

And on my answering in the affirmative,

“I see,” continued he, “that your actions are much greater than your stature.”

“A musket-ball,” I replied, “is small, yet it kills great men.”

He smiled.

“I find it very difficult,” he resumed, “to credit all that I hear of you: I would have you answer me frankly; what is the object of the alliance which you have been labouring so many years to accomplish?”

“Its object is very simple,” answered I. “We are desirous to unite all the Bedouins of Syria under the command of the Drayhy, to resist the Turks; you may perceive that we are by these means forming an impenetrable barrier between you and your enemies.”

“Very well,” said he; “but that being your object, why did you endeavour to destroy my armies before Hama?”

“Because,” I replied, “you were an obstacle to our projects. It was not for you, but for the Drayhy, that we were labouring. His power once established in Syria, Mesopotamia, and to the confines of Persia, we were willing to enter into alliance with you, and become by that means invulnerable in the possession of our entire liberty. Children of the same nation, we have but one cause to defend: for this purpose we came here to cement an indissoluble union with you. You received us in an offensive manner, and the Drayhy on his part has reproached you in offensive terms; but our intentions were sincere, and we have proved them so by confiding ourselves unarmed to your good faith.”

The king’s countenance cleared up more and more as I spoke; and when I had ceased, he said,

“I am satisfied.”

Then, turning to his slaves, he ordered three cups of coffee. I internally thanked God for inspiring me with words that proved so successful. The rest of the visit passed off well, and we retired well satisfied. In the evening we were invited by one of the ministers to a grand supper, and confidentially entertained with the cruelties of his master, and the universal execration in which he was held. His immense treasures were also a topic of discussion: those he had acquired by the pillage of Mecca are incalculable. From the earliest period of the Hegira, Mussulman princes, the caliphs, the sultans, and the kings of Persia, send annually to the tomb of the Prophet considerable presents in jewels, lamps, and candelabras of gold, precious stones, &c. besides the offerings from the commonalty of the faithful. The throne alone, the gift of a Persian king, composed of massive gold, inlaid with pearls and diamonds, was of inestimable value. Every prince on his accession sends a crown of gold, enriched with precious stones, to be suspended from the roofs of the chapel, and they were innumerable when Ebn Sihoud plundered it: one diamond alone, as large as a walnut, was considered invaluable. When we consider all that the lapse of centuries had accumulated on that one point, it is not surprising that the king should have carried away forty camels laden with jewellery, besides articles of massive gold and silver. Taking into calculation these inexhaustible treasures, and the tithes which he raises annually from his allies, I think he may be regarded as the richest monarch upon earth; especially as his expenses are very trifling,—as he rigorously prohibits luxury, and as in time of war each tribe furnishes subsistence for its armies, and bears all its own charges and losses, for which no compensation is ever recovered.

So delighted was I with the recovery of my liberty, that I spent all the next day in walking about and visiting every part of Darkisch and its environs. The town, built of white stone, contains seven thousand inhabitants, almost all kinsmen, ministers, or generals of Ebn Sihoud. No artizans are found there. The only trades exercised in the town are those of armourers and farriers, and few persons are engaged even in them. Nothing is to be purchased, not even food, for which every one depends on his own means,—that is to say, upon an estate or garden, producing corn, vegetables and fruits, and affording nourishment to a few fowls. Their numerous herds browse in the plain; and every Wednesday the inhabitants of Yemen and Mecca assemble to exchange their merchandise for cattle; a species of fair, which forms the sole commerce of the country. The women appear unveiled, but throw their black mantles over their faces,—a very disgraceful custom: they are generally ugly and excessively dark-complexioned. The gardens, situated in a charming valley near the town, on the opposite side to that by which we had entered, produce the finest fruits in the world,—bananas, oranges, pomegranates, figs, apples, melons, &c. intermixed with barley and maize,—and are carefully watered.

The next morning, the king again summoned us to him, received us very graciously, and questioned me closely respecting the various European sovereigns, especially Napoleon, for whom he testified great admiration. Nothing delighted him so much as the recital of the emperor’s conquests; and happily my frequent intercourse with M. Lascaris had furnished me with many details to entertain him with. At the account of every battle, he would exclaim—

“Surely this man is an emissary of God: I am persuaded he must be in intimate communion with his Creator, since he is thus singularly favoured.”

His affability towards me having gradually but rapidly increased, he suddenly changed the subject of conversation, and said at last,

“Abdallah, I desire to hear the truth from you: what is the basis of Christianity?”

Aware of the Wahabee’s prejudices, I trembled at this question; but mentally praying for divine inspiration,

“The basis of all religion, O son of Sihoud!” I said, “is belief in God. The Christians deem, as you do, that there is one only God, the Creator of the universe; who punishes the wicked, pardons the penitent, and recompenses the good: that He alone is great, merciful, and almighty.”

“Very well,” said he; “but how do you pray?”

I repeated the Pater-noster: he made his secretary write at my dictation, read and re-read it, and placed it inside his vest; then, pursuing his interrogatory, asked me to which side we turned to pray.

“We pray on all sides,” answered I, “for God is everywhere.”

“That opinion I entirely approve,” said he: “but you must have precepts as well as prayers.”

I repeated the ten commandments given by God to his prophet Moses, which he appeared to know, and continued his inquiries.

“And Jesus Christ,—in what light do you consider him?”

“As the Incarnate Word of God.”

“But he was crucified?”

“As the Divine Word, he could not die; but as man, he suffered for the sins of the wicked.”

“That is marvellous. And the sacred book which God inspired through Jesus Christ, is it revered among you?—do you exactly conform to its doctrine?”

“We preserve it with the greatest reverence, and in all things obey its injunctions.”

“The Turks,” said he, “have made a god of their prophet, and pray over his tomb like idolaters. Cursed be those who ascribe to the Creator an equal! may the sabre exterminate them!”

His invectives against the Turks increasing in vehemence, he proceeded to censure the use of the pipe, of wine, and of unclean meats; while I was too happy in having adroitly extricated myself from the discussion of dangerous questions, to presume to contradict him on insignificant points, and allowed him to believe me a despiser of that villanous herb, as he called tobacco; which drew a smile from the Drayhy, who was well aware that the present prohibition of it was the greatest possible privation to me, and that I availed myself of every opportunity which promised impunity to withdraw my beloved pipe from its concealment: that day, in particular, my longing for it was extreme, having talked much and drunk very strong Mocha coffee.