Eothen, or, Traces of Travel Brought Home from the East Part 14

{4} The continual marriages of these people with the chosen beauties of Georgia and Circa.s.sia have overpowered the original ugliness of their Tatar ancestors.

{5} There is almost always a breeze either from the Marmora or from the Black Sea, that pa.s.ses along the course of the Bosphorus.

{6} The yashmak, you know, is not a mere semi-transparent veil, but rather a good substantial petticoat applied to the face; it thoroughly conceals all the features, except the eyes; the way of withdrawing it is by pulling it down.

{7} The "pipe of tranquillity" is a _tchibouque_ too long to be conveniently carried on a journey; the possession of it therefore implies that its owner is stationary, or at all events, that he is enjoying a long repose from travel.

{8} The Jews of Smyrna are poor, and having little merchandise of their own to dispose of, they are sadly importunate in offering their services as intermediaries: their troublesome conduct has led to the custom of beating them in the open streets. It is usual for Europeans to carry long sticks with them, for the express purpose of keeping off the chosen people. I always felt ashamed to strike the poor fellows myself, but I confess to the amus.e.m.e.nt with which I witnessed the observance of this custom by other people. The Jew seldom got hurt much, for he was always expecting the blow, and was ready to recede from it the moment it came: one could not help being rather gratified at seeing him bound away so nimbly, with his long robes floating out in the air, and then again wheel round, and return with fresh importunities.

{9} Marriages in the East are arranged by professed match-makers; many of these, I believe, are Jewesses.

{10} A Greek woman wears her whole fortune upon her person in the shape of jewels or gold coins; I believe that this mode of investment is adopted in great measure for safety's sake. It has the advantage of enabling a suitor to _reckon_ as well as to admire the objects of his affection.

{11} St. Nicholas is the great patron of Greek sailors. A small picture of him enclosed in a gla.s.s case is hung up like a barometer at one end of the cabin.

{12} Hanmer.

{13} ". . . ubi templum illi, centumque Sabaeo Thure calent arae, sertisque recentibus halant."

-aeneid, i, 415.

{14} The writer advises that none should attempt to read the following account of the late Lady Hester Stanhope except those who may already chance to feel an interest in the personage to whom it relates. The chapter (which has been written and printed for the reasons mentioned in the preface) is chiefly filled with the detailed conversation, or rather discourse, of a highly eccentric gentlewoman.

{15} Historically "_fainting_"; the death did not occur until long afterwards.

{16} I am told that in youth she was exceedingly sallow.

{17} This was my impression at the time of writing the above pa.s.sage, an impression created by the popular and uncontradicted accounts of the matter, as well as by the tenor of Lady Hester's conversation. I have now some reason to think that I was deceived, and that her sway in the desert was much more limited than I had supposed. She seems to have had from the Bedouins a fair five hundred pounds' worth of respect, and not much more.

{18} She spoke it, I dare say, in English; the words would not be the less effective for being spoken in an unknown tongue. Lady Hester, I believe, never learnt to speak the Arabic with a perfect accent.

{19} The proceedings thus described to me by Lady Hester as having taken place during her illness, were afterwards re-enacted at the time of her death. Since I wrote the words to which this note is appended, I received from Warburton an interesting account of the heroine's death, or rather the circ.u.mstances attending the discovery of the event; and I caused it to be printed in the former editions of this work. I must now give up the borrowed ornament, and omit my extract from my friend's letter, for the rightful owner has reprinted it in "The Crescent and the Cross." I know what a sacrifice I am making, for in noticing the first edition of this book reviewers turned aside from the text to the note, and remarked upon the interesting information which Warburton's letter contained. [This narrative is reproduced in an Appendix to the present edition.]

{20} In a letter which I afterwards received from Lady Hester, she mentioned incidentally Lord Hardwicke, and said that he was "the kindest-hearted man existing-a most manly, firm character. He comes from a good breed-all the Yorkes excellent, with _ancient_ French blood in their veins." The under scoring of the word "ancient" is by the writer of the letter, who had certainly no great love or veneration for the French of the present day: she did not consider them as descended from her favourite stock.

{21} It is said that deaf people can hear what is said concerning themselves, and it would seem that those who live without books or newspapers know all that is written about them. Lady Hester Stanhope, though not admitting a book or newspaper into her fortress, seems to have known the way in which M. Lamartine mentioned her in his book, for in a letter which she wrote to me after my return to England she says, "Although neglected, as Monsieur le M." (referring, as I believe, to M.

Lamartine) "describes, and without books, yet my head is organised to supply the want of them as well as acquired knowledge."

{22} I have been recently told that this Italian's pretensions to the healing art were thoroughly unfounded. My informant is a gentleman who enjoyed during many years the esteem and confidence of Lady Hester Stanhope: his adventures in the Levant were most curious and interesting.

{23} The Greek Church does not recognise this as the true sanctuary, and many Protestants look upon all the traditions by which it is attempted to ascertain the holy places of Palestine as utterly fabulous. For myself, I do not mean either to affirm or deny the correctness of the opinion which has fixed upon this as the true site, but merely to mention it as a belief entertained without question by my brethren of the Latin Church, whose guest I was at the time. It would be a great aggravation of the trouble of writing about these matters if I were to stop in the midst of every sentence for the purpose of saying "so called" or "so it is said,"

and would besides sound very ungraciously: yet I am anxious to be literally true in all I write. Now, thus it is that I mean to get over my difficulty. Whenever in this great bundle of papers or book (if book it is to be) you see any words about matters of religion which would seem to involve the a.s.sertion of my own opinion, you are to understand me just as if one or other of the qualifying phrases above mentioned had been actually inserted in every sentence. My general direction for you to construe me thus will render all that I write as strictly and actually true as if I had every time lugged in a formal declaration of the fact that I was merely expressing the notions of other people.

{24} "Vino d'oro."

{25} Shereef.

{26} Tennyson.

{27} The other three cities held holy by Jews are Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safet.

{28} Hadj a pilgrim.

{29} Milnes cleverly goes to the French for the exact word which conveys the impression produced by the voice of the Arabs, and calls them "un peuple _criard_."

{30} There is some semblance of bravado in my manner of talking about the plague. I have been more careful to describe the terrors of other people than my own. The truth is, that during the whole period of my stay at Cairo I remained thoroughly impressed with a sense of my danger.

I may almost say, that I lived in perpetual apprehension, for even in sleep, as I fancy, there remained with me some faint notion of the peril with which I was encompa.s.sed. But fear does not necessarily damp the spirits; on the contrary, it will often operate as an excitement, giving rise to unusual animation, and thus it affected me. If I had not been surrounded at this time by new faces, new scenes, and new sounds, the effect produced upon my mind by one unceasing cause of alarm might have been very different. As it was, the eagerness with which I pursued my rambles among the wonders of Egypt was sharpened and increased by the sting of the fear of death. Thus my account of the matter plainly conveys an impression that I remained at Cairo without losing my cheerfulness and buoyancy of spirits. And this is the truth, but it is also true, as I have freely confessed, that my sense of danger during the whole period was lively and continuous.

{31} Anglice for "je le sais." These answers of mine, as given above, are not meant as specimens of mere French, but of that fine, terse, nervous, _Continental English_ with which I and my compatriots make our way through Europe. This language, by-the-bye, is one possessing great force and energy, and is not without its literature, a literature of the very highest order. Where will you find more st.u.r.dy specimens of downright, honest, and n.o.ble English than in the Duke of Wellington's "French" despatches?

{32} The import of the word "compromised," when used in reference to contagion, is explained on page 18.

{33} It is said, that when a Mussulman finds himself attacked by the plague he goes and takes a bath. The couches on which the bathers recline would carry infection, according to the notions of the Europeans.

Whenever, therefore, I took the bath at Cairo (except the first time of my doing so) I avoided that part of the luxury which consists in being "put up to dry" upon a kind of bed.

{34} Mehemet Ali invited the Mamelukes to a feast, and murdered them whilst preparing to enter the banquet hall.

{35} It is not strictly lawful to sell _white_ slaves to a Christian.

{36} The difficulty was occasioned by the immense exertions which the Pasha was making to collect camels for military purposes.

{37} Herodotus, in an after age, stood by with his note-book, and got, as he thought, the exact returns of all the rations served out.

{38} See Milman's "History of the Jews," first edition.

{39} This is an appellation not implying blame, but merit; the "lies"

which it purports to affiliate are feints and cunning stratagems, rather than the baser kind of falsehoods. The expression, in short, has nearly the same meaning as the English word "Yorkshireman."

{40} The 29th of April.

{41} These are the names given by the Prophet to certain chapters of the Koran.

{43} It was after the interview which I am talking of, and not from the Jews themselves, that I learnt this fact.

{44} An enterprising American traveller, Mr. Everett, lately conceived the bold project of penetrating to the University of Oxford, and this notwithstanding that he had been in his infancy (they begin very young those Americans) an Unitarian preacher. Having a notion, it seems, that the amba.s.sadorial character would protect him from insult, he adopted the stratagem of procuring credentials from his Government as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of her Britannic Majesty; he also wore the exact costume of a Trinitarian. But all his contrivances were vain; Oxford disdained, and rejected, and insulted him (not because he represented a swindling community, but) because that his infantine sermons were strictly remembered against him; the enterprise failed.

{45} The rose-trees which I saw were all of the kind we call "damask"; they grow to an immense height and size.

{46} A dragoman never interprets in terms the courteous language of the East.

{47} A t.i.tle signifying transcender or conqueror of Satalieh.

{48} Spelt "Attalia" and sometimes "Adalia" in English books and maps.

{49} While Lady Hester Stanhope lived, although numbers visited the convent, she almost invariably refused admittance to strangers. She a.s.signed as a reason the use which M. de Lamartine had made of his interview. Mrs. T., who pa.s.sed some weeks at Djouni, told me, that when Lady Hester read his account of this interview, she exclaimed, "It is all false; we did not converse together for more than five minutes; but no matter, no traveller hereafter shall betray or forge my conversation."

The author of "Eothen," however, was her guest, and has given us an interesting account of his visit in his brilliant volume.