Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah Volume I Part 6

[p.68]and six deep, pierced in the wall of some house, it is divided into two compartments separated by a thin part.i.tion of wood, and communicating by a kind of arch cut in the boards. The inner box, germ of a back parlour, acts as store-room, as the pile of empty old baskets tossed in dusty confusion upon the dirty floor shows. In the front is displayed the stock in trade, a matting full of Persian tobacco and pipe-bowls of red clay, a palm-leaf bag containing vile coffee and large lumps of coa.r.s.e, whity-brown sugar wrapped up in browner paper.

On the shelves and ledges are rows of well-thumbed wooden boxes, labelled with the greatest carelessness, pepper for rhubarb, a.r.s.enic for Tafl, or wash-clay, and sulphate of iron where sal-ammoniac should be. There is also a square case containing, under lock and key, small change and some choice articles of commerce, damaged perfumes, bad antimony for the eyes, and pernicious rouge. And dangling close above it is a rusty pair of scales, ill poised enough for Egyptian Themis herself to use. To hooks over the shop-front are suspended reeds for pipes, tallow candles, dirty wax tapers and cigarette paper; instead of plate-gla.s.s windows and bra.s.s-handled doors, a ragged net keeps away the flies when the master is in, and the thieves when he goes out to recite in the Hasanayn Mosque his daily chapter "Ya Sin.[FN#29]" A wooden shutter which closes down at night-time, and by day two palm-stick stools intensely dirty and full of fleas, occupying the place of the Mastabah or earthen bench,[FN#30] which accommodated purchasers, complete the furniture of my preceptor's establishment.

[p.69]There he sits, or rather lies (for verily I believe he sleeps through three-fourths of the day), a thin old man about fifty-eight,[FN#31] with features once handsome and regular; a sallow face, shaven head, deeply wrinkled cheeks, eyes hopelessly bleared, and a rough grey beard ignorant of oil and comb. His turband, though large, is brown with wear; his coat and small-clothes display many a hole; and, though his face and hands must be frequently washed preparatory to devotion, still they have the quality of looking always unclean. It is wonderful how fierce and gruff he is to the little boys and girls who flock to him grasping farthings for pepper and sugar. On such occasions I sit admiring to see him, when forced to exertion, wheel about on his place, making a pivot of that portion of our organisation which mainly distinguishes our species from the other families of the Simiadae, to reach some distant drawer, or to pull down a case from its accustomed shelf. How does he manage to say his prayers, to kneel and to prostrate himself upon that two feet of ragged rug, scarcely sufficient for a British infant to lie upon? He hopelessly owns that he knows nothing of his craft, and the seats before his shop are seldom occupied. His great pleasure appears to be when the Haji and I sit by him a few minutes in the evening, bringing with us pipes, which he a.s.sists us to smoke, and ordering coffee, which he insists upon sweetening with a lump of sugar from his little store. There we make him talk and laugh, and occasionally quote a few lines strongly savouring of the jovial: we provoke him to long stories about the love borne him in his student-days by the great and holy Shaykh Abd al-Rahman, and the antipathy with which he was regarded by the equally

[p.70]great and holy Shakh Nasr al-Din, his memorable single imprisonment for contumacy,[FN#32] and the temperate but effective lecture, beginning with "O almost entirely dest.i.tute of shame!"

delivered on that occasion in presence of other under-graduates by the Right Reverend princ.i.p.al of his college. Then we consult him upon matters of doctrine, and quiz him tenderly about his powers of dormition, and flatter him, or rather his age, with such phrases as, "The water from thy hand is of the Waters of Zemzem;" or, "We have sought thee to deserve the Blessings of the Wise upon our undertakings." Sometimes, with interested motives it must be owned, we induce him to accompany us to the Hammam,[FN#33] where he insists upon paying the smallest sum, quarrelling with everything and

[p.71]everybody, and giving the greatest trouble. We are generally his only visitors; acquaintances he appears to have few, and no friends; he must have had them once, for he was rich, but is not so now, so they have fallen away from the poor old man.

When the Shaykh Mohammed sits with me, or I climb up into his little shop for the purpose of receiving a lesson from him, he is quite at his ease, reading when he likes, or making me read, and generally beginning each lecture with some such preamble as this[FN#34]:-

"Aywa! aywa! aywa![FN#35]"-Even so, even so, even so! we take refuge with Allah from Satan the Stoned! In the name of Allah, the Compa.s.sionate, the Merciful, and the Blessings of Allah upon our Lord Mohammed, and his Family and his Companions one and all! Thus saith the author, may Almighty Allah have mercy upon him! 'Section I. of chapter two, upon the orders of prayer,' &c."

He becomes fiercely sarcastic when I differ from him in opinion, especially upon a point of grammar, or the theology over which his beard has grown grey.

"Subhan' Allah! (Allah be glorified![FN#36]) What words are these? If thou be right, enlarge thy turband,[FN#37]" (i.e., set up as a learned man), "and throw away thy

[p.72]drugs, for verily it is better to quicken men's souls than to destroy their bodies, O Abdullah!"

Oriental-like, he revels in giving good counsel.

"Thou art always writing, O my brave![FN#38]" (this is said on the few occasions when I venture to make a note in my book), "what evil habit is this? Surely thou hast learned it in the lands of the Frank. Repent!"

He loathes my giving medical advice gratis.

"Thou hast two servants to feed, O my son! The doctors of Egypt never write A, B, without a reward. Wherefore art thou ashamed? Better go and sit upon the mountain[FN#39] at once" (i.e., go to the desert), "and say thy prayers day and night!"

And finally, he is prodigal of preaching upon the subject of household expenses.

"Thy servant did write down two pounds of flesh yesterday! What words are these, O he?[FN#40] Dost thou never say, 'Guard us, Allah, from the sin of extravagance?'"

He delights also in abruptly interrupting a serious subject when it begins to weigh upon his spirits. For instance,

Now the waters of ablution being of seven different kinds, it results that-hast thou a wife?-No?-Then verily thou must buy thee a female slave, O youth! This conduct is not right, and men will say of thee-Repentance: I take refuge with Allah[FN#41]-'of a truth his mouth watereth for the spouses of other Moslems.'"

[p.73]But sometimes he nods over a difficult pa.s.sage under my very eyes, or he reads it over a dozen times in the wantonness of idleness, or he takes what school-boys call a long "shot" most shamelessly at the signification. When this happens I lose my temper, and raise my voice, and shout, "Verily there is no power nor might save in Allah, the High, the Great!" Then he looks at me, and with pa.s.sing meekness whispers-

"Fear Allah, O man!"

[FN#1] The second is an imitative word, called in Arabic grammar Tabi'a, as "Zayd Bayd," "Zayd and others;" so used, it denotes contempt for drachms and similar parts of drug-craft.

[FN#2] This familiar abbreviation of Wali al-Din was the name a.s.sumed by the enterprising traveller, Dr. Wallin.

[FN#3] By the Indians called Bhang, the Persians Bang, the Hottentots Dakha, and the natives of Barbary Fasukh. Even the Siberians, we are told, intoxicate themselves by the vapour of this seed thrown upon red-hot stones. Egypt surpa.s.ses all other nations in the variety of compounds into which this fascinating drug enters, and will one day probably supply the Western world with "Indian hemp," when its solid merits are duly appreciated. At present in Europe it is chiefly confined, as cognac and opium used to be, to the apothecary's shelves.

Some adventurous individuals at Paris, after the perusal of Monte Christo, attempted an "orgie" in one of the cafes, but with poor success.

[FN#4] The Indian name of an Afghan, supposed to be a corruption of the Arabic Fat'han (a conqueror), or a derivation from the Hindustani paithna, to penetrate (into the hostile ranks). It is an honourable term in Arabia, where "Khurasani" (a native of Khorasan), leads men to suspect a Persian, and the other generic appellation of the Afghan tribes "Sulaymani," a descendant from Solomon, reminds the people of their proverb, "Sulaymani harami!"-"the Afghans are ruffians!"

[FN#5] For the simple reason that no Eastern power confers such an obligation except for value received. In old times, when official honour was not so rigorous as it is now, the creditors of Eastern powers and princ.i.p.alities would present high sums to British Residents and others for the privilege of being enrolled in the list of their subjects or servants. This they made profitable; for their claims, however exorbitant, when backed by a name of fear, were certain to be admitted, unless the Resident's conscience would allow of his being persuaded by weightier arguments of a similar nature to abandon his protege. It is almost needless to remark that nothing of the kind can occur in the present day, and at the same time that throughout the Eastern world it is firmly believed that such things are of daily occurrence. Ill fame descends to distant generations; whilst good deeds, if they blossom, as we are told, in the dust, are at least as short-lived as they are sweet.

[FN#6] A doctor, a learned man; not to be confounded with Hakim, a ruler.

[FN#7] It may be as well to remark that our slave laws require reform throughout the East, their severity, like Draco's Code, defeating their purpose. In Egypt, for instance, they require modification. Const.i.tute the offence a misdemeanour, not a felony, inflict a fine (say L100), half of which should be given to the informer, and make the imprisonment either a short one, or, what would be better still, let it be done away with, except in cases of non-payment; and finally, let the Consul or some other magistrate residing at the place have power to inflict the penalty of the law, instead of being obliged, as at present, to transmit offenders to Malta for trial. As the law now stands, our officials are unwilling to carry its rigours into effect; they therefore easily lend an ear to the standard excuse-ignorance-in order to have an opportunity of decently dismissing a man, with a warning not to do it again.

[FN#8] Yet at the time there was at Alexandria an acting Consul-General, to whom the case could with strict propriety have been referred.

[FN#9] Johann Gottlieb Fichte expressly declares that the scope of his system has never been explained by words, and that it even admits not of being so explained. To make his opinions intelligible, he would express them by a system of figures, each of which must have a known and positive value.

[FN#10] M. C. de Perceval (Arabic Grammar), and Lane (Mod. Egyptians, Chapter 8 et pa.s.sim), give specimens.

[FN#11] A monogram generally placed at the head of writings. It is the initial letter of "Allah," and the first of the alphabet, used from time immemorial to denote the origin of creation. "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last."

[FN#12] "Ala-rik," that is to say, fasting-the first thing in the morning.

[FN#13] The Almighty.

[FN#14] W'as-salam, i.e. adieu.

[FN#15] From M. Huc we learn that Jin-seng is the most considerable article of Manchurian commerce, and that throughout China there is no chemist's shop unprovided with more or less of it. He adds: "The Chinese report marvels of the Jin-seng, and no doubt it is for Chinese organisation a tonic of very great effect for old and weak persons; but its nature is too heating, the Chinese physicians admit, for the European temperament, already in their opinion too hot. The price is enormous, and doubtless its dearness contributes with a people like the Chinese to raise its celebrity so high. The rich and the Mandarins probably use it only because it is above the reach of other people, and out of pure ostentation." It is the princ.i.p.al tonic used throughout Central Asia, and was well known in Europe when Sarsaparilla arose to dispute with it the palm of popularity. In India, Persia, and Afghanistan, it is called chob-chini,-the "Chinese wood." The preparations are in two forms, 1. Sufuf, or powder; 2. Kahwah, or decoction. The former is compound of Radix China Qrient, with gum mastich and sugar-candy, equal parts; about a dram of this compound is taken once a day, early in the morning. For the decoction one ounce of fine parings is boiled for a quarter of an hour in a quart of water.

When the liquid a.s.sumes a red colour it is taken off the fire and left to cool. Furthermore, there are two methods of adhibiting the choh-chini: 1. Band; 2. Khola. The first is when the patient confines himself to a garden, listening to music, enjoying the breeze, the song of birds, and the bubbling of a flowing stream. He avoids everything likely to trouble and annoy him; he will not even open a letter, and the doctor forbids anyone to contradict him. Some grandees in central Asia will go through a course of forty days in every second year; it reminds one of Epicurus' style of treatment,-the downy bed, the garlands of flowers, the good wine, and the beautiful singing girl, and is doubtless at least as efficacious in curing as the sweet relaxation of Grafenberg or Malvern. So says Socrates, according to the Anatomist of Melancholy, "Oculum non curabis sine toto capite, Nec caput sine toto corpore, Nec totum corpus sine animo."

The "Khola" signifies that you take the tonic without other precautions than the avoiding acids, salt, and pepper, and choosing summer time, as cold is supposed to induce rheumatism.

[FN#16] Certain Lamas who, we learn from M. Huc, perform famous Sie-fa, or supernaturalisms, such as cutting open the abdomen, licking red-hot irons, making incisions in various parts of the body, which an instant afterwards leave no trace behind, &c., &c. The devil may "have a great deal to do with the matter" in Tartary, for all I know; but I can a.s.sure M. Huc, that the Rufa'i Darwayshes in India and the Sa'adiyah at Cairo perform exactly the same feats. Their jugglery, seen through the smoke of incense, and amidst the enthusiasm of a crowd, is tolerably dexterous, and no more.

[FN#17] A holy man. The word has a singular signification in a plural form, "honoris causa."

[FN#18] A t.i.tle literally meaning the "Master of Breath," one who can cure ailments, physical as well as spiritual, by breathing upon them-a practice well known to mesmerists. The reader will allow me to observe, (in self-defence, otherwise he might look suspiciously upon so credulous a narrator), that when speaking of animal magnetism, as a thing established, I allude to the lower phenomena, rejecting the discussion of all disputed points, as the existence of a magnetic Aura, and of all its unintelligibilities-Prevision, Levitation, Introvision, and other divisions of Clairvoyance.

[FN#19] In the generality, not in all. Nothing, for instance, can be more disgraceful to human nature than the state of praedial slavery, or serfs attached to the glebe, when Malabar was under the dominion of the "mild Hindu." And as a rule in the East it is only the domestic slaves who taste the sweets of slavery. Yet there is truth in Sonnini's terrible remark: "The severe treatment under which the slaves languish in the West Indies is the shameful prerogative of civilisation, and is unknown to those nations among whom barbarism is reported to hold sway." (Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt, vol. ii.) [FN#20] The author has forgotten to mention one of the princ.i.p.al advantages of slaves, namely, the prospect of arriving at the highest rank of the empire. The Pasha of the Syrian caravan with which I travelled to Damascus, had been the slave of a slave, and he is but a solitary instance of cases perpetually occuring in all Moslem lands.

"C'est un homme de bonne famille," said a Turkish officer in Egypt, "il a ete achete."

[FN#21] A "Barbarian" from Nubia and Upper Egypt. Some authorities, Mr.

Lane for instance, attribute the good reputation of these people to their superior cunning. Sonnini says, "they are intelligent and handy servants, but knaves." Others believe in them. As far as I could find out, they were generally esteemed more honest than the Egyptians, and they certainly possess a certain sense of honour unknown to their northern brethren. "Berberi" is a term of respect; "Masri" (corrupted from Misri) in the mouth of a Badawi or an Arab of Arabia is a reproach. "He shall be called an Egyptian," means "he shall belong to a degraded race."

[FN#22] Who becomes responsible, and must pay for any theft his protege may commit. Berberis, being generally "les Suisses" of respectable establishments, are expected to be honest. But I can a.s.sert from experience that, as a native, you will never recover the value of a stolen article without having recourse to the police. For his valuable security, the Shaykh demands a small fee (7 or 8 piastres), which, despite the urgent remonstrances of protector and protege, you deduct from the latter's wages. The question of pay is a momentous one; too much always spoils a good servant, too little leaves you without one.

An Egyptian of the middle cla.s.s would pay his Berberi about 40 piastres a month, besides board, lodging, some small perquisites, and presents on certain occasions. This, however, will not induce a man to travel, especially to cross the sea.

[FN#23] A man from the Sa'id or Upper Egypt.

[FN#24] A favourite way of annoying the Berberis is to repeat the saying, "we have eaten the clean, we have eaten the unclean,"-meaning, that they are by no means cunning in the difference between right and wrong, pure and impure. I will relate the origin of the saying, as I heard it differently, from Mansfield Parkyns, (Life in Abyssinia, chap.

31.) A Berberi, said my informant, had been carefully fattening a fine sheep for a feast, when his cottage was burned by an accident. In the ashes he found roasted meat, which looked tempting to a hungry man: he called his neighbours, and all sat down to make merry over the mishap; presently they came to the head, which proved to be that of a dog, some enemy having doubtless stolen the sheep and put the impure animal in its place. Whereupon, sadly perplexed, all the Berberis went to their priest, and dolefully related the circ.u.mstance, expecting absolution, as the offence was involuntary. "You have eaten filth," said the man of Allah. "Well," replied the Berberis, falling upon him with their fists, "filth or not, we have eaten it." The Berberi, I must remark, is the "Paddy" of this part of the world, celebrated for bulls and blunders.

[FN#25] The generic name given by Indians to English officials.

[FN#26] There are four kinds of tobacco smoked in Egypt. The first and best is the well-known Latakia, generally called "Jabali," either from a small seaport town about three hours' journey south of Latakia, or more probably because grown on the hills near the ancient Laodicea.

Pure, it is known by its blackish colour, fine shredding, absence of stalk, and an undescribable odour, to me resembling that of creosote; the leaf, too, is small, so that when made into cigars it must be covered over with a slip of the yellow Turkish tobacco called Bafra.

Except at the highest houses unadulterated Latakia is not to be had in Cairo. Yet, mixed as it is, no other growth exceeds it in flavour and fragrance. Miss Martineau smoked it, we are told, without inconvenience, and it differs from our s.h.a.g, Bird's-eye, and Returns, in degree, as does Chateau Margeau from a bottle of cheap strong Spanish wine. To bring out its flavour, the connoisseur smokes it in long pipes of cherry, jasmine, maple, or rosewood, and these require a servant skilled in the arts of cleaning and filling them. The best Jabali at Cairo costs about seven piastres the pound; after which a small sum must be paid to the Farram or chopper, who prepares it for use.

2nd. Suri (Tyrian), or Shami, or Suryani, grown in Syria, an inferior growth, of a lighter colour than Latakia, and with a greenish tinge; when cut, its value is about three piastres per pound. Some smokers mix this leaf with Jabali, which, to my taste, spoils the flavour of the latter without improving the former. The strongest kind, called Korani or Jabayl, is generally used for cigarettes; it costs, when of first-rate quality, about five piastres per pound.

3rd. Tumbak, or Persian tobacco, called Hijazi, because imported from the Hijaz, where everybody smokes it, and supposed to come from Shiraz, Kazerun, and other celebrated places in Persia. It is all but impossible to buy this article unadulterated, except from the caravans returning after the pilgrimage. The Egyptians mix it with native growths, which ruins its flavour and gives it an acridity that "catches the throat," whereas good tumbak never yet made a man cough. Yet the taste of this tobacco, even when second-rate, is so fascinating to some smokers that they will use no other. To be used it should be wetted and squeezed, and it is invariably inhaled through water into the lungs: almost every town has its favourite description of pipe, and these are of all kinds, from the pauper's rough cocoa-nut mounted with two reeds, to the prince's golden bowl set with the finest stones. Tumbak is cheap, costing about four piastres a pound, but large quant.i.ties of it are used.

4th. Hummi, as the word signifies, a "hot" variety of the tumbak, grown in Al-Yaman and other countries. It is placed in the tile on the buri or cocoa-nut pipe, unwetted, and has a very acrid flavour. Being supposed to produce intoxication, or rather a swimming in the head, hummi gives its votaries a bad name: respectable men would answer "no"

with rage if asked whether they are smoking it, and when a fellow tells you that he has seen better days, but that now he smokes Hummi in a buri, you understand him that his misfortunes have affected either his brain or his morality. Hence it is that this tobacco is never put into pipes intended for smoking the other kinds. The price of Hummi is about five piastres per pound.

[FN#26] A study essential to the learned, as in some particular portions of the Koran a misp.r.o.nunciation becomes a sin.

[FN#27] The Shafe'i, to quote but one point of similarity, abuse Yazid, the Syrian tyrant, who caused the death of the Imam Husayn: this expression of indignation is forbidden by the Hanafi doctors, who rigidly order their disciples to "judge not."

[FN#28] A systematic concealment of doctrine, and profession of popular tenets, technically called by the Shi'ahs "Takiyah:" the literal meaning of the word is "fear," or "caution."

[FN#29] One of the most esteemed chapters of the Koran, frequently recited as a Wazifah or daily task by religious Moslems in Egypt.

[FN#30] The Mastabah here is a long earthen bench plastered over with clay, and raised about two feet from the ground, so as to bring the purchaser's head to a level with the shop. Mohammed Ali ordered the people to remove them, as they narrowed the streets; their place is now supplied by "Kafas," cages or stools of wicker-work.

[FN#31] A great age in Lower Egypt, where but few reach the 12th l.u.s.tre. Even the ancients observed that the old Egyptians, despite their attention to diet and physic, were the most short-lived, and the Britons, despite their barbarism, the longest lived of men.

[FN#32] This is the "imposition" of Oxford and Cambridge.

[FN#33] The Hammam, or hot bath, being a kind of religious establishment, is one of the cla.s.s of things-so uncomfortably numerous in Eastern countries-left 'ala jud'ak, "to thy generosity."

Consequently, you are pretty sure to have something disagreeable there, which you would vainly attempt to avoid by liberality. The best way to deal with all such extortioners, with the Lawingi (undresser) of a Cairo Hammam, or the "jarvey" of a London Hansom, is to find out the fare, and never to go beyond it-never to be generous. The Hammam has been too often noticed to bear another description: one point, however, connected with it I must be allowed to notice. Mr. Lane (Modern Egyptians) a.s.serts that a Moslem should not pray nor recite the Koran in it, as the bath is believed to be a favourite resort of Jinnis (or genii). On the contrary, it is the custom of some sects to recite a Ruk'atayn (two-bow) prayer immediately after religious ablution in the hot cistern. This, however, is makruh, or improper without being sinful, to the followers of Abu Hanifah. As a general rule, throughout Al-Islam, the Farz (obligatory) prayers may be recited everywhere, no matter how impure the place may be: but those belonging to the cla.s.ses sunnat (traditionary) and nafilah (supererogatory) are makruh, though not actually unlawful, in certain localities. I venture this remark on account of the extreme accuracy of the work referred to. A wonderful contrast to the generality of Oriental books, it amply deserves a revision in the rare places requiring care.

[FN#34] Europeans so seldom see the regular old Shaykh, whose place is now taken by polite young men educated in England or France, that this scene may be new even to those who have studied of late years on the banks of the Nile.

[FN#35] This word is often used to signify simply "yes." It is corrupted from Ay wa'llahi, "Yes, by Allah." In pure Arabic "ay" or "I"

is synonymous with our "yes" or "ay"; and "Allah" in those countries enters somehow into every other phrase.

[FN#36] This is, of course, ironical: "Allah be praised for creating such a prodigy of learning as thou art!"

[FN#37] The larger the turband the greater are the individual's pretensions to religious knowledge and respectability of demeanour.

This is the custom in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, and many other parts of the Moslem world.

[FN#38] Ya gad'a, as the Egyptians p.r.o.nounce it, is used exactly like the "mon brave" of France, and our "my good man."

[FN#39] The "mountain" in Egypt and Arabia is what the "jungle" is in India. When informed that "you come from the mountain," you understand that you are considered a mere clodhopper: when a.s.serting that you will "sit upon the mountain," you hint to your hearers an intention of turning anchorite or magician.

[FN#40] Ya hu, a common interpellative, not, perhaps, of the politest description.

[FN#41] A religious formula used when compelled to mention anything abominable or polluting to the lips of a pious man.

[p.74]CHAPTER V.