pmrnmrn^mmmammm^mm^msmi
 
 
 NV
 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 
 
 I'HKOUGH 
 
 CENTRAL ARABIA
 
 Kot in vain the nation-strivings, nor by chance the currents flow ; 
 Error-mazed, yet truth-dircctf d, to their certain goal they go 
 
 Tey'yfiiyat el Kobra', by Ebn-el-FaHID 

 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF 
 A YEAR'S JOURNEY THROUGH 
 
 CENTRAL AND EASTERN 
 
 ARABIA 
 
 (1862-63) 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM GIFFORD PALGRAVE 
 
 LATE OF THE EIGHTH REGIMENT BOMBAY N. 1. 
 
 oiilKlffW*"^ 
 
 FIFTH EDITIOX, IX ONE VOLUME 
 
 ITonbon 
 M A C M I L L A N AND CO. 

 
 LONDON : IKINTKD TV 
 
 SIVn IM\ CrtlllE AND CI'. KHW-STKl.tT SQUARE 
 
 ANU I'AKLIAMKNI M KEF.T
 
 TO THE MEMORY 
 
 OF 
 
 CARSTEN NIEBUHR 
 
 IN HONOUR OF THAT 
 
 INTELLIGENCE AND COURAGE 
 
 WHICH FIRST OPENED ARABIA TO EUROIE 
 
 3 usjjcttfullg gcbttate 
 
 THE RESULTS OF A JOURNEY 
 ITSELF INSPIRED BY THAT GREAT MEMORY
 
 PREFACE 
 
 A JOURNEY undertaken through Central and Eastern 
 Arabia, with the purpose of observing rather than of 
 pubHshing, put me in possession of certain details upon 
 those parts of the great Peninsula, which may be worth 
 recording. It is true that the circumstances of my 
 visit, and the restraints inseparable from native dis- 
 guise, abridged antiquarian research, impeded botanical 
 or geological enquiry, and deprived me of the means 
 for exact and scientific investigation ; for instance, of 
 the customary requisites for verifying longitudes and 
 latitudes, or determining the degrees of heat and cold, of 
 moisture and aridity. Worse yet ! I was at times unable 
 to take down a single note, much less could I display 
 a sketching book or photographic apparatus, however 
 fair the landscape and tempting the sun ; and hence my 
 pen must unaided do the work of the pencil as well as 
 its own, while my reader's imagination may help to 
 supply the rest. Why this was so, a few pages of the 
 narrative will make clear. On the other hand long 
 years, the best part of my life indeed, passed in the 
 East, familiarity with the Arabic language till it became 
 to me almost a mother tongue, and experience in the 
 ways and manners of " Semitic " nations, to give them 
 their general or symbolic name, supplied me with ad- 
 vantages counterbalancing in some degree the draw- 
 backs enumerated above. Besides, the men of the land,
 
 vi Preface 
 
 rather than the land of the men, were my main object 
 uf research and principal study. My attention was 
 directed to the moral, intellectual, and political con- 
 ditions of living Arabia, rather than to the physical 
 phenomena of the country, — of great indeed, but, to 
 me, of inferior interest. Meanwhile whatever observa- 
 tions on antiquity and science, on plants and stones, 
 geography and meteorology I was able to make, I shall 
 give, regretting only their inevitable imperfection. 
 
 In the hard attempt to render Arab orthography by 
 English letters, I have for the most part followed the 
 system adopted by Lane in his delightful " Modern 
 Egyptians," as the nearest approximation intelligible to 
 English readers. However, in representing the initial 
 " Jeem " by " Dj " rather than by " j " (as in the middle 
 or at the end of a word), I have quitted our countryman 
 for the universal foreign method; nor have I generally 
 thought it necessary to accent vowels, contenting myself 
 with an occasional mark (~) of length, where uniformity 
 of pronunciation appeared to require it. The few maps 
 annexed, though without pretension to that exact nicety 
 which sextants and measuring-lines can alone afford, 
 may serve in some measure to illustrate the leading fea- 
 tures and divisions ol the principal provinces, towns, and 
 country in general. 
 
 In the present volume, my aim has been to offer the 
 reader the personal narration of my adventures in Arabia. 
 For fuller details on the religion, politics, and customs 
 of the inhabitants, he is referred to the original work. 
 
 TrEBIZOND: .f/;-// 29, 1SC7
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I THE DESERT AND ITS INHABITANTS 
 
 II THE DJOWF 
 
 Ill THE NEFOOD AND DJEEEL SHOMER 
 
 IV LIFE IN HA'YEL .... 
 
 V JOURNEY FROM HA'YEL TO BEREYDAH 
 
 VI BEREYDAH ..... 
 
 VII FROM BEREYDAH TO RI'AD 
 
 VIII ri'ad 
 
 IX 1,1 FE AT ri'ad THE WAHHABEE DYNASTY 
 
 X COURT OF ri'ad — JOURNEY TO jHOFHOOF 
 
 XI FROM HOFHOOF TO KATEEF . 
 
 XII BAHREYN, KATAR, AND 'OMAN 
 
 XIII THE COASTS OF 'OMAN A SHIPWRECK . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I 
 
 6i 
 
 99 
 131 
 15S 
 194 
 227 
 276 
 302 
 
 349 
 379 
 396
 
 MAP AND PLANS 
 PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR . . , To face titk-page 
 
 MAP OF ARABIA „ page I 
 
 PLAN OF HA'YEL „ „ 99 
 
 Ri'-^P „ „ 227 
 
 „ THE PALACE „ „ 302 
 
 „ HOFHOOF „ „ 349
 
 J?
 
 ■f , '\f,,''l,.<^, •■■'/••-■ 
 
 A-^or* "^ -s- 
 
 MAP 
 
 A Pi ASIA 
 
 W C PALCRAVE- S 
 
 i„..in.^v in iar.2 - 1. 1 
 
 \> 
 
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 I v 
 
 
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 v,'l 
 
 N 
 
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 G r r 
 
 1 
 
 
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 14 ^ 
 
 
 T^Cl 

 
 JOURNEY AND RESIDENCE 
 
 IN 
 
 CENTRAL AND EASTERN ARABIA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The Desert and its Inhabitants 
 
 But I hold the gray barbarian lower than the Christian child. — A. Tennyson 
 
 Departure from Ma'dn — Our Bedouin Companions — Oitr own Equipment 
 and Disguise — Wells of Wokba — Five days of Stony Desert — Mode of 
 Travelling — First N^rcus of Teldl-ebn-Rasheed — Wells — Approach to 
 Wadi Serhdn — Hills — Setnoom — Vitw of the Desert — Its Change at 
 Wadi Serhdn — Sherarat Enca77ipment — Bedouin Hospitality and Conver- 
 sation — Their Social Condition — Sa?nh a7id Mesaa^ — Bedouin Wars — 
 Route of Wadi Serhdn: Sand-hills and Ghacia — Remarks on the Camel 
 — ^Azzdm Sherarat of Ald'gooa' — Change of Guides — Route to Djowf: 
 Ostriches, Scorpions — Djebal-el-Djowf : Village of Djoon — First Meeting 
 •with the Men of Djoraf— Gorges of the Valley. 
 
 yii Once for all let us attempt to acquire a fairly correct and 
 comprehensive knowledge of the Arabian Peninsula, With its 
 coasts we are already in great measure acquainted ; several of 
 its maritime provinces have been, if not thoroughly, at least 
 sufficiently, explored ; Yemen and Hejaz, Mecca and Medinah, 
 are no longer mysteries to us, nor are we wholly without in- 
 formation on the districts of Hadramaut and 'Oman. But of 
 the interior of the vast region, of its plains and mountains, its 
 tribes and cities, of its governments and institutions, of its 
 inhabitants, their ways and customs, of their social condition, 
 how far advanced in civilization or sunk in barbarism, what do 
 we as yet really know, save from accounts necessarily wanting 
 in fulness and precision % It is time to fill up this blank in the 
 map of Asia, and this, at whatever risks, we will now endeavour; 
 either the land before us shall be our tomb, or we will traverse 
 
 B
 
 2 TJic Desert ami its Inhabitants [Cn^?. i 
 
 it in its fullest breadth, and know wliat it contains from shore 
 to shore. Vestigia nulla retrorsum.'' 
 
 Such were my thoughts, and such, more or less, I should 
 suppose, those of my companion, when we found ourselves at 
 fall of night without the eastern gate of Ma'an, while the Arabs, 
 our guides and fellow-travellers, filled their water-skins from a 
 gushing source hard by the town walls, and adjusted the 
 saddles and the burdens of their camels, in preparation for the 
 long journey that lay before us and them. It was the evening 
 of the 1 6th June 1862 ; the largest stars were already visible in 
 the deep blue depths of a cloudless sky, while the crescent 
 moon, high to the west, shone as she shines in those heavens, 
 and promised us assistance for some hours of our night march. 
 We were soon mounted on our meagre long-necked beasts, "as 
 if," according to the expression of an Arab poet, " we and our 
 men were at mast-heads," and now we set our faces to the east. 
 Behind us lay, in a mass of dark outline, the walls and castle of 
 Ma'an, its houses and gardens, and farther back in the distance 
 the high and barren range of the Sheraa' mountains, merging 
 into the coast chain of Hejaz. Before and around us extended 
 a wide and level plain, blackened over with countless pebbles 
 of basalt and flint, except where the moonbeams gleamed white 
 on little intervening patches of clear sand, or on yellowish 
 streaks of withered grass, the scanty product of the winter rains, 
 and now dried into hay. Over all a deep silence, which even 
 our Arab companions seemed fearful of breaking ; when they 
 spoke it was in a half whisper and in few words, while the 
 noiseless tread of our camels sped stealthily but rapidly through 
 the gloom, without disturbing its stillness. 
 
 Some precaution was not indeed wholly out of place, for 
 that stage of the journey on which we were now entering was 
 anything but safe. We were bound for the Djowf, the nearest 
 inhabited district of Central Arabia, its outlying station, in fact. 
 Now the intervening tract offered for the most part the double 
 danger of robbers and of thirst, of marauding bands and of 
 the summer season. The distance itself to be traversed was 
 near two hundred miles in a straight line, and unavoidable 
 circumstances were likely to render it much longer. For the 
 wells, the landmarks of the traveller, and according to which he 
 needs must shape his course, arc not ordinarily arranged in
 
 Chap. I] Md dii to tJie Djozvf 3 
 
 lines of mathematical straightness ; and, besides, the necessity 
 of avoiding districts frequented by hostile or suspected tribes 
 often obliges the Bedouin to adopt some unaccustomed and 
 circuitous route. 
 
 Nor was the society itself that we were actually in of a nature 
 much to reassure the mind, especially at the outset of such a 
 journey. On my own comrade, indeed — a native of the village 
 of Zaiileh, in the plains of Ccelo-Syria — I could fully rely. 
 Hardy, young, and enterprising, he belonged to a locality whose 
 inhabitants are accustomed to danger, while the contempt with 
 which they look down on the neighbouring populations renders 
 them habitually less susceptible than most of their countrymen 
 to the ordinary impressions of fear in a strange land. But our 
 Bedouin companions were a strange set : they were three in 
 number; their leader, Salim-el-'Atneh, belonged to the Howeytat 
 Arabs, a numerous and energetic tribe inhabiting the mountain 
 district from Kerak on the Dead Sea shore to Ma'an, Our 
 friend himself was a member of a powerful family among them, 
 and near akin to the chiefs of the clan ; but he had rendered 
 himself so unfortunately conspicuous by repeated acts of 
 robbery and pillage, with a supplementary murder now and 
 then, that his position was at present hardly better than that of 
 an outlaw. Lean in make and swarthy of features, his thin 
 compressed lips implied settled resolution and daring pur- 
 pose, while the calmness of his gi-ey eye showed -a cool and 
 thoughtful disposition, not without some possible intimation 
 of treachery. 
 
 However, whatever drawbacks might exist in his outward 
 appearance, or in his too well known personal history, his good 
 sense and manly character afforded some ground of confidence 
 in his present fidelity ; a brave and foresighted man, however 
 unprincipled, may always be trusted to a certain extent. But 
 I can hardly say so much for his two companions, 'Alee and 
 Djordee, Sherarat Bedouins, and utter barbarians in appearance 
 no less than in character, wild, fickle, reckless, and the capacity 
 of whose intellect was as scanty as its cultivation. Indeed, 
 Salim himself more than once advised us to avoid all familiarity 
 with them, lest it should diminish the involuntary awe of the 
 savage for civilized man. 
 
 A long and very dirty shirt, reaching nearly to the ankles, a
 
 4 TJic Desert and its InJiabitants [Chap. i 
 
 black cotton handkerchief over the head, fastened on by a twist 
 of camel's hair, a tattered cloak, striped white and brown, a 
 leather girdle, much the worse for wear, from which dangled a 
 rusty knife, a long-barrelled and cumbrous matchlock, a yet 
 longer sharp-pointed spear, a cartouche-belt, broken and 
 coarsely patched up with thread — such was the accoutrement 
 of tliese worthies, and such, indeed, is the ordinary Bedouin 
 guise on a journey. Salim's own rigging out was of the same 
 description^ only the respective items were of a somewhat better 
 quality. 
 
 Myself and my companion were dressed like ordinary middle- 
 class travellers of inner Syria ; an equipment in which we had 
 already made our way from Gaza on the sea-coast to Ma'an 
 without much remark or unseasonable questioning from those 
 whom we fell in with, while we traversed a country so often 
 described already by Pococke, Laborde, and downwards, under 
 the name of Arabia Petrsea, that it would be superfluous for 
 me to enter into any new account of it in the present work. 
 Our dress then consisted partly of a long stout blouse of Eg)'^p- 
 tian hemp, under which, unlike our Bedouin fellow-travellers, 
 we indulged in the luxury of the loose cotton drawers common 
 in the East, while our coloured head-kerchiefs, though simple 
 enough, were girt by 'akkals or head-bands of some pre- 
 tension to elegance ; the loose red leather boots of the country 
 completed our toilet. 
 
 But in the large travelling-sacks at our camels' sides were 
 contained suits of a more elegant appearance, carefully con- 
 cealed from Bedouin gaze, but destined for appearance when 
 we should reach better inhabited and more civilized districts. 
 This reserve toilet numbered articles like the following : 
 coloured overdresses, the Syrian combaz, handkerchiefs where 
 silk stripes relieved the plebeian cotton, and girdles of good 
 material and tasteful colouring ; such clothes being absolutely 
 requisite to maintain our assumed character. Mine was that 
 of a native travelling doctor, a quack if you will ; and ac- 
 cordingly a tolerable dress was indispensable for the credit of 
 my medical practice. My comrade, who in a general way 
 jjassed for my brother-in-law, appeared sometimes as a retail 
 merchant, such as not unfrequently visit these countries, and 
 sometimes as pupil or associate in ray assumed profession.
 
 Chap. I] Mcidn to the DJozi'f 5 
 
 Our pharmacopoeia consisted of a few but well selected and 
 efficacious drugs, inclosed in small tight-fitting tin boxes, stowed 
 away for the present in the ample recesses of our travelling- 
 bags ; about fifty of these little cases contained wherewithal to 
 kill or cure half the sick men of Arabia. Medicines of a liquid 
 form had been as much as possible omitted, not only from the 
 difficulty of ensuring them a safe transport amid so rough a 
 mode of journeying, but also on account of the rapid evapora- 
 tion unavoidable in this dry and burning climate. In fact two 
 or three small bottles, whose contents had seemed to me of 
 absolute necessity, soon retained nothing save their labels to 
 indicate what they had held, in spite of air-tight stoppers and 
 double coverings. I record this, because the hint may be useful 
 to any one who should be inclined to embark in similar guise 
 on the same adventures. 
 
 Some other objects requisite in medical practice, two or three 
 European books for my own private use, and kept carefully 
 secret from Arab curiosity, with a couple of Esculapian treatises 
 in good Arabic, intended for professional ostentation, com- 
 pleted this part of our fitting-out. But besides these, an ample 
 provision of cloth, handkerchiefs, glass necklaces, pipe-bowls, 
 and the like, for sale in whatever localities might not off'er 
 sufficient facility for the healing art, filled up our saddle-bags 
 well nigh to bursting. Last, but not least, two large sacks of 
 coffee, the sheet-anchor and main hope of our commerce, 
 formed alone a sufficient load for a vigorous camel. And now 
 to our march once more. 
 
 Several hours of a rapid trot had already borne us far from 
 Ma'an, and the reddening moonlight was almost faded from the 
 west, when our guides halted on a little patch of dry grass amid 
 the black and stony plain, and after interchanging a few words, 
 made the camels kneel down, discharged them of their burdens, 
 and then turned them loose to graze at will, while one of the band 
 kept watch, and the rest lay down for a few hours' sleep near the 
 baggage, which we had piled up close by : it was, however, a 
 mere nap, and the first clear streak of light had hardly appeared 
 in the east below the silvery morning star, when we were aroused 
 to relade our beasts, and remount for our onward journey. 
 
 We had ridden many a weary mile ; it was now about two 
 hours before noon, and the heat was most oppressive, when we
 
 6 TJiC Desert and its Inhabitants tchap. r 
 
 saw before us some scattered and dwarfish trees, indications 
 of the waters of Wokba, towards which our course had been 
 directed. While we were yet at some distance from the spot, 
 one of our Bedouins urged forward his camel to a sort of canter, 
 and set off in a circuitous line to assure himself that no indi- 
 viduals of a hostile tribe were lurking in the neighbourhood of 
 the wells. But friend or enemy, nobody was there, all was 
 silent ; and the ruined walls of an abandoned village, scattered 
 up and down on the gravelly slopes and by the dry bed of a 
 winter torrent, looked hopelessly desolate in the steady glare of 
 noon. Here several shallow pits, some half choked with stones, 
 others offering a scanty supply of muddy and rather brackish 
 water, presented themselves close by the thorny trees. From 
 these wells we now filled the water-skins, an operation per- 
 formed all the more carefully and thoroughly, since no other 
 water whatever was to be had for five full days' journey ahead, 
 put to it what speed we might ; a serious consideration, 
 especially in the latter days of June. 
 
 When all this was finished, we remounted, and set our 
 camels' heads once more due east, while I turned to look 
 round on the wide landscape. The blue range of Sheraa' was 
 yet visible, though fast sinking in the distance, while before us 
 and on either hand extended one weary plain in a black 
 monotony of lifeles.sness. Only on all sides lakes of mirage 
 lay mocking the eye with their clear and deceptive outline, 
 whilst here and there some dark basaltic rock, cropping up at 
 random through the level, was magnified by the refraction of 
 the heated atmosphere into the semblance of a fantastic crag 
 or overhanging mountain. Dreary land of death, in which even 
 the face of an enemy were almost a 'relief amid such utter 
 solitude. But for five whole days the little dried-up lizard of 
 the plain, that looks as if he had never a drop of moisture in 
 his ugly body, and the jerboaa', or field-rat of Arabia, were 
 the only living creatures to console our view. 
 
 It was a march during which we might have almost repented 
 of our enterprise, had such a sentiment been any longer pos- 
 sible or availing. Day after day found us urging our camels to 
 their utmost jjace, for fifteen or sixteen hours together out of 
 the twenty-four, under a well-nigh vertical sun, which the 
 Ethiopians of Herodotus might reasonably be excused for
 
 Chap. I] MadU tO tJlC Djozvf 7 
 
 cursing, with nothing either in the landscape around or in tlie 
 companions of our way to reHeve for a moment the eye or the 
 mind. Then an insufficient halt for rest or sleep, at most of 
 two or three hours, soon interrupted by the oft-repeated admo- 
 nition, " if we linger here we all die of thirst," sounding in 
 our ears ; and then to remount our jaded beasts and push 
 them on through the dark night, amid the constant probability 
 of attack and plunder from roving marauders. For myself, I 
 was, to mend matters, under the depressing influence of a 
 tertian fever contracted at Ma'an, and what between weariness 
 and low spirits, began to imagine seriously that no waters re- 
 mained before us except the waters of death for us and of 
 oblivion for our friends. The days wore by like a delirious 
 dream, till we were often almost unconscious of the ground we 
 travelled over and of the journey on which we were engaged. 
 One only herb appeared at our feet to give some appearance of 
 variety and life ; it was the bitter and poisonous colocynth of 
 the desert. 
 
 Our order of road was this. Long before dawn we were on 
 our way, and paced it till the sun, having attained about half- 
 way between the horizon and the zenith, assigned the moment 
 of alighting for our morning meal. This our Bedouins always 
 took good care should be in some hollow or low ground, for 
 concealment's sake \ in every other respect we had ample liberty 
 of choice, for one patch of black pebbles with a little sand and 
 withered grass between was just like another ; shade or shelter, 
 or anything like them, was wholly out of the question in such 
 " nakedness of the land." We then alighted, and my com- 
 panion and myself would pile up the baggage into a sort of wall, 
 to afford a half-screen from the scorching sun-rays, and here 
 recline awhile. Next came the culinary preparations, in perfect 
 accordance with our provisions, which were simple enough ; 
 namely, a bag of coarse flour mixed with salt, and a few dried 
 dates ; there was no third item on the bill of fare. We now 
 took a few handfuls of flour, and one of the Bedouins kneaded 
 it with his unwashed hands or dirty bit of leather, pouring over 
 it a little of the dingy water contained m the skins, and then 
 patted out this exquisite paste into a large round cake, about 
 an inch thick, and five or six inches across. Meanwhile 
 another had lighted a fire of dry grass, colocynth roots, and
 
 8 TJit Desert and its Inhabitants [Chap. i 
 
 dried camel's dung, till he had prepared a bed of glowing 
 embers ; among these the cake was now cast, and immediately- 
 covered up with hot ashes, and so left for a (ew minutes, then 
 taken out, turned, and covered again, till at last half-kneaded, 
 half-raw, half-roasted, and burnt all round, it was taken out to 
 be broken up between the hungry band, and eaten scalding hot, 
 before it should cool into an indescribable leathery substance, 
 cajiable of defying the keenest appetite. A draught of dingy- 
 water was its sole but suitable accompaniment. 
 
 The meal ended, we had again without loss of time to resume 
 our way from mirage to mirage, till " slowly flaming over all, 
 from heat to heat, the day decreased," and about an hour before 
 sunset we would stagger off our camels as best we might, to 
 prepare an evening feast of precisely the same description as 
 that of the forenoon, or more often, for fear lest the smoke of 
 our fire should give notice to some distant rover, to content 
 ourselves with dry dates, and half an hour's rest on the sand. 
 At last our dates, like Esop's bread sack, or that of Beyhas, his 
 Arab prototype, came to an end ; and then our supper was a 
 soldier's one ; what that is my military friends will know ; but 
 grit and pebbles excepted, there Avas no bed in our case. After 
 which, to remount, and travel on by moon or star light, till a 
 little before midnight we would lie down for just enough sleep 
 to tantalize, not refresh. 
 
 "Wilt thou go on with mel" gentle reader, for an Arab trip? 
 For myself, I confess that the remembrance of that exquisit-e 
 little tale entitled the " Sleeping Beauty," by a friend, if he %vill 
 allow me so to call him, whom to quote is to name, and of the 
 moral therein contained — though its author archly denies its 
 having any — did much to invigorate me on this and on similar 
 occasions ; it's " the many fail, the one succeeds," and the " trust 
 to light on something fair," kept up my courage, and thus may 
 be fairly said to have " hooked it to some useful end," though 
 perhaps not precisely the one intended by Mr. Tennyson. But 
 my reader, like myself, must labour yet awhile through the 
 difficulties of this desert "hedge," till he breaks in on the fair 
 one in all her beauty, if, like the prince, his courage does not 
 fail him ; better things lie before us in the next chapter. 
 
 But in addition to what encouragement my comrade and 
 myself could gather from memory and inner thought, our
 
 Chap. I] MudU tO tJlC Djoii'f 9 
 
 Bedouin companions too cheered us ever and anon, by assuring 
 us that although this hasty manner of travelhng was absolutely 
 necessary in a land alike beset by drought and danger, we 
 might hope for easier marches and lighter privations so soon as 
 we should have reached the boundary frontier of Telal-ebn- 
 Rasheed, the sovereign of Djebel Shomer. These desirable 
 limits, said they, commenced at Wadi Serlian, or the Valley of 
 Serhan, which we were fast approaching, and where water was 
 good and copious, while the mighty name of Telal protected 
 the region far and wide from fear of enemies and marauders 
 by night and by day. 
 
 Much did our Bedouins talk of Telal, and much extol his 
 vigour, his equity, his active vigilance, his military prowess, 
 though at the same time they repined at his unwarrantable 
 repression of Bedouin liberty, and the restraints he imposed on 
 the innate rights of nomades to plunder, rob, and murder at 
 their own free discretion — complaints which, contrary to the 
 intention of our informants, rather raised than diminished our 
 esteem for this ruler, be he who he might. We could, however, 
 as yet obtain but little exact infomiation about the personal 
 history or the political position of this prince. Whether he was 
 of supreme or of subaltern power, whether founder of his king- 
 dom, or heir, what might be the extent or character of the 
 kingdom itself, and much else, we would fain have learnt, and 
 tried to gather from Salim, 'Alee, and Djordee, but to no end : 
 their ideas and language on a matter so far above them were 
 alike confused. All that we could for the moment know with 
 certainty, was that this chief resided in a town called Ha'yel, 
 situated in Djebel Shomer, somewhere to the south-east ; that 
 he was very powerful ; that in his dominions neither plunder nor 
 other violation of public order was permitted; and that from 
 Wadi Serlian, south and east, his word was law. With such 
 information we were obliged to content ourselves for the present, 
 in hope that nearer approach would make all clear. 
 
 It was now the 22nd of June, and the fifth day since our 
 departure from the wells of Wokba. The water in the skins 
 had little more to offer to our thirst than muddy dregs, and as 
 yet no sign appeared of a fresh supply. At last about noon we 
 drew near some hillocks of loose gravel and sandstone a little 
 on our right; our Bedouins conversed together awhile, and tlien
 
 10 TJic Desert and its Inhabitants [Chw. i 
 
 turned their course and ours in that direction. " Hold fast on 
 your camels, for they are going to be startled and jump about," 
 said Salim to us. Why the camels should be startled I could 
 not understand ; when on crossing the mounds just mentioned, 
 we suddenly came on five or six black tents, of the very poorest 
 description, pitched near some wells excavated in the gravelly 
 hollow below. The reason of Salim's precautionary hint now 
 became evident, for our silly beasts started at first sight of the 
 tents, as though they had never seen the like before, and then 
 scampered about, bounding friskily here and there, till what 
 between their jolting (for a camel's run much resembles that of 
 a cow) and our o\vn laughing, we could hardly keep on their 
 backs. However, thirst soon prevailed over timidity, and they 
 left off their pranks to approach the well's edge, and sniff at the 
 water below. 
 
 We alighted. Immediately the denizens of the tents, a few 
 women and one or two old men belonging to the Sherarat tribe, 
 M'hich is scattered over the whole of this desert, approached to 
 give their " Marhaba," "Ya'hla," i.e., "welcome," "honoured 
 guests," and so forth, and to ask many questions why and 
 whence our journey. Nor was their curiosity without reason ; 
 the route which had brought us was one little travelled at any 
 time, especially by men from Damascus or its neighbourhood, 
 and for such our dress and accent gave us out to be; and still 
 less at this period of the year, in the very height of summer. 
 But we were too tired for much discourse, and far more de- 
 sirous to get into a little shade after so long a running, than to 
 hold protracted parley. So we left our Bedouins, themselves, 
 too, well nigh worn out with fatigue, to draw water as they 
 could from the wells and pour it into the little liollows close by 
 for the benefit of their camels, an operation in which we should 
 have been more of a hindrance than a help ; and, after due 
 permission asked and granted, we crept into a low and narrow 
 tent, whose black coverings were admirably calculated for the 
 exclusion of the luminous and transmission of the caloriferous 
 rays of the mid-day sun. Here \ve lay stretched out on the 
 sand till it should please our companions to come and force us 
 to rise. This the wretches attempted to do after a very short 
 .interval ; but we answered, tliat as we had now got a good 
 supply of water, and had reached, or nearly so, the boundary
 
 Chap. I] Mtt'dU tO tJlC DjOli'f 1 1 
 
 limits of Ebn-Rasheed, they could have no sufficient motive 
 for being in such tremendous haste. Salim, arch-weary as he 
 was, admitted the force of our argument, and we remained 
 under cover till the declining sun and cooler air. Meanwhile 
 the mistress of the tent, an ugly good-natured looking hag, like 
 most Bedouin dames, entertained us with a long diatribe on 
 the tyranny of Ebn-Rasheed, and the coercion te exercised 
 over her countrymen, from which v/e concluded that he was 
 probably doing the duty of an order-loving king, and esteemed 
 him accordingly. 
 
 When in the afternoon we resumed our way once more, we 
 found the general appearance of the desert somewhat modified 
 by larger patches of sand or grass on its black surface, and 
 these continued to increase in number and size as we went on. 
 Next day, the 23rd of the month, yet clearer signs of our 
 approach to Wadi Sirhan became visible, and as we took a 
 somewhat northerly direction in order to join in with that 
 valley, we sighted far off in the extreme distance a blue range 
 of hills, running from west to east, and belonging to the Syro- 
 Arabic waste, though unnoticed, to the best of my knowledge, 
 in European maps. Meanwhile the sand-patches continued to 
 increase and deepen on all sides, and our Bedouins flattered 
 themselves with reaching Wadi Sirhan before nightfall. 
 
 Here, however, an incident occurred which had well nigh 
 put a premature end to the travels and the travellers together. 
 My readers, no less than myself, must have heard or read 
 many a story of the semoom, or deadly wind of the desert, but 
 for me I had never yet met it in full force ; and its modified 
 form, cr shelook, to use the Arab phrase, that is, the sirocco 
 of the Syrian waste, though disagreeable enough, can hardly 
 ever be termed dangerous. Hence I had been almost inclined 
 to set down the tales told of the strange phenomena and fatal 
 effects of this " poisoned gale " in the same category with the 
 moving pillars of sand, recorded in many works of higher 
 historical pretensions than "Thalaba." At llioseperambulatory 
 columns and sand-smothered caravans the Bedouins, when- 
 ever I interrogated them on the subject, laughed outright, and 
 declared that beyond an occasional dust storm, similar to those 
 which any one who has passed a summer in Scinde can hardly 
 fail, to have experienced, nothing of the romantic kind just
 
 12 The Dc-scrt and its Inhabitants [Chap. i 
 
 alluded to occurred in Arabia. But when questioned about the 
 semoom, they always treated it as a much more serious matter, 
 and such in real earnest w^e now found it. 
 
 It was about noon, the noon of a summer solstice in the un- 
 clouded Arabian sky over a scorched desert, when abrupt and 
 burning gusts of wind began to blow by fits from the south, 
 while the oppressiveness of the air increased every moment, till 
 my companion and myself mutually asked each other what this 
 could mean, and what was to be its result. We turned to 
 enquire of Salim, but he had already wTapped up his face in 
 his mantle, and, bowed down and crouching on the neck of his 
 camel, replied not a word. His comrades, the two Sherarat 
 Bedouins, had adopted a similar position, and were equally 
 silent. At last, after repeated interrogations, Salim, instead of 
 replying directly to our questioning, pointed to a small black 
 tent, providentially at no great distance in front, and said, " try 
 to reach that, if we can get there we are saved." He added, 
 " take care that your camels do not stop and lie down ; " and 
 then, giving his own several \igorous blows, relapsed into 
 muffled silence. 
 
 We looked anxiously towards the tent ; it was yet a hundred 
 yards off, or more. Meanwhile the gusts grew hotter and more 
 violent, and it was only by repeated efforts that we could urge 
 our beasts forward. The horizon rapidly darkened to a deep 
 violet hue, and seemed to draw in like a curtain on every side ; 
 while at the same time a stifling blast, as though from some 
 enonnous oven opening right on our pavh, blew steadily under 
 the gloom ; our camels too began, in spite of all we could do, 
 to turn round and round and bend their knees preparing to lie 
 down. The semoom was fairly upon us. 
 
 Of course we had followed our Arabs' example by muffling 
 our faces, and now with blows and kicks we forced the stag- 
 gering animals onwards to the only asylum within reach. So 
 dark was the atmosphere, and so burning the heat, that it 
 seemed that hell had risen from the earth, or descended from 
 above. But we were yet in time, and at the moment when 
 the worst of the concentrated poison-blast was coming around, 
 we were already prostrate one and all within the tent, 
 with our heads well wrapped-up, almost suffocated indeed, 
 but safe ; while our camels lay without like dead, their
 
 Chap. I] MdCiu to tJie Djoivf 1 3 
 
 long necks stretched out on the sand awaiting the passing of 
 the gale. 
 
 On our first arrival the tent contained a solitary Bedouin 
 woman, whose husband was away with his camels in the Wadi 
 Sirhan. When she saw five handsome men, like us, rush thus 
 suddenly into her dwelling without a word of leave or saluta- 
 tion, she very properly set up a scream to the tune of the four 
 crown pleas, murder, arson, robbery, and I know not what else. 
 Salim hastened to reassure her by calling out " friends," and 
 without more words threw himself flat on the ground. All 
 followed his example in silence. 
 
 We remained thus for about ten minutes, during which a 
 still heat like that of red-hot iron slowly passing over us was 
 alone to be felt. Then the tent walls began again to flap in 
 the returning gusts, and announced that the worst of the 
 semoom had gone by. We got up, half dead with exhaustion, 
 and unmuffled our faces. My comrades appeared more like 
 corpses than living men, and so, I suppose, did I. However, 
 I could not forbear, in spite of warnings, to step out and look 
 at the camels ; they were still lying flat as though they had 
 been shot. The air was yet darkish, but before long it bright- 
 ened up to its usual dazzling clearness. During the whole 
 time that the semoom lasted, the atmosphere was entirely free 
 from sand or dust; so that I hardly know how to account for 
 its singular obscurity. 
 
 Our hostess, once freed from her not unwarrantable alarms, 
 had also remained motionless and well wrapped-up in a corner 
 of the tent till the worst was over, and then, by the active 
 vivacity of her tongue, she gave the best possible proof that 
 the semoom left no dumbness by way of symptom behind it, 
 and satisfied all her pent-up curiosity regarding us after the 
 involuntary restraint imposed by the circumstances of our first 
 introduction. Late in the evening we continued our way ; and 
 next day early entered Wadi Sirhan, where the character of 
 our journey underwent a considerable modification. For the 
 northerly Arabian desert, which we are now traversing, ofi"ers, 
 in spite of all its dreariness, some spots of comparatively better 
 cast, where water is less scanty and vegetation less niggard. 
 These spots are the favourite resorts of Bedouins, and serve too 
 to direct the ordinary routes of whatever travellers, trade-led or
 
 14 TJie Desert and its Inhabitants [Ckm. i 
 
 from other motives, may venture on this wilderness. These 
 oases, if indeed they deserve the name, are formed by a sHght 
 depression in the suiTounding desert surface, and take at times 
 the form of a long valley, or of an oblong patch, where rock and 
 pebble give place to a light soil more or less intermixed with 
 sand, and concealing under its surface a tolerable supply of 
 moisture at no great distance below ground. Here in conse- 
 quence bushes and herbs spring up, and grass, if not green all 
 the year round, is at least of somewhat longer duration than 
 elsewhere; certain fruit-bearing plants, of a nature to suffice for 
 meagre Bedouin existence, grow here spontaneously; in a word, 
 man and beast find not exactly comfortable accommodation, but 
 the absolutely needful supply. Such a spot is Wadi Sirhan, 
 literally "the Valley of the Wolf," probably so called from 
 some old tradition in which that animal made a principal 
 figure, but the precise origin of the name is lost amid the uncer- 
 tainty of past Arab days. This long and sinuous depression 
 bears in the main from north-west to south-east, or nearly so, 
 and reaches across half the northern desert like a long ladder 
 whose head is placed near Bosra in the Howran, at no great 
 distance from Damascus, while its base rests on the Djowf, the 
 preliminary province and vestibule of central Arabia. Thus it 
 affords the customary route for mercantile business to and fro 
 between Syria and the Djowf. In addition, the numerous 
 Syro-Arabic tribes of the Ru'alah Bedouins frequent its upper 
 extremity, while the centre and south-eastern portions are al- 
 most exclusively tenanted by the Sherarat Arabs. No other 
 valley of equal length, and, I cannot say equal fertility, but of 
 less absolute barrenness, exists in this part of the country. 
 Water is almost everywhere to be found throughout Wadi Sir- 
 han at a depth varying from ten to twenty feet, and the vegeta- 
 tion offers a certain degree of abundance and variety. 
 
 It was on the 24th of June that we entered this valley, glad 
 to find ourselves at last on the high road — though the phrase 
 hardly suits a land where no roads soever exist — to the Djowf; 
 while our Bedouins, equally tired with ourselves of chawing dry 
 dates and cinder cake, entertained us with anticipatory descrip- 
 tions of the hospitable greeting we should daily meet with in 
 the Valley of the Wolf 
 
 In fact we had not long wound among the little sandy hills
 
 Chai'. I] Ma an to the Djozof 1 5 
 
 which stud this low ground, when we saw far and near j)lanted 
 amid the bushes numerous black tents, the dwellings of Kedar, 
 likened once of a time by Solomon to his dusky Egyptian bride, 
 but of so miserable an appearance that we felt little confidence in 
 the realization of the " flattering tale " told us by Bedouin hope. 
 The truth is, that among the miserable tribes of nomades that 
 infest Arabia, the Sherarat are the most miserable. They own 
 very few flocks of sheep; a horse is a rarity in the tribe; their 
 entire wealth, if wealth it be, consists in their camels, and cer- 
 tainly of these last there is no want; — unlike the northern 
 Bedouins, Seba'a, Ru'alah, Fidha'an, and their brethren, whose 
 large droves of sheep, joined to numerous studs of horses, sup- 
 ply them with a certain opulence and means of trade, enabling 
 them to live if not altogether like civihzed beings, at least free 
 from the privations and misery of mere savage life, the melan- 
 choly lot of our new friends, the Sherarat Arabs. 
 
 Scattered over the whole belt of desert just described, with 
 Wadi Sirhan for their ordinary gathering-place, the Sherarat 
 acknowledge no common chief of their own, no general leader 
 or head. They are divided and subdivided into countless bands, 
 each of which has a separate chief, worthy in every respect of 
 his subjects. Almost all, however, chiefs and clansmen, have 
 been of late brought collectively under some kind of subser- 
 vience by the iron ami of Telal, and pay him accordingly their 
 tribute of yearly camels and daily grumbling. But the character 
 and condition of these nomades will be sufficiently illustrated 
 by our intercourse with them now about to commence. 
 
 Passing tent after tent, and leaving behind us many a tattered 
 Bedouin and grazing camel, Salim at last indicated to us a 
 group of habitations, two or three of which seemed of some- 
 what more ample dimensions than the rest, and informed us 
 that our supper that night (for the afternoon was already on the 
 decline) would be at the cost of these dwellings. " Ajaweed," 
 i.e., "generous fellows," he subjoined, to encourage us by the 
 prospect of a handsome reception. Of course we could only 
 defer to his better judgment; and in a few minutes were 
 alongside of the black goat's-hair coverings where lodged our 
 intended hosts. 
 
 The chief or chieflet, for such he was, came out, and inter 
 changed a few words of masonic laconism with Salim. The
 
 i6 TJic Desert and its InJiabitants [Chap. i 
 
 latter then came up to us, where we remained halted in expect- 
 ation, led our camels to a little distance from the tents, made 
 them kneel down, helped us to disburden them, and while we 
 installed ourselves on a sandy slope opposite to the abodes of 
 the tribe, recommended us to keep a sharp look-out after our 
 baggage, since there might be pickers and stealers among our 
 hosts, for all "Ajaweed" as they were. Disagreeable news ; for 
 "Ajaweed" in an Arab mouth corresponds the nearest pos- 
 sible to our English " gentlemen." Now, if the gentlemen were 
 thieves, what must the blackguards be % We put a good face 
 on it, and then seated ourselves in dignified gravity on the sand 
 awaiting the further results of our guide's negotiations. 
 
 For some time we remained undisturbed, though not un- 
 noticed; a group of Arabs had collected round our companions 
 at the tent door, and were engaged in getting from them all 
 possible information, especially about us and our baggage, 
 which last was an object of much curiosity, not to say cupidity. 
 Next came our turn. The chief, his family (women excepted), 
 his intimate followers, and some twenty others, young and old, 
 boys and men, came up, and after a brief salutation. Bedouin- 
 wise, seated themselves in a semicircle before us. Every man 
 held a short crooked stick for camel-driving in his hand, to 
 gesticulate with when speaking, or to play with in the intervals 
 of conversation, while the younger members of society, less 
 prompt in discourse, politely employed their leisure in staring 
 at us, or in picking up dried pellets of dirt from the sand and 
 tossing them about. 
 
 But how am I to describe their conversation, their questions 
 and answers, their manners and gests? "A sensible person in 
 this city is like a man tied up among a drove of mules in a 
 stable," I once heard from a respectable stranger in the Syrian 
 town of Homs, a locality proverbial for the sullen stupidity of 
 its denizens. But among Bedouins in the desert, where the 
 advantages of the stable are wanting, the guest rather resembles 
 a man in the middle of a field among untied mules frisking and 
 kicking their heels in all directions around him. Here you 
 may see human nature at its lowest stage, or very nearly; one 
 sprawls stretched out on the sand, another draws unmeaning 
 lines with the end of his stick, a third grins, a fourth asks pur- 
 portless or impertinent questions, or cuts jokes meant for witty,
 
 Chap. I] Mci dU tO tJlC Djozvf \J 
 
 but in fact only coarse in the extreme. Meanwhile the boys 
 thrust themselves forward without restraint, and interrupt their 
 elders, their betters I can hardly say, without the smallest re- 
 spect or deference. 
 
 And yet in all this there is no real intention of rudeness, no 
 desire to annoy; quite the reverse. They sincerely wish to 
 make themselves agreeable to the new comers, to put them at 
 their ease, nay, to do them what good service they can, only 
 they do not exactly know how to set about it ; if they violate 
 all laws of decorum or courtesy, it is out of sheer ignorance, 
 not malice prepense ; and amid the aimlessness of an utterly 
 imcultivated mind they occasionally show indications of con- 
 siderable innate tact and shrewdness; while through all the 
 fickleness proper to men accustomed to no moral or physical 
 restraint, there appears the groundwork of a manly and gener- 
 ous character, such as a Persian, for instance, seldom offers. 
 Their defects are inherent to their condition, their redeeming 
 qualities are their own; they have them by inheritance from 
 one of the noblest races of earth; from the Arabs of inhabited 
 lands and organized governments. Indeed, after having tra- 
 velled much and made pretty intimate acquaintance with many 
 races, African, Asiatic, and European, I should hardly be in • 
 clined to give the preference to any over the genuine unmixed 
 clans of Central and Eastern Arabia. Now these last-mentioned 
 populations are identical in blood and in tongue with the 
 nomades of this desert, yet how immeasurably superior! The 
 difference between a barbarous Highlander and an English 
 gentleman, in " Rob Roy" or " Waverley," is hardly less striking. 
 Let me subjoin a specimen of Bedouin conversation for my 
 reader's better information. 
 
 " What are you % what is your business % " so runs the ordinary 
 and unprefaced opening of the discourse. To which we answer, 
 " Physicians from Damascus, and our business is whatsoever 
 God may put in our way." The next question will be about 
 the baggage ; some one pokes it with a stick, to draw attention 
 to it, and says, "What is this? have you any little object to 
 sell us?" 
 
 We fight shy of selling : to open out our wares and chattels 
 in full air, on the sand, and amid a crowd whose appearance 
 and circumstances offer but a poor guarantee for the exact ob- 
 
 c
 
 1 8 TJic Desert and its Inhabitants [Chap. i 
 
 servance of the eighth commandment, would be hardly prudent 
 or worth our while. After several fruitless trials they desist 
 from their request. Another, who is troubled by some bodily 
 infirmity, for which all the united faculties of London and 
 Paris might prescribe in vain, a witheretl hand, for instance, 
 or stone-blind of an eye, asks for medicine, which no sooner 
 applied shall, in his exi)ectation, suddenly restore him to per- 
 fect health and corporal integrity. But I had been already 
 forewarned that to doctor a Bedouin, even under the most 
 favourable circumstances, or a camel, is pretty much the same 
 thing, and with about an equal chance of success or advantage. 
 I pohtely decline. He insists ; I turn him off with a joke. 
 
 "So you laugh at us, O you inhabitants of towns. We are 
 liedouins, we do not know your customs," replies he, in a 
 whining tone ; while the boys grin unconscionably at the dis- 
 comfiture of their tribesman. 
 
 " Ya woleyd," or " young fellow " (for so they style every 
 human male from eight to eighty without distinction), " will 
 you not fill my pipe 1 " says one, who has observed that mine 
 was not idle, and who, though well provided with a good stock 
 of dry tobacco tied up in a rag at his greasy waist-belt, thinks 
 the moment a fair opportunity for a little begging, since neither 
 medicine nor merchandize is to be had. 
 
 But Salim, seated amid the circle, makes me a sign not 
 to comply. Accordingly I evade the demand. However, my 
 petitioner goes on begging, and is imitated by t\vo or three 
 others, each of whom thrusts forward, (a true Irish hint,) a bit 
 of marrow-bone with a hole drilled in one side to act for a 
 pipe, or a porous stone, not uncommon throughout the desert, 
 clumsily fashioned into a smoking apparatus, a sort of primitive 
 meerschaum. 
 
 As they grow rude, I pretend to become angr}^, thus to cut 
 the matter short. " We are your guests, O you Bedouins ; are 
 you not ashamed to beg of us? " "Never mind, excuse us; 
 those are ignorant fellows, ill-bred clowns, &c.," interposes one 
 close by the chief's side ; and whose dress is in somewhat better 
 condition than that of the other half and three-quarter naked 
 individuals who complete the assembly. 
 
 "Will you not people the pipe for your little brother?" 
 subjoins the chief himself, producing an empty one with a
 
 Ckai'. I] Mcidn to tJic Djozvf 19 
 
 modest air. Bedouin language, like that of most Orientals, 
 abounds with not ungraceful imagery, and accordingly " people" 
 here means "fill." Salim gives me a wink of compliance; 1 
 take out a handful of tobacco, and put it on his long shirt- 
 sleeve, which he knots over it, and looks uncommonly well 
 pleased. At any rate they are easily satisfied, these Bedouins. 
 
 In such conversation, and more of like tenor, the hour wears 
 away. Some get up and depart, others take their places, all 
 have their observations or enquiries to make ; and we have 
 full opportunity of studying their character, propensities, and 
 customs ; the more so as, because, not guessing who we really 
 are, they are off their guard. 
 
 But the chieflet, after getting his supply of tobacco, the 
 main object of his visit, were truth to be told, has retired to 
 nis tent, there to give suitable orders for the coming entertain- 
 ment. Shortly after we see a knot of idle individuals gathered 
 together a little in the background ; this indicates the spot 
 where a sheep or camel, according to circumstances, is being 
 slaughtered for the evening's feast. A little after we see its 
 carcase stretched out near the corner of the tent, to be cut up 
 by several operators amid a crowd of spectators deeply inte- 
 rested in the process, for the whole encampment is to share in 
 the banquet prepared on occasion of the guests. 
 
 We are now left awhile alone, for cooking is too important 
 an affair to permit the absence of any unoccupied neighbours. 
 In Europe too many cooks are said to have an injurious effect 
 upon the broth, but here the process is far too simple for 
 spoiling. To light a fire under a huge never-scoured cauldron, 
 to set the water boiling, and then to throw in the quarters of 
 the slaughtered animal to seethe in their own unskimmed grease, 
 till about two-thirds cooked ; that is the whole culinary art and 
 the ne plus ultra of a Bedouin feast. 
 
 All this, however, takes some time ; fires lighted in the open 
 air do not act so quickly as they would in a stove and kitchen, 
 and large masses of meat cannot be speedily reduced to some- 
 thing like an edible condition. Accordingly the stars are already 
 in the sky, and the night breeze has cooled the sands, before an 
 unusual bustle among the bystanders and a burst of sparks 
 show that the cauldron has been at last removed off the stones 
 which served it for fire-place. The water is then poured off, 
 
 c 2
 
 20 The Desert and its InJuxbitants [Chap. i 
 
 tlie meat piled pell-mell into a large and very dirty wooden 
 bowl, and thus, without any other accompaniment, seasoning, or 
 aught else, placed on tlie ground about half-way between us 
 and the tents. 
 
 The chief, or some unbreeched youngster of his family, 
 comes up to us with the customary " Tefaddaloo," or " do us 
 tlie favour," that is, of accepting the invitation. We approach 
 the bowl, but ere we can take our place a rush has already been 
 made from all quarters towards the common centre of attrac- 
 tion, and a large circle is awaiting in silence the signal to begin. 
 This is given by the chief, who again repeats the formula of 
 welcome, and Salim and my comrade (for I confess myself to 
 have been always rather backward on these occasions, not for 
 want of hunger, but of liking,) fish out a large joint of half- 
 raw meat, and pulling at it in opposite directions, divide it into 
 more manageable morsels. Then every one falls to. Thirty or 
 more unwashed hands are in the bowl, and within five minutes' 
 space, bones too clean picked to offer much solace to the lean 
 dogs on guard around are all that remains of the banquet. 
 
 " Why do you not eat % eat ; go to work at it ; O, a hundred 
 welcomes to you, our worthy guests," reiterates at short inter- 
 vals our host, and shows the way by his o\vn good example. I 
 may remark, that were the sultan himself in our place, he would 
 get no greater variety or choicer fare, for the simple reason that 
 the Sherarat have nothing better to present. 
 
 Water, with a strong ammoniacal flavour, acquired from the 
 over-proximity of camels to the wells whence it has been drawn, 
 is now passed round to whoever desires drink in a sort of small 
 pail, which might in England find its appropriate place at a 
 colt's muzzle. However, while we partake of its contents, our 
 next-hand neighbour will not fail to say " Hena'," or " good 
 health," by way of a compliment, and a hint too to pass him 
 the bowl. 
 
 We then retire to our sand slope and baggage ; for to sleep 
 within the host's tent is not customary in genuine Bedouin life. 
 The smallness of the habitation where a family of all sexes and 
 ages are crowded together, and its non-partition into separate 
 chambers, fully explains and justifies this precautionary usage, 
 which has nothing to do with want of hospitality. 
 
 The night air in these wilds is life and health itself. We
 
 Chap. I] MddU tO tJlC Djoivf 2 1 
 
 sleep soundly, unharassed by the anticipation of an early sum- 
 mons to march next morning, for both men and beasts have alike 
 need of a fall day's repose. When the sun has risen we are 
 invited to enter the chief's tent and to bring our baggage under 
 its shelter. A main object of our entertainer's, in proposing 
 this move, is to try whether he cannot render our visit some way 
 profitable to himself, by present or purchase. Whatever polite- 
 ness he can muster is accordingly brought into play, and a large 
 bowl of fresh camel's milk, an excellent beverage, now appears 
 on the stage. I leave to chemical analysts to decide why this 
 milk will not furnish butter, for such is the fact, and content 
 myself with bearing witness to its very nutritious and agreeable 
 qualities. 
 
 We then, at the earnest request of the chief, his wife, sisters, 
 and cousins, and for their sole and private inspection, open a 
 corner of our sacks, and after much haggling sell a piece of 
 cloth, a head-dress, or some similar object. The difficulty lies 
 in the paying ; for not only our friend is by no means over- 
 ready to part with his cash, but he is moreover quite ignorant 
 respecting the specific value of its component pieces. Ac- 
 cordingly a council of the wisest heads in the tribe has to be 
 called to decide on the value of each separate coin, and, after 
 that, to sum-totalize, which is, for Bedouins, a yet more Her- 
 culean effort of intellect, and the account must be cast up item 
 by item full a dozen times before he knov/s whether he had 
 twenty or thirty piastres in his dirty hand. 
 
 The day passes on. About noon our host naturally enough 
 supposes us hungry, and accordingly a new dish is brought in; 
 it looks much like a bowl full of coarse red paste, or bran mixed 
 with ochre. This is Samh, a main article of subsistence to the 
 Bedouins of Northern Arabia. Throughout this part of the 
 desert grows a small herbaceous and tufted plant, with juicy 
 stalks and a little ovate yellow-tinted leaf ; the flowers are of a 
 brigliter yellow, with many stamens and pistils. When the 
 blossoms fall off, there remains in place of each a four-leaved 
 capsule about the size of an ordinary pea, and this, when ripe, 
 opens to show a mass of minute reddish seeds, resembling 
 grit in feel and appearance, but farinaceous in substance. The 
 ripening season is in July, when old and young, men and women, 
 all are out to collect the unsown and untoiled-for harvest. The
 
 22 TJie Desert and its IiiJiabitants [Chap. i 
 
 capsules are gathered, the seed separated from them, and kept 
 like a stock of ilour for the ensuing year. These seeds, when 
 wanted for use, are coarsely ground in a hand mill, then mixed 
 with water, and boiled into the substance which we now had 
 before us. Its taste and quality were pretty well hit off by 
 Salim, who described it, "not so good as wheat, and rather 
 better than barley-meal." 
 
 Another gift of nature is the Mesa'a, a fruit well known to 
 Bedouins, though neglected by all else. Its shrub attains two 
 or three feet in height, woody and tangled, with small and 
 pointed leaves of a lively green, and a little red star-hke flower. 
 This in June gives place to a berry much resembling in size, 
 colour, and taste our own red currant, though inferior to it in 
 flavour, while its sweetness predominates too much over its 
 acidity. The Bedouins collect and greedily devour it, or, 
 boiling it down with a little water, procure a sort of molasses, 
 much esteemed by them, but by them alone. This, with the 
 Samh just mentioned, camel's milk, and an occasional repast of 
 butcher's meat, though that is a rare luxury, forms all their list 
 of eatables. 
 
 No one throughout the entire Shcrarat tribe can boast a 
 coffee-pot or coffee. Such articles are indeed common among 
 the Syro-Arab Bedouins, enriched by the possession of sheep 
 and horses and the neighbourhood of towns, not to mention 
 frequent acquisitions of plunder from peasants or travellers. 
 But here, in Arabia Proper, sheep are the almost exclusive pro- 
 perty of townsmen and villagers, and they are strong enough 
 to keep their own, while vigorous governments have for years 
 pressed on the Bedouins with a rod of iron, and reduced 
 them to their normal condition, that of mere camel-drivers, 
 and nothing more. But if they are somewhat the losers under 
 such a system, the land is much a gainer ; and I think most 
 of my readers will easily admit that wealth and security for 
 peasants and merchants may well outweigh the advantages of 
 nomade licence and the insolent lawlessness of the clans of 
 the Syrian desert — only desert because in the possession of 
 Bedouins. 
 
 The military strength of this tribe, as may be gathered from 
 »vhat I have already said concerning them, is small, too scat- 
 tered for collective action, and too poor to provide themselves
 
 Chap. I] MddU tO tJlC Djozvf 23 
 
 with effective arms. What weapons they have consist of clumsy- 
 matchlocks and rusty spears. 
 
 Their feuds are continual, but at little cost of life ; the main 
 object of a raid is booty, not slaughter ; and the Bedouin, 
 though a terrible braggart, has at heart little inclination for 
 killing or being killed. They will relate for hours together 
 raw-head and bloody-bones stories of their wars and combats 
 with this or that tribe, and give in a gazette worthy of Waterloo, 
 till when you come to examine coolly into the number of the 
 victims, thus dashingly designated by " thousands," your hu- 
 manity will be consoled by finding them reduced to the more 
 moderate numbers of " two " or " three," and even these you 
 must not set down at once for dead, as they were probably only 
 " slightly wounded," and will reappear alive and well in next 
 day's report. 
 
 One cause of this great sparing of hum.an life is the absence 
 of those national and religious principles which so often in 
 other countries, and even more in Asia than in Europe, urge 
 on men to bloodshed. The Bedouin does not fight for his 
 home, he has none ; nor for his country, that is anywhere ; nor 
 for his honour, he never heard of it ; nor for his religion, he 
 owns and cares for none. His only object in war is the tem- 
 porary occupation of some bit of miserable pasture-land or 
 the use of a brackish well ; perhaps the desire to get such a 
 one's horse or camel into his own possession — all objects 
 which imply little animosity, and, if not attained in the cam- 
 paign, can easily be made up for in other ways, nor entail the 
 bitterness and cruelty that attend or follow civil and religious 
 strife. 
 
 Further on, indeed, in Central Arabia, there exist tribes of 
 much greater wealth, strength, and organization ; such are the 
 Shomer, south of Djowf, the Meteyr and 'Oteybah in the mid- 
 lands, the Ajman and Benoo-Khalid to the east. But all these 
 taken together are very few in number when compared to the 
 fixed population, a sixth or seventh at best, judging from the 
 muster-rolls of the different Arab provinces, and only appear in 
 war time under the character of auxiliaries to the one or other 
 faction among the townsmen, not as independent or hostile 
 troops. The Wahhabee government has, blow after blow, 
 " broken their thorn," to use a significant Arab phrase ; and
 
 24 Tlic Desert and its Inhabitants [Chap. i 
 
 though all are not equally poor or barbarous in their customs 
 with the Sherarat, they are even more submissive to the ruling 
 power, nor dare stir save at its bidding. 
 
 A day's rest put us in condition to resume our way next 
 morning amid shrubs and sand-hills down the valley that winds 
 between its stony banks like a broad shallow river to the south. 
 Wo fell in with many Bedouins of course, and passed several 
 large encampments, sometimes halting in them for a meal, and 
 sometimes not, besides some occasional sale of trifling value to 
 keep up our mercantile character. No particular adventure 
 here occurred worth recording, though our journey was far 
 from dull, thanks to much amusement in laughing, now with, 
 now at, our companions or hosts. They on their side enter- 
 tained us with long stories of wandering life and adventures of 
 stray or stolen camels, of swaggering war heroes, and lovers full 
 as adventurous as any Romeo but somewhat less delicate ; of 
 divorces without the Act, and alliances in which the turning 
 point and main object seemed to be the supper of boiled 
 mutton, that ne plus ultra of Bedouin cooker)' and desire. 
 
 " What will you do on coming into God's presence for judg- 
 ment after so graceless a life ? " said I one day to a spirited 
 young Sherarat, whose long matted lovelocks, and some pre- 
 tension to dandihood, for the desert has its dandies too, amid 
 all his ragged accoutrements, accorded very well with his con- 
 versation, which was nowise of the most edifying description. 
 " What will we do % " was his unhesitating answer, " why, we 
 will go up to God and salute him, and if he proves hospitable 
 (gives us meat and tobacco), we will stay with him ; if other- 
 wise, we will mount our horses and ride off." This is a fair 
 specimen of Bedouin ideas touching another world, and were I 
 not afraid of an indictment for profaneness, I might relate fifty 
 similar anecdotes at least. 
 
 On the 27th of the month we passed with some difficulty 
 a series of abrupt sand-hills that close in the direct course of 
 Wadi Sirhan. Here, for the first time, we saw the Ghada, a 
 shrub almost characteristic, from its very frequency, of the 
 Arabian Peninsula, and often alluded to by its poets. It is of 
 the genus Euphorbia, with a woody stem, often five or six feet 
 in height, and innumerable round green twigs, very slender and 
 flexible, forming a large feathery tuft, not ungraceful to the eye,
 
 Chap. I] AlddU tO tJlC Djowf 2^ 
 
 while it affords some kind of shelter to the traveller and food 
 to his camels. These last are passionately fond of Ghada, and 
 will continually turn right out of their way, in spite of blows 
 and kicks, to crop a mouthful of it, and then swing back their 
 long necks into the former direction, ready to repeat the same 
 manoeuvre at the next bush as though they had never received 
 a beating for their past voracity. 
 
 I have, while in England, heard and read more than once of 
 the " docile camel." If " docile" means stupid, well and good; 
 in such a case the camel is the very model of docility. But if 
 the epithet is intended to designate an animal that takes an 
 interest in its rider so far as a beast can, that in some way 
 understands his intentions or shares them in a subordinate 
 fashion, that obeys from a sort of submissive or half fellow- 
 feeling with his master, like the horse and elephant, then I say 
 that the camel is by no means docile, very much the contrary ; 
 he takes no heed of his rider, pays no attention whether he be 
 on his back or not, walks straight on when once set a going, 
 merely because he is too stupid to turn aside; and then, should 
 some tempting thorn or green branch allure him out of the 
 path, continues to walk on in this new direction simply because 
 he is too dull to turn back into the right road. His only care 
 is to cross as much pasture as he conveniently can while pacing 
 mechanically onwards ; and for effecting this his long flexible 
 neck sets him at great advantage, and a hard blow or a do^vn- 
 right kick alone has any influence on him whether to direct or 
 impel. He will never attempt to throw you off his back, such 
 a trick being far beyond his limited comprehension ; but if you 
 fall off, he will never dream of stopping for you, and'walks on 
 just the same, grazing while he goes, without knowing or caring 
 an atom what has become of you. If turned loose, it is a thou- 
 sand to one that he will never find his way back to his accus- 
 tomed home or pasture, and the first comer who picks him up will 
 have no particular shyness to get over ; Jack or Tom are all 
 the same to him, and the loss of his old master and of his own 
 kith and kin gives him no regret and occasions no endeavour 
 to find them again. One only symptom will he give that he is 
 aware of his rider, and that is when the latter is about to mount 
 him, for on such an occasion, instead of addressing him in the 
 style of Balaam's more intelligent beast, " Am not I thy camel
 
 26 T]ic Desert and its Inhabitants [Chap. i 
 
 upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine, unto this 
 day?" he will bend back his long snaky neck towards his master, 
 open his enormous jaws to bite if he dared, and roar out a 
 tremendous sort of groan, as if to complain of some entirely 
 new and unparalleled injustice about to be done him. In a 
 word, he is from first to last an undomesticated and savage 
 animal, rendered serviceable by stupidity alone, without much 
 skill on his master's part or any co-operation on his own, save 
 that of an extreme passiveness. Neither attachment nor even 
 habit impress him ; never tame, though not wide awake enough 
 to be exactly wild. 
 
 One passion alone he possesses, namely revenge, of which he 
 furnishes many a hideous example, while in carrying it out he 
 shows an unexpected degree of far-thoughted malice, united 
 meanwhile with all the cold stupidity of his usual character. One 
 instance of this I well remember ; it occurred hard by a small 
 town in the plain of Ba'albec, where I was at the time residing. 
 A lad of about fourteen had conducted a large camel, laden 
 with wood, from that very village to another at half an hour's 
 distance or so. As the animal loitered or turned out of the 
 way, its conductor struck it repeatedly, and harder than it 
 seems to have thought he had a right to do. But not finding 
 the occasion favourable for taking immediate quits, it " bode its 
 time ;" nor was that time long in coming. A few days later 
 the same lad had to reconduct the beast, but unladen, to his 
 own village. When they were about half-way on the road, and 
 at some distance from any habitation, the camel suddenly 
 stopped, looked deliberately round in every direction to assure 
 itself that no one was within sight, and, finding the road far and 
 near clear of passers-by, made a step forward, seized the un- 
 lucky boy's head in its monstrous mouth, and lifting him up in 
 the air flung him down again on the earth with the upper part 
 of his skull completely torn off, and his brains scattered on the 
 ground. Having thus satisfied its revenge, the brute quietly- 
 resumed its pace towards the village as though nothing were 
 the matter, till some men who had observed the whole, though 
 unfortunately at too great a distance to be able to afford timely 
 help, came up and killed it. Ikit let us now drive our camels 
 past the GHatla bushes, where riders and ridden have been aUke 
 diverging, and resume our onward way.
 
 Chap. I] Mddll tO tJlC Dj'oivf 2/ 
 
 After passing the sand-hills lately mentioned, we left the 
 direct line of the valley, and entered on a new scene. The 
 country was still open and desert, but much modified in aspect 
 from the black uplands that had preceded Wadi Sirhan. The 
 plain, though strewn with gravel, was of a yellowish hue, nor 
 was its surface so absolutely and hopelessly barren ; while on 
 the left a long range of abrupt hills, the Djebal-el-Djowf, or 
 "mountains of Djowf," extended far into the distance. Our 
 course lay in a kind of groove, a side embranchment of Sirhan, 
 and leading almost due south. A little after noon we came 
 upon a large hollow, where, amid t^o hundred Sherarat tents at 
 the least, (myself and my companion counted them till we grew 
 tired,) lay the waters of Magooa', a collection of deep and 
 perennial wells, whose water would not be altogether bad, were 
 dirt and camels kept a little further from the rim. 
 
 Here we were obliged to pass the rest of that day and the 
 following also. For Salim, who could not enter the Djowf 
 along with us in person, on account of a murder there com- 
 mitted by him at a previous date, was here compelled to stop 
 and look out for us a companion capable of conducting us safe 
 within the limits of that territory, and who once there might 
 receive from us a written attestation of our having duly reached 
 our journey's end. This paper, duly signed and sealed, was to be 
 delivered to SaHm, who without it could not receive his stipu- 
 lated hire, which at the outset of the journey had been deposited 
 in the hands of a worthy town-magistrate of Ma'an, Ibraheem 
 by name. From him our Howeytat guide was to receive his 
 guerdon on presenting, by way of letter of credit, the docu- 
 ment just alluded to, in which we were to declare that we had 
 arrived in due form and comfort at our journey's end, without 
 having had any subject of complaint or dissatisfaction with our 
 escort. 
 
 After much search and many proffers canvassed and rejected, 
 Salim ended by finding a good-natured but somewhat timid 
 individual, Suleyman-el-'Azzamee, who undertook our guidance 
 to the Djowf. Meanwhile the Bedouins, desirous to secure 
 from us a favourable report of their conduct on our coming 
 before the governor of that district, treated us fairly well ; 
 meat and milk, dates and samh, came before us in succession, 
 and we passed our day not uncomfortably on the whole,
 
 28 TJic Desert and its Inhabitants [Chap. i 
 
 chatting in the tents, or strolHng about the sand-hills round the 
 hollow, in spite of the overpowering heat, enough to have made 
 a Bengalee complain, and a Madrassee pronounce it utterly 
 intolerable. 
 
 Early on the 2 9lh of the month we were again on our way. 
 Before us lay an upland and barren tract, opening out to the 
 north. Here we sighted a large troop of ostriches ; no bird on 
 earth is more timid or more difficult of approach. When we 
 saw them far ahead running in a long line one after the other 
 as though their very lives depended on it, we almost took them 
 for a string of scared camels. The Sherarat hunt them, as 
 their plumage is eagerly bought up on the frontiers to be re- 
 sold in Eg}'pt or Syria, whence it often passes on to Europe. 
 
 No water is to be found in this steppe. We journeyed on all 
 the long summer day, and only halted for an hour at sunset to 
 prepare a cinder-seasoned meal; then remounted, and passed 
 close under the south-eastern spur of Djebal-el-Djowf, till after 
 midnight a short halt afforded us a little rest and sleep. 
 
 Mine was, however, somewhat disturbed by a scorpion bite : 
 not so serious an accident, indeed, as it sounds, considering the 
 genus of the aggressor, but painful enough, though soon passing 
 off. These desert scorpions are curious little creatures, about a 
 fourth of an inch in length, and, apparently, all claws and tail, 
 of a deep reddish brown colour, and very active. They abound 
 throughout the sandy soil. In the daytime they wisely keep 
 out of the way, but at night come out to take the cooler air. 
 Their sting is exactly like the smart of a white-hot iron point 
 firmly pressed on the skin, and when I felt my forehead thus 
 assaulted, I jumped up exceedingly quick, anticipating twenty- 
 four hours of suffering, the usual period allotted, at least in 
 popular credence, to the duration of scorpion torture; but I was 
 agreeably disappointed, for the pain did not last above an hour, 
 was accompanied by little swelling, and then went entirely off, 
 hardly leaving any perceptible mark. 
 
 We remounted by the light of the morning star, anxious to 
 enter the Djowf before the intense heat of noon should come 
 on ; but we had yet a long way to go, and our track followed 
 endless windings among low hills and stony ledges, without 
 any symptom of approach to cultivated regions. At last the 
 slopes grew greener, and a small knot of houses with traces of
 
 Chap. IJ MddU tO tkc Djozvf 2<) 
 
 tillage close by appeared. It was the little village of Djoon, 
 the most westerly appendage of Djowf itself. I counted between 
 twenty and thirty houses. We next entered a long and narrow 
 pass, whose precipitous banks shut in the view on either side. 
 Suddenly several horsemen appeared on the opposite cliff; and 
 one of them, a handsome youth, with long curling hair, well 
 armed and well mounted (we shall make his more special 
 acquaintance in the next chapter), called out to our guide to 
 halt, and answer in his own behalf and ours. This Suleyman 
 did, not without those marks of timidity in his voice and 
 gesture which a Bedouin seldom fails to show on his approach 
 to a town, for when once in it he is apt to sneak about much like 
 a dog who has just received a beating for theft. On his answer, 
 delivered in a most submissive tone, the horsemen held a brief 
 consultation, and we then saw two of them turn their horses' 
 heads, and gallop off in the direction of the Djowf, vv'hile our 
 original interlocutor called out to Suleyman, "All right, go on, 
 and fear nothing," and then disappeared after the rest of the 
 band behind the verge of the upland. 
 
 We had yet to drag on for an hour of tedious march ; my 
 camel fairly broke down, and fell again and again ; his bad 
 example was followed by the coffee-laden beast ; the heat Avas 
 terrible in these gorges, and noon was approaching. At last we 
 cleared the pass, but found the onward prospect still shut out 
 by an intervening mass of rocks. The water in our skins was 
 spent, and we had eaten nothing that morning. When shall 
 we get in sight of the Djowf? or has it flown away from before 
 usl While thus wearily labouring on our way, we turned a 
 huge pile of crags, and a new and beautiful scene burst upon 
 our view. 
 
 But that view, and what followed on this our first transition 
 from desert to inhabited Arabia, deserves a separate chapter.
 
 30 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The Djowf 
 
 Thus far into the bowels of the land 
 Have we marched on without impediment. 
 
 Sliakespeare 
 
 VitfW of Djcnvf from the North — Meeting of Ghafil and Dafee — GKdfirs 
 House; the Jf^Uidwah — Formalities of Society — Coffee making — Dates — 
 General Description of the Djowf- — Its Houses, IVar-Towers, Gardens, and 
 Palm-groves — Climate — Population — Other Villages — Character of the In- 
 habitants — Commerce aitd Progress — Our New Lodgings — Daily Life — A 
 Djowf Supper — Accusation brought against us — Visit to the Castle — Its 
 Architecture — Tower of Marid — Ifairwod; his IChdwah, his Shomer 
 Rttinue — Adtninistration of Justice — Mosque — Society in Djowf- — Arrival 
 of the 'Azzam Deputation ; we agree to accompany them to Ha'yel — Otir 
 New Guide — Departure from Djozif- — Route Southwards — Be'er Shekeek. 
 
 A BROAD deep valley, descending ledge after ledge till its inner- 
 most depths are hidden from sight amid far-reacliing shehes of 
 reddish rock, below everywhere studded with tufts of palm- 
 groves and clustering fruit-trees in dark green patches down to 
 the furthest end of its windings ; a large brown mass of irregu- 
 lar masonry crowning a central hill; beyond a tall and solitary 
 tower overlooking the opposite bank of the hollow, and further 
 do^vn small round turrets and flat housetops half buried amid 
 the garden foliage, the whole plunged in a perpendicular flood 
 of light and heat; such was the first aspect of the Djowf as we 
 now approached it from the west. It was a lovely scene, and 
 seemed yet more so to our eyes weary of the long desolation 
 through which we had with hardly an exception journeyed day 
 after day since our last farewell glimpse of Gaza and Palestine 
 up to the first entrance on inhabited Arabia. " Like the Para- 
 dise of eternity, none can enter it till after having previously
 
 Chap. II] The Djowf 3 1 
 
 passed over hell-bridge," says an Arab poet, describing some 
 similar locality in Algerian lands. 
 
 Reanimated by the view, we pushed on our jaded beasts, and 
 were already descending the first craggy slope of the valley, 
 when two horsemen, well dressed and fially armed after the 
 fashion of these parts, came up toward us from the town, and 
 at once saluted us with a loud and hearty " Marhaba," or 
 "welcome ;" and without further preface they added, "alight and 
 eat," giving themselves the example of the former by descending 
 briskly from their light-limbed horses, and untying a large lea- 
 ther bag full of excellent dates, and a water-skin, filled from 
 the running spring; then spreading out these most opportune 
 refreshments on the rock, and adding, "we were sure that you 
 must be hungry and thirsty, so we have come ready provided," 
 they invited us once more to sit down and begin. 
 
 Hungry and thirsty we indeed were; the dates were those of 
 Djow^, the choicest in their kind to be met with in northern 
 Arabia, the water was freshly drawn, cool and clear, no slight 
 recommendations after the ammoniacal wells of Magooa' and 
 Oweysit, so that altogether we thought it unnecessary to make 
 our new friends repeat their invitation, and without delay set 
 ourselves to enjoy the present good, leaving the future with all 
 its cares to Providence and the course of events. Meanwhile I 
 took the occasion of studying more minutely the outward man 
 of our benefactors. 
 
 The elder of the cavaliers was a man apparently of about 
 fort)^ years of age, tall, well-made, dark-complexioned, and with 
 a look that inspired some mistmst, while it denoted some intel- 
 ligence and more habitual haughtiness. He was handsomely 
 dressed for an Arab, wearing a red cloth vest with large hanging 
 sleeves over his long white shirt, with a silk handkerchief, 
 striped red and yellow, on his head, and a silver-hiked sword 
 at his side. In short, all about him denoted a person of a cer- 
 tain wealth and importance. This was Ghafil-el-Haboob, the 
 chief of the most important and the most turbulent family of 
 the Djowf, Beyt-Haboob, who were not long since the rulers of 
 the town, but are now, like all the rest of their countrymen, 
 humble subjects to Hamood, vicegerent of Telal, the prince of 
 Djebel Shomer. 
 
 His companion, Pafee by name, seemed younger in years
 
 33 The Djowf [Chap. II 
 
 and slenderer of make; he was less richly dressed, though 
 carr)-ing, like Ghafil, the silver-hilted sword common in Arabia 
 to all men of good birth and circumstances ; his family name 
 was also Haboob, but his features bespoke a much milder and 
 opener character than that of the chief, his cousin at the fourth 
 or fifth remove. 
 
 After taking our meal, we remained awhile where we were 
 in question and answer. Having been previously informed that 
 the governor Hamood resided in the town itself, we suggested 
 to Ghafil whether it might not be suitable for us to pay that 
 important personage the compliment of a first visit at our very 
 entrance. But the chief had several reasons, which my readers 
 will aftenvards learn, for not desiring our so doing. Accordingly 
 he answered that we were his personal guests, and that he him- 
 self had in consequence the right to our first reception ; that as 
 for Hamood, we should visit him a little later, and in his o-vvn 
 company ; that it would be time enough for such ceremonies 
 after a day or two, and that in the meanwhile he was himself a 
 sufficient guarantee of the governor's good will. 
 
 But on this I3afee put in his claim to be our host, saying that 
 his house was the nearer at hand ; that he also bad come in 
 person to meet us ; and that in consequence he had as good a 
 right as Ghafil to have us for his guests. However, he was in 
 his turn obliged to yield to the superior authority of his kins- 
 man. We then all rode on slowly together, and when we Avere 
 on the point of reaching the lower level of the valley, and had 
 already begun to enter amid the deep shadows of the palm- 
 groves, Dafee tendered his apologies for letting us thus pass by 
 his abode without partaking its hospitality ; and having added 
 an invitation for the nearest day, he turned aside between the 
 high garden walls. But on parting he gave a look of much 
 meaning, first at Ghafil, and then at us, the import of which we 
 did not as yet fully understand. 
 
 Meanwhile we passed on in the company of our new host 
 who continued all the way his welcomes and protestations of 
 readiness to render us every imaginable service, and leaving a 
 little on our right the castle hill and tower, threaded between 
 grove after grove, and garden after garden, till a high gateway 
 gave us admittance to a cluster of houses around an open space, 
 where seats of beaten earth and stone bordering the walls here
 
 Chap. II] Tlw Djowf 33 
 
 and there formed a sort of Arab antechamber or waiting-room 
 for visitors not yet received within the interior precincts, and 
 thus bespoke the importance of the neighbouring house, and 
 consequently of its owner. 
 
 Here Ghafil halted before a portal high enough to admit a 
 camel and rider, and, while we modestly dismounted to await 
 further orders, entered alone the dwelling to see if all had been 
 duly got ready for our reception, and then quickly returned, 
 and invited us to follow him indoors. 
 
 We traversed a second entrance, and now found ourselves in 
 a small courtyard, three sides of which were formed by different 
 apartments; the fourth consisted of a stable for horses and 
 camels. In front rose a high wall, with several small windows 
 pierced in it (no glass, of course, in this warm climate) close 
 under the roof, and one large door in the centre. This belonged 
 to the !^'hawah, or G'hawah, as they here call it, that is, the 
 coffee-room, or reception-room, if you will ; inasmuch as ladies 
 never honour its precincts, I cannot suitably dignify it with the 
 title of drawing-room. The description of one such apartment 
 may suffice, with little variation, for all the K'hawahs of Arabia ; 
 it is an indispensable feature in every decent house throughout 
 the Peninsula from end to end, and offers everywhere very 
 little variation, save that of larger or smaller, better or worse 
 furnished, according to the circumstances of its owner. For 
 this reason I shall now permit myself some minuteness of 
 detail in Ghafil's mansion ; it may stand sample for thousands 
 of others. 
 
 The K'hawah was a large oblong hall, about twenty feet in 
 height, fifty in length, and sixteen, or thereabouts, in breadth ; 
 the walls were coloured in a rudely decorative manner with 
 brown and white wash, and sunk here and there into small 
 triangular recesses, destined to the reception of books, though 
 of these Ghafil at least had no over-abundance, lamps, and 
 other such hke objects. The roof of timber, and flat; the floor 
 was strewed with fine clean sand, and garnished all round 
 alongside of the walls with long strips of carpet, upon which 
 cushions, covered with faded silk, were disposed at suitable 
 intervals. In poorer houses felt rugs usually take the place 
 of carpets. In one corner, namely, that furthest removed from 
 the door, stood a small fireplace, or, to speak more exactly, 
 
 D
 
 34 TJlC Djoivf [Chap. II 
 
 furnace, formed of a large square block of granite, or some 
 other hard stone, about twenty inches each way; this is hol- 
 lowed inwardly into a deep funnel, open above, and com- 
 municating below with a small horizontal tube or pipe-hole, 
 through which the air passes, bellows-driven, to the lighted 
 charcoal piled up on a grating about half-way inside the cone. 
 In this manner the fuel is soon brought to a white heat, and 
 the water in the coffee-pot placed upon the funnel's mouth 
 is readily brought to boil. The system of coffee furnaces is 
 universal in Djowf and Djebel Shomer, but in Nejed itself, 
 and indeed in whatever other yet more distant regions of 
 Arabia I visited to the south and east, the furnace is replaced 
 by an open fireplace hollowed in the ground floor, with a 
 raised stone border, and dog-irons for the fuel, and so forth, 
 like what may be yet seen in Spain. This diversity of arrange- 
 ment, so far as Arabia is concerned, is due to the greater 
 abundance of fire-wood in the south, whereby the inhabitants 
 are enabled to light up on a larger scale ; whereas throughout 
 the Djowf and Djebel Shomer wood is very scarce, and the 
 only fuel at hand is bad charcoal, often brought from a con- 
 siderable distance, and carefully husbanded. 
 
 This corner of the K'hawah is also the place of distinction, 
 whence honour and coffee radiate by progressive degrees round 
 the apartment, and hereabouts accordingly sits the master of 
 the house himself, or the guests whom he more especially 
 delighteth to honour. 
 
 On the broad edge of the furnace or fireplace, as the case 
 may be, stands an ostentatious range of copper coffee-pots, 
 varying in size and form. Here in the Djowf their make re- 
 sembles that in vogue at Damascus ; but in Nejed and the 
 eastern districts they are of a different and much more orna- 
 mental fashioning, very tall and slender, with several ornamental 
 circles and mouldings in elegant relief, besides boasting long 
 beak-shaped spouts and high steeples for covers. The number 
 of these utensils is often extravagantly great. I have seen a 
 dozen at a time in a row by one fireside, though coffee-making 
 requires, in fact, only three at most. Here in the Djowf five or 
 six are considered to be the thing; for the south this number 
 must be doubled ; all this to indicate the riches and munificence 
 of their owner, by implying the frequency of his guests and the
 
 Chap. II] Tkc Djowf 35 
 
 large amount of coffee that he is in consequence obliged to have 
 made for them. 
 
 Behind this stove sits, at least in wealthy houses, a black 
 slave, whose name is generally a diminutive, in token of fami- 
 liarity or affection \ in the present case it was Soweylim, the 
 diminutive of Salim. His occupation is to make and pour 
 out the coffee ; where there is no slave in the family, the 
 master of the premises himself, or perhaps one of his sons, 
 performs that hospitable duty; rather a tedious one, as we 
 shall soon see. 
 
 We enter. On passing the threshold it is proper to say, 
 *' Bismiilah," i.e.^ " in the name of God ;" not to do so would be 
 looked on as a bad augury alike for him who enters and for 
 those within. The visitor next advances in silence, till on 
 coming about half-way across the room, he gives to all present, 
 but looking specially at the master of the house, the customary 
 "Es-salamu'aleykum," or "Peace be with you,"hterally, "onyou." 
 All this while every one else in the room has kept his place, 
 motionless, and without saying a word. But on receiving the 
 salaam of etiquette, the master of the house rises, and if a strict 
 Wahhabee, or at any rate desirous of seeming such, replies 
 with the full-length traditionary form.ula, "W 'aleykumu-s- 
 salamu, w'rahmat' Ullahi w'barakdtuh," which is, as every one 
 knows, " And with (or, on) you be peace, and the mercy of 
 God, and his blessings." But should he happen to be of anti- 
 Wahhabee tendencies, the odds are that he will say "Marhaba," 
 or "Ahlan w' sahlan," i.e., "welcome," or "worthy, and plea- 
 surable," or the like ; for of such phrases there is an infinite, 
 but elegant variety. All present follow the example thus given, 
 by rising and saluting. The guest then goes up to the master 
 of the house, who has also made a step or two forwards, and 
 places his open hand in the palm of his host's, but \vithout 
 grasping or shaking, which would hardly pass for decorous, and 
 at the same time each repeats once more his greeting, followed 
 by the set phrases of polite enquiry, " How are you ?" " How 
 goes the world with you % " and so forth, all in a tone of great 
 interest, and to be gone over three or four times, till one or 
 other has the discretion to say " El hamdu I'illah," " Praise be 
 to God," or, in equivalent value, " all right," and this is a signal 
 for a seasonable diversion to the ceremonious interrogatory..
 
 36 TJlC Djoivf [Chap. II 
 
 The guest then, after a little contest of courtesy, takes his 
 seat in the honoured post by the fireplace, after an apologetical 
 salutation to the black slave on the one side, and to his nearest 
 neighbour on the other. The best cushions and newest-looking 
 carpets have been of course prepared for his honoured weight 
 Shoes or sandals, for in truth the latter alone are used in Arabia, 
 are slipped off on the sand just before reaching the carpet, and 
 there they remain on the floor close by. But the riding stick 
 or wand, the inseparable companion of every true Arab, whether 
 Bedouin or townsman, rich or poor, gentle or simple, is to be 
 retained in the hand, and will serve for playing with during the 
 pauses of conversation, like the fan of our great-grandmothers 
 in their days of conquest. 
 
 Without delay Soweylim begins his preparations for coffee. 
 These open by about five minutes of blowing with the bellows and 
 arranging the charcoal till a sufficient heat has been produced. 
 N ext he places the largest of the coffee-pots, a huge machine, 
 and about two-thirds full of clear water, close by the edge of 
 the glowing coal-pit, that its contents may become gradually 
 warm while other operations are in progress. He then takes a 
 dirty knotted rag out of a niche in the wall close by, and having 
 untied it, empties out of it three or four handfuls of unroasted 
 coffee, the which he places on a little trencher of platted grass, 
 and picks carefully out any blackened grains, or other non- 
 homologous substances, commonly to be found intermixed with 
 the berries when purchased in gross ; then, after much cleansing 
 and shaking, he pours the gi^ain so cleansed into a large open 
 iron ladle, and places it over the mouth of the funnel, at the 
 same time blowing the bellows and stirring the grains gently 
 round and round till they crackle, redden, and smoke a little, 
 but carefully withdrawing them from the heat long before they 
 turn black or charred, after the erroneous fashion of Turkey and 
 Europe ; after which he puts them to cool a moment on the 
 grass platter. He then sets the warm water in the large coffee- 
 pot over the fire aperture, that it may be ready boiling at the 
 right moment, and draws in close between his own trouserless 
 legs a large stone mortar, ^vith a narrow pit in the middle, just 
 enough to admit the black stone pestle of a foot long and an 
 inch and half thick, which he now takes in hand. Next, pour- 
 ing the half-roasted berries into the mortar, he proceeds to
 
 Chap. II] Tkc Djozvf 3/ 
 
 pound them, striking right into the narrow hollow with won- 
 derful dexterity, nor ever missing his blow till the beans are 
 smashed, but not reduced into powder. He then scoops them 
 out, now reduced to a sort of coarse reddish grit, very unlike 
 the fine charcoal dust which passes in some countries for coffee, 
 and out of which every particle of real aroma has long since been 
 burnt or ground. After all these operations, each performed 
 with as intense a seriousness and deliberate nicety as if the 
 welfare of the entire Djowf depended on it, he takes a smaller 
 coffee-pot in hand, fills it more than half with hot water from 
 the larger vessel, and then shaking the pounded coffee into it, 
 sets it on the fire to boil, occasionally stirring it with a small 
 stick as the water rises to check the ebullition and prevent 
 overflowing. Nor is the boiling stage to be long or vehement ; 
 on the contrary, it is and should be as light as possible. In 
 the interim he takes out of another rag-knot a few aromatic 
 seeds called heyl, an Indian product, but of whose scientific 
 name I regret to be wholly ignorant, or a little saffron, and after 
 slightly pounding these ingredients, throws them into the sim- 
 mering coffee to improve its flavour, for such an additional 
 spicing is held indispensable in Arabia, though often omitted 
 elsewhere in the East. Sugar would be a totally unheard-of 
 profanation. Last of all, he strains off the liquor through some 
 fibres of the inner palm-bark placed for that purpose in the 
 jug-spout, and gets ready the tray of delicate parti-coloured 
 grass, and the small coffee cups ready for pouring out. All 
 these preliminaries have taken up a good half-hour. 
 
 Meantime we have become engaged in active conversation 
 with our host and his friends. But our Sherarat guide, Suley- 
 man, like a true Bedouin, feels too awkward when among towns- 
 folk to venture on the upper places, though repeatedly invited, 
 and accordingly has squatted dowoi on the sand near the 
 entrance. Many of Ghafil's relations are present ; their silver- 
 decorated swords proclaim the importance of the family. Others, 
 too, have come to receive us, for our arrival, announced before- 
 hand by those we had met at the entrance pass, is a sort of 
 event in the town ; the dress of some betokens poverty, others 
 are better clad, but all have a very polite and decorous manner. 
 Many a question is asked about our native land and town, that 
 is to say, Syria and Damascus, confonnably to the disguise
 
 38 TJlC Djoivf [Chap. II 
 
 already adopted, and which it was highly important to keep 
 well up; then follow enquiries regarding our journey, our 
 business, what we have brought with us, about our medicines, 
 our goods and wares, &c. &c. From the vtxy first it is easy 
 for us to perceive that patients and purchasers are likely to 
 abound. Very few travelling merchants, if any, visit the Djowf 
 at this time of year, for one must be mad, or next door to it, 
 to rush into the vast desert around during the heats of June 
 and July; I for one have certainly no intention of doing it 
 again. Hence we had small danger of competitors, and found 
 the market almost at our absolute disposal. 
 
 Kut before a quarter of an hour has passed, and while blacky 
 is still roasting or pounding his coffee, a tall thin lad, Ghafil's 
 eldest son, appears, charged with a large circular dish, grass- 
 platted like the rest, and throws it with a graceful jerk on the 
 sandy floor close before us. He then produces a large wooden 
 bowl full of dates, bearing in the midst of the heap a cup full 
 of melted butter ; all this he places on the circular mat, and 
 says, "Semmoo," literally, ''pronounce the Name," of God, 
 understood ; this means, " set to work at it." Hereon the 
 master of the house quits his place by the fireside and seats 
 himself on the sand opposite to us ; we draw nearer to the dish, 
 and four or five others, after some respectful coyness, join the 
 circle. Every one then picks out a date or two from the juicy 
 half-amalgamated mass, dips them into the butter, and thus 
 goes on eating till he has had enough, when he rises and washes 
 his hands. 
 
 By this time the coffee is ready, and Soweylim begins his 
 round, the coff'ee-pot in one hand, the tray and cups on the 
 other. The first pouring out he must in etiquette drink him- 
 self, by way of a practical assurance that there is no "death 
 in the pot;" the guests are next served, beginning with those 
 next the honourable fire-side ; the master of the house receives 
 his cup last of all. To refuse would be a positive and un- 
 pardonable insult ; but one has not much to swallow at a time, 
 for the coffee-cups, or finjans, are about the size of a large egg- 
 shell at most, and are never more than half-filled. This is 
 considered essential to good breeding, and a brimmer would 
 here imply exactly the reverse of what it does in Europe; 
 why it should be so I hartlly know, unless perhaps the rareness
 
 Chap. II] TJlC DJoZvf 39 
 
 of cup-Stands or " zarfs " (see Lane's " Modern Egyptians ") in 
 Arabia, though these implements are universal in Egypt and 
 Syria, might render an over-full cup inconveniently hot for the 
 fingers that must grasp it without medium. Be that as it may, 
 " fill the cup for your enemy " is an adage common to all, Be- 
 douins or townsmen, throughout the Peninsula. The beverage 
 itself is singularly aromatic and refreshing, a real tonic, and very 
 different from the black mud sucked by the Levantine, or the 
 watery roast-bean preparations of France. When the slave or 
 freeman, according to circumstances, presents you with a 
 cup, he never fails to accompany it with a " Semm'," "say 
 the name of God," nor must you take it without answering 
 "bismillah." 
 
 When all have been thus served, a second round is poured 
 out, but in inverse order, for the host this time drinks first, 
 and the guests last. On special occasions, a first reception, 
 for instance, the ruddy liquor is a third time handed round; 
 nay, a fourth cup is sometinies added. But all these put 
 together do not come up to one-fourth of what a European 
 imbibes in a single draught at breakfast. 
 
 Ghafil would have greatly wished us to set up shop and medi- 
 cine in his own house, nor without reason, for his domestic 
 stock of coffee was almost at an end, and he trusted, under cover 
 of hospitality, to drive an advantageous bargain with us for that 
 which we had brought. But on our part, my comrade and 
 myself were very desirous of finding means for being sometimes 
 alone together ; we had much to talk over and consult about, 
 and that of a nature not always exactly fitted for our friend's 
 hearing; besides, I had my journal to write up, and for this 
 and such like matters we had not as yet enjoyed a moment free 
 from prying observation from the moment of our leaving Ma'an 
 on the 1 6th up to this the 30th of June. Nor could we, while 
 remaining as mere guests under another man's roof, obtain the 
 independent position so desirable for rightly studying the land 
 and its inhabitants. We therefore declined the chief's repeated 
 proffer, and insisted, under various decent pretexts, on the 
 necessity of a separate lodging-place. 
 
 With this Ghafil was at last obliged to comply, and promised 
 us that we should next day be installed in a convenient and 
 central dwelling. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to
 
 40 TJlC Djoivf [Chap. II 
 
 repose, and it was near sunset when our host invited us to visit 
 his gardens in the cool of the evening. I will take the oppor- 
 tunity of leading my readers over the whole of the Djowf, as 
 a general view will help better to understand what follows in 
 the narrative, besides offering much that will be in part new, 
 I should fancy, to the greater number. 
 
 This province is a sort of oasis, a large oval depression of 
 sixty or seventy miles long, by ten or twelve broad, lying between 
 the northern desert that separates it from Syria and Euphrates, 
 and the southern Nefood, or sandy waste, and interposed between 
 it and the nearest mountains of the central Arabian plateau, where 
 it first rises at Djebel Shomer. However, from its comparative 
 proximity to the latter, no less than from the character of its 
 climate and productions, it belongs hardly so much to Northern 
 as to Central Arabia, of which it is a kind of porch or vestibule. 
 If an equilateral triangle were to be drawn, having its base from 
 Damascus to Bagdad, the vertex would find itself pretty exactly 
 at the Djowf, which is thus at a nearly equal distance, south-east 
 and south-west, from the two localities just mentioned, while the 
 same cross-lines, if continued, will give at about the same inter- 
 vals of space in the opposite direction, Medinahon the one hand, 
 and Zulphah, the great commercial door of Eastern Nejed, on 
 the other. Djebel Shomer lies almost due south, and much 
 nearer than any other of the places above specified. Partly to 
 this central position, and partly to its own excavated form, the 
 province owes its appropriate name of Djowf, or "belly." The 
 " Gut," so familiar to Oxford men, is a case of analogous, and 
 not more courtly nomenclature. 
 
 The principal, or rather the only town of the district, all the 
 rest being mere hamlets, bears the name of the entire region. 
 It is composed of eight villages, once distinct, but which have in 
 process of time coalesced into one, and exchanged their separate 
 existence and namefor that of Soolf, or "quarter," of the common 
 borough. Of these Sooks the principal is that belonging to the 
 family Haboob, and in which we were now lodged. It includes 
 the central castle already mentioned, and numbers about four 
 hundred houses. The other quarters, some larger, others smaller, 
 stretch up and down the valley, but are connected together by 
 their extensive gardens. The entire length of the town thus 
 formed, with the cultivation immediately annexed, is full four
 
 Chap. II] TJlC Djozvf 4 1 
 
 miles, but the average breadtla does not exceed half a mile, and 
 sometimes falls short of it. 
 
 The size of the domiciles varies with the condition of their 
 occupants, and the poor are contented with narrow lodgings, 
 though always separate ; for I doubt if throughout the whole of 
 Arabia two families, however needy, inhabit the same dwelling. 
 Ghafil's abode, already described, may give a fair idea of the 
 better kind ; in such we have an outer court, for unlading camels 
 and the like, an inner court, a large reception room, and several 
 other smaller apartments, to which entrance is given by a private 
 door, and where the family itself is lodged. 
 
 But another and a very characteristic feature of domestic 
 architecture is the frequent addition, throughout the Djowf, 
 of a round tower, from thirty to forty feet in height and 
 twelve or more in breadth, with a narrow entrance and loop- 
 holes above. This construction is sometimes contiguous to the 
 dwelling place, and sometimes isolated in a neighbouring garden 
 belonging to the same master. These towers once answered 
 exactly the same purposes as the " torri," well known to travel- 
 lers in many cities of Italy, at Bologna, Sienna, Rome, and 
 elsewhere, and denoted a somewhat analogous state of society 
 to what formerly prevailed there. Hither, in time of the ever- 
 recurring feuds between rival chiefs and factions, the leaders 
 and their partisans used to retire for refuge and defence, and 
 hence they would make their sallies to burn and destroy. These 
 towers, like all the modem edifices of the Djowf, are of unbaked 
 bricks ; their great thickness and solidity of make, along with 
 the extreme tenacity of the soil, joined to a very dry climate, 
 renders the material a rival almost of stonework in strength and 
 endurance. Indeed, the dismantled walls, when left to them- 
 selves without roof or repair, will, and this I have often wit- 
 nessed, defy all the vicissitudes of winter rains and spring gales 
 for an entire century, nor even then give much token of their 
 age. Since the final occupation of this region by the forces of 
 Telal, all these towers have, without exception, been rendered 
 unfit for defence, and some are even half ruined. Here again 
 the phenomena of Europe have repeated themselves in Arabia. 
 
 The houses are not unfrequently isolated each from the other 
 by their gardens and plantation ; and this is especially the case 
 with the dwellings of chiefs and their families. What has just
 
 42 TJlC Djowf [Chap. II 
 
 been said about the towers renders the reasons of this isolation 
 sufficiently obvious. But the dwellings of the commoner sort 
 are generally clustered together, though without symmetry or 
 method. Equally irregular in form are the spaces of which 
 every Sook is possessed for the communal meetings of its in- 
 habitants, and which no more resemble, in mathematical cor- 
 rectness of oudine, Grosvenor or Cavendish Sc^uare, than the 
 rows of houses do Regent or Oxford Street. 
 
 The gardens of the Djowf are much celebrated in this part 
 of the East, and justly so. They are of a productiveness and 
 variety superior to those of Djebel Shomer or of Upper Nejed, 
 and far beyond whatever the Hedjaz and its neighbourhood can 
 offer. Here, for the first time in our southward course, we 
 found the date-palm a main object of cultivation ; and if its 
 produce be inferior to that of the same tree in Nejed and Hasa, 
 it is far, very far, above whatever Egypt, Africa, or the valley of 
 the Tigris from Bagdad to Basra can show. However, the palm 
 is by no means alone here. The apricot and the peach, the fig- 
 tree and the vine, abound throughout these orchards, and their 
 fruit surpasses in copiousness and flavour that supplied by the 
 gardens of Damascus or the hills of Syria and Palestine. In 
 the intenals between the trees or in the fields beyond, corn, 
 leguminous plants, gourds, melons, &c. (Sec, are widely culti- 
 vated. Here, too, for the last time, the traveller bound for the 
 interior sees the irrigation indispensable to all growth and tillage 
 in this droughty climate kept up by running streams of clear 
 water, whereas in the Nejed and its neighbourhood it has to be 
 laboriously procured from wells and cisterns. 
 
 The ripening season of the different kinds of fruit or harvest 
 is, of course, earlier here than in Syria, not to say Europe. 
 Djowf apricots are in full maturity by the end of May, and the 
 vintage falls in July ; peaches delay till August, dates till August 
 and September. Further south, in Nejed, for instance, all these 
 periods are respectively anticipated by about a month, and in 
 'Oman by two months at least. Much did I regret in these 
 places my inability to have with me either thermometer or any 
 similar instrument for ascertaining the niceties of the tempera- 
 ture and atmos]:)here ; but such kind of baggage would have 
 been too inconsistent in Arab eyes with my assumed character, 
 too European, in short; besides that, what between jolting
 
 Chap. II] Tkc Djozvf 43 
 
 camels and roughly-packed saddle-bags, a long glass tube would 
 have run but an indifferent chance of preserving its integrity, 
 even so far as the Djowf. But some rough estimate of the 
 average temperature may be gathered from what I have just 
 said of the fruit-ripening periods in these regions and from other 
 analogous circumstances ; and were we to place the general 
 standard of the Djowf thermometer in the shade at noon during 
 the months of June, July, and August at about 90° or 95° Fahr., 
 we should not, I think, be far wrong for this valley. At night 
 the air is, with very few exceptions, cool, at least comparatively, 
 so that a variation of twenty or more degrees often occurs within 
 a very short period. 
 
 The gardens just described are every\vhere enclosed by high 
 walls of unbaked brick, and are intersected by a labyrinth of 
 little watercourses passing from tree to tree and from furrow to 
 furrow. Among all their different kinds of produce one only 
 is considered as a regular article of sale and export — the date ; 
 and from this the inhabitants derive a tolerable revenue, not, 
 indeed, by traffic within the limits of the Djowf itself, where 
 every one is supplied from his own trees, but from the price 
 received in exchange at Tabook or Ha'yel, Damascus and Bag- 
 dad, for even so far is this fruit carried. It is almost incredible 
 how large a part the date plays in Arab sustenance ; it is the 
 bread of the land, the staff of life, and the staple of commerce. 
 Mahomet, who owed his wonderful success at least as much to 
 his intense nationality as to any other cause, whether natural or 
 supernatural, is said to have addressed his followers on the sub- 
 ject in these words : " Honour the date-tree, for she is your 
 mother ; " a slight extension of the fifth commandment, though 
 hardly, perhaps, exceeding the legislative powers of a prophet. 
 Yet, with all due deference for authority and experience, I can- 
 not exactly agree with him in thinking this leafy mother fully 
 entitled to so unreserved a commendation. The date is too 
 luscious a food not to weary at last, and is, besides, when dried, 
 too heating to be healthy when devoured in the enormous 
 quantities which are here taken. 
 
 The Djowf, being a mere collection of houses and gardens 
 intermingled as it were at random, is naturally unwalled ; the 
 number and bravery of its inhabitants suffice to guard them 
 against Bedouin incursions, nor had they any other enemy to
 
 44 The Djozvf [Chap. ii 
 
 dread for many years, till in the last century Wahhabee despot- 
 ism, and at a yet later period the growing power of Djebel 
 Shomer and its chief, successively assailed and absorbed them. 
 
 Besides the Djowf itself, or capital, there exist several other 
 villages belonging to the same homonymous province, and all 
 subject to the same central governor. Of these the largest is 
 Sekakah ; it lies at about twelve miles distant to the north-east, 
 and thougli inferior to the principal town in importance and 
 fertility of soil, almost equals it in the number of its inhabitants. 
 I should reckon the united populations of these two localities — 
 men, women, and children — at about thirty-three or thirty-four 
 thousand souls. This calculation, like many others before us 
 in the course of the work, rests partly on an approximate survey 
 of the number of dwellings, partly on the military muster, and 
 partly on what I heard on the subject from the natives them- 
 selves. A census is here unknown, and no register records 
 birth, marriage, or death. Yet, by aid of the war list, which 
 generally represents about one-tenth of the entire population, 
 a fair though not an absolute, idea may be obtained on this 
 point. 
 
 Lastly, around and at no great distance from these main 
 centres are several small villages or hamlets, eight or ten in 
 number, as I was told, and containing each of them from twenty 
 to fifty or sixty houses. But I had neither time nor opportunity 
 to visit each separately. They cluster round lesser water 
 springs, and offer in miniature features much resembling those 
 of the capital. The entire population of the province cannot 
 exceed forty or forty-two thousand, but it is a brave one, and 
 very liberally provided with the physical endowments of which 
 it has been acutely said that they are seldom despised save by 
 those who do not themselves possess them. Tall, well-propor- 
 tioned, of a tolerably fair complexion, set off by long curling locks 
 of jet-black hair, with features for the most part regular and 
 intelligent, and a dignified carriage, the Djowfites are eminently 
 good specimens of what may be called the pure northern or 
 Ismaelitish Arab type, and in all these respects they yield the 
 palm to the inhabitants of Djebel Shomer alone. Their large- 
 developed forms and open countenance contrast strongly with 
 the somewhat dwarfish stature and suspicious under-glance of 
 the Bedouin. They are, besides, a very healthy people, and
 
 Chap II] Tkc Djoivf 45 
 
 keep up their strength and activity even to an advanced age. 
 It is no uncommon occurrence here to see an old man of 
 seventy set out fuU-aniied among a band of youths ; though, by 
 the way, such " green old age " is often to be met with also in 
 the central provinces further south, as I have had frequent op- 
 portunity of witnessing. The climate, too, is good and dry, and 
 habits of out-door life contribute not a little to the maintenance 
 of health and vigour. 
 
 In manners, as in locality, the worthies of Djowf occupy a 
 sort of half-way position between Bedouins and the inhabitants 
 of the cultivated districts. Thus they partake largely in the 
 nomade's aversion to mechanical occupations, in his indifference 
 to literar)^ acquirements, in his aimless fickleness too, and even 
 in his treacherous ways. And though in general much superior 
 in politeness and in self-respect to the Sherarat and their fel- 
 lows, they are equally far from displaying the dignified and 
 even polished courtesy usual in Shomer and Nejed, much less 
 that of Hasa and 'Oman. On the other hand, in cleanliness of 
 person and habitation, in agricultural skill, in reasoning powers, 
 in a sort of local patriotism, in capacity for treating with 
 strangers and conducting commerce, and even in an occasional 
 desire of instruction and progress, they come nearer to the 
 remaining townsmen and villagers of the Peninsula. They 
 were, in fact, originally, to judge by the annals of Ta'i, their 
 ancestral tribe, a fairly civilized race after the old Arab fashion, 
 and have still a positive tendency to become so once more, 
 though long held back by the untoward circumstances of war 
 and faction, besides the deteriorating influence of the savage 
 tribes amongst whom they are in a way isolated by their geo- 
 graphical situation. The following incident, in which we our- 
 selves had nearly played a very prominent, though by no means 
 an equally agreeable part, may serve for a tolerable illustration 
 of their actual state between these conflicting tendencies. 
 
 I have said in the preceding chapter, that while we were yet 
 threading the naiTow gorge near the first entrance of the valley, 
 several horsemen appeared on the upper margin of the pass, 
 and one of them questioned our guide, and then, after a short 
 consultation with his companions, called out to us to go on and 
 fear nothing. Now the name of this individual Avas Sulman- 
 ebn-ipahir, a very adventurous and fairly intelligent young
 
 46 TJlC Djowf [Chap. II 
 
 fellow, with whom next-door neighbourhood and frequent inter- 
 course rendered us intimate during our stay at the Djowf. One 
 day, while we were engaged in friendly conversation, he said, 
 half laughing, " Do you know what we were consulting about 
 while you were in the pass below on the morning of your arri- 
 val % It was whether we should make you a good reception, 
 and thus procure ourselves the advantage of having you resi- 
 dents amongst us, or whether we should not do better to kill 
 you all three, and take our gain from the booty to be found in 
 your baggage." I replied with equal coolness, " It might have 
 proved an awkward affair for yourself and your friends, since 
 Hamood your governor could hardly have failed to get wind of 
 the matter, and would have taken it out of you." " Pooh ! " 
 replied our friend, " never a bit ; as if a present out of the 
 plunder would not have tied Hamood's tongue." " Bedouins 
 that you are," said I, laughing. " Of course we are," answered 
 Sulman, "for such we all were till quite lately, and the present 
 system is too recent to have much changed us." However, he 
 admitted that they all had, on second thoughts, congratulated 
 themselves on not having preferred bloodshed to hospitality, 
 though perhaps the better resolution was rather owing to inte- 
 rested than to moral motives. 
 
 The most distinctive good feature of the inhabitants of Djowf 
 is their liberality. Nowhere else, even in Arabia, is the guest, 
 so at least he be not murdered before admittance, better treated, 
 or more cordially invited to become in every way one of them- 
 selves. Courage, too, no one denies them, and they are equally 
 lavish of their o\vn lives and property as of their neighbours'. 
 Their central position, already explained, is favourable to com- 
 merce, though the long distances which must be traversed to or 
 from their valley limits this commerce, with few exceptions, to 
 certain fixed seasons of the year, namely, the cooler months of 
 winter and spring. Yet they have not hitherto learnt to appre- 
 ciate the advantages of establishing a regular market-place for 
 their wares, nor does a single shop exist even in the capital. 
 Buying and selling are carried on in the private dwelling-places 
 themselves, and the workshop of the artisan is also his domicile. 
 This system has been established and is still maintained in 
 favour of the monopoly thus thrown into the hands of the local 
 chief in the respective quarters of the town, but it seems likely
 
 Chap. II] TJlC DjOWf 47 
 
 to be abandoned for a better, at least if the present rule be 
 maintained for some years to come. 
 
 Let us now resume the narrative. On the morning after our 
 arrival — it was now the ist of July — Ghafil caused a small house 
 in the neighbourhood, belonging to one of his dependants, to 
 be put at our entire disposal, according to our previous request. 
 This our new abode consisted of a small court, with two rooms, 
 one on each side, for warehouse and habitation, the whole being 
 surrounded with an outer wall, whose door was closed by lock 
 and bolt. Of a kitchen-room there was small need, so constant 
 and hospitable are the invitations of the good folks here to 
 strangers ; and if our house was not over spacious, it afforded 
 at least what we most desired, namely, seclusion and privacy at 
 will ; it was, moreover, at our host's cost, rent and reparations. 
 
 Hither accordingly we transferred baggage and chattels, and 
 arranged everything as comfortably as we best could. And as 
 ■we had already concluded from the style and conversation of 
 those around us, that their state of society was hardly far 
 enough advanced to offer a sufficiently good prospect for medi- 
 cal art, whose exercise to be generally advantageous requires a 
 certain amount of culture and aptitude in the patient, no less 
 than of skill in the physician, we resolved to make commerce 
 our main affair here, trusting that by so doing we should gain 
 a second advantage, that of lightening our more bulky goods, 
 such as coffee and cloth, whose transport had already armoyed 
 us not a little. 
 
 But in fact we were not more desirous to sell than the men, 
 women, and children of the Djowf were to buy. From the very 
 outset our little courtyard was crowded with customers, and the 
 most amusing scenes of Arab haggling, in all its mixed shrewd- 
 ness and simplicity, diverted us through the week. Handker- 
 chief after handkerchief, yard after yard of cloth, beads for the 
 women, knives, combs, looking-glasses, and what not '? (for our 
 stock was a thorough miscellany), were soon sold off, some for 
 ready money, others on credit ; and it is but justice to say that 
 all debts so contracted were soon paid in very honestly ; Oxford 
 High Street tradesmen, at least in former times, were not 
 always equally fortunate. 
 
 Meanwhile we had the very best opportunity of becoming 
 acquainted with and appreciating all classes, nay, almost all
 
 48 TJlC Djoivf [Chap. H 
 
 individuals of the place. Peasants too from various hamlets 
 arrived, led by rumour, whose trumpet, prone to exaggerate 
 under every sky, had proclaimed us throughout the valley of 
 Djowf for much more important characters and possessed 
 of a much larger stock in hand than was really the case. All 
 crowded in, and before long there were more customers than 
 wares assembled in the store-room. 
 
 Ghafil, for his part, employed a hundred petty artifices to 
 prevent our selling the coffee, which he vehemently desired to 
 resen'e for his own bargain. No sooner had we an offer for it, 
 than he sent some of his relations or friends to dissuade us from 
 coming to terms ; and though we had early perceived his aim, 
 we thought it best to wink at it, willing to gratify our first and 
 principal host, even at the cost of some slight loss to ourselves. 
 I say, our principal host, for everybody who had a dinner or 
 a supper to offer was also our host at the Djowf; invitations 
 rained in on all sides, and it would have been considered a 
 shame on the hospitality of the people in general, and a blot on 
 their fair name, had we ever been left to dine twice under the 
 same roof Our manner of passing the time was as follows. 
 We used to rise at early dawn, lock up the house, and go out in 
 the pure cool air of the morning to some quiet spot among the 
 neighbouring palm-groves, or scale the wall of some garden, or 
 pass right on through the bye-lanes to where cultivation merges 
 in the adjoining sands of the valley; in short, to any convenient 
 place where we might hope to pass an hour of quiet undisturbed 
 by Arab sociability, and have leisure to plan our work for the 
 day. We would then return home about sunrise, and find out- 
 side the door some tall lad sent by his fother, generally one of 
 the wealthier and more influential inhabitants of the quarter, 
 yet unvisited by us, waiting our return, to invite us to an early 
 breakfast. We would now accompany our Mercury to his domi- 
 cile, where a hearty reception, and some neighbours collected 
 for the occasion, or attracted by a cup of good coffee, were sure 
 to be in attendance. Here an hour or so would wear away, 
 and some medical or mercantile transaction be sketched out. 
 We of course would bring the conversation, whenever it was 
 possible, on local topics, according as those present seemed 
 likely to afford us exacter knowledge and insight into the real 
 state and circumstances of the land. We would then return to
 
 CiiAr. 11], The Djoivf 49 
 
 our own quarters, where a crowd of customers awaiting us, 
 would allow us neither rest nor pause till noon. Then a short 
 interval for date or pumpkin eating in some neighbour's house 
 would occur, and after that business be again resumed for three 
 or four hours. A walk among the gardens, rarely alone, more 
 often in companywith friends and acquaintances, would follow; 
 and meanwhile an invitation to supper somewhere had unfail- 
 ingly been given and accepted. 
 
 This important meal is here, as almost ever}'Avhere else in 
 Arab towns, a little before sunset The staple article of Djo^vf 
 fare, and in Djebel Shomer also, is Djereeshah, that is, wheat 
 coarsely ground, and then boiled ; butter and meat are added, 
 sometimes vegetables, gourds, cucumbers, and the like ; eggs, 
 hard-boiled by the way, occasionally come in; but however 
 various the items, the whole is piled up heapwise on one large 
 copper dish, of circular form, and often a foot and a half or even 
 two feet in diameter. The food itself is served scalding hot, but 
 is to be eaten Avith the hand alone; not that any philosophical 
 or moral objection exists to forks and spoons, as I have seen 
 ingeniously stated by an author — French, I believe — but simply 
 that those articles are not to be had here, nor are they indeed 
 any w^ay requisite where soup and joints of roast meat are alike 
 out of the question. Bread never figures at a DjoA\-f supper, 
 though it is common enough at breakfast. This article assumes 
 in Arabia infinite varieties of form and quality ; here it consists 
 of large unleavened cakes of a moderate thickness. Dates are 
 often added to represent garnish at supper ; from what meal 
 indeed are they absent] No drink but water is known here- 
 abouts, though date-tree wine might easily be manufactured, 
 and the old poets and writers of Northern Arabia often mention 
 it; but it has now gone out of fashion, and even remembrance. 
 
 After supper all rise, wash their hands, and then go out into the 
 open air to sit and smoke a quiet pipe under the still transparent 
 sky of the summer evening. Neither mist nor vapour, much 
 less a cloud, appears; the moon dips down in silver)'^ whiteness 
 to the very verge of the palm-tree tops, and the last rays of day- 
 light are almost as sharp and clear as the dawn itself. Chat and 
 society continue for an hour or two, and then every one goes 
 home, most to sleep, I fancy, for few Penseroso lamps are here 
 to be seen at midnight hour, nor does the spirit of Plato stand 
 
 E
 
 50 TJlC DjOZuf [Chap. II 
 
 much risk of unsphering from the nocturnal studies of the 
 Djowf ; we, to write our journal, or to compare observations 
 and estimate characters. 
 
 Sometimes a comfortable landed proprietor would invite us 
 to pass an extemporary holiday morning in his garden, or rather 
 orchard, there to eat grapes and enjoy ourselves at will, seated 
 under clustering vine-trellises, with palm-trees above and run- 
 ning streams around. How pleasant it was after the desert ! 
 At other times visits of patients, prescriptions, and similar duties 
 would take up a part of the day; or some young fellow, par- 
 ticularly desirous of information about Syria or Egypt, or 
 perhaps curious after history and moral science, would hold us 
 for a couple of hours in serious and sensible talk, at any rate 
 to our advantage. 
 
 Let us now pay our official visit to Hamood. To this Ghafil, 
 after delaying as long as he decently could, at last consented 
 on the fourth day after our arrival. We accordingly set out 
 from his house all together, in great state and gravity, accom- 
 ])anied by a bevy of Haboob kinsmen, and wound for a full 
 quarter of an hour through narrow garden alleys, overshaded 
 by palms and moist with flowing waters, till we emerged on a 
 large open space just at the rise of the castle mound. On one 
 side, but at some distance, rose the solitary round tower of 
 " Marid," or "the Rebellious," whose massive stone walls are 
 more than once mentioned in Arab poetry. But its architec- 
 ture offers no trace of Greek or Roman skill \ it is clearly the 
 work of Arab labour and on an Arab plan, and being such pre- 
 sents but little to the study of the artist or the archaeologist. 
 However, the actual tenants of the soil, themselves incapable 
 of similar constructions, gaze on it with an admiration in which 
 a European can hardly share. 
 
 Below us where we now stood on the uprising ground of the 
 citadel lay the ruined dwellings of the chiefs of Haboob, 
 slaughtered or exiled ; and all around them the stumps of 
 palm-trees cut down or burnt, and the traces of now unwatered 
 gardens bear witness to the late war. Above in front of us rises 
 the castle itself, now the residence of Hamood. It is a large 
 irregular mass of rough masonry, patched up and added to 
 again and again, till its original rectangular form has almost 
 disappeared. Indeed, the southerly side is the only one that
 
 Chap. II] TJlC Djowf 5 1 
 
 has preserved its first line of construction tolerably unbroken, 
 and here the huge size and exact squaring of the stones in the 
 lower tiers indicates the early date of the fabric, while several 
 small windows, at a height of about ten or twelve feet from the 
 ground, are topped by what, if I remember right, is called the 
 Cyclopean arch — a specimen of which may yet be seen in the so- 
 called Palace of Atreus at Mycenae — tliat most primitive of con- 
 structions, in which two flat stones are placed slantways against 
 each other. Near the centre of the castle stands a square tower, 
 very broad for its height, which hardly exceeds fifty feet, while the 
 sides have each a breadth of twenty, or thereabouts. It seems 
 to belong to a later period than the southern wall, and has 
 narrow loopholes for defence. A large semicircular curtain, 
 coming round from this keep to a corner of the outer enclo- 
 sure, is evidently of yet more recent fabrication, being built 
 roughly and unsystematically with rubble and coarse blocks, 
 whereas in the stonework of the tower some attempt at regu- 
 larity has been kept up. The entrance gate, placed at the 
 southern angle of this moUey pile, seems coeval with the main 
 tower rather than with the older remains; it is arched, and in 
 this differs from the style used in Nejed, where doors and roofs 
 alike are always flat ; a projecting parapet crowns it above, and 
 its approach is somewhat guarded by the flanking walls, be- 
 tween which it retreats a little. Within, the castle courts and 
 galleries are paved with large irregular flags, well fitted together, 
 much like what we see in some streets of Florence ; and the 
 passages that lead to the interior are long, dark, and vaulted. 
 Here on one of the lateral walls I noticed two deeply-cut 
 crosses, certainly of ancient date, and such as not unfrequently 
 occur amid the ruins of Hauran in Syria ; they bear witness to 
 the prevalence of the Christian religion here in a former age. 
 
 The entrances, at the moment of our arrival, were almost 
 filled up by the attendants of Hamood, all armed with swords 
 or guns, and tolerably well dressed, but without any distinctive 
 badge or livery. We passed through the midst of them, re- 
 ceiving the stares of the idle and the salutations of tlie polite, 
 till we reached a second inner court, close under the keep just 
 described, and there Hamood was seated in his ly'hawah, or 
 reception room, a large and gloomy apartment, with high raised 
 seats of stone against the two sides farthest from the fireplace j
 
 52 The Djoii'f [Chap. 11 
 
 this last was placed, as usual, in the corner farthest from the 
 entrance. 
 
 There, in the place of distinction, which he never yields to 
 any individual of Djowf, whatever be his birth or wealth, 
 appeared the governor, a strong, broad-shouldered, dark- 
 browed, dark-eyed man, clad in the long white shirt of the 
 country, and over it a handsome black cloak, embroidered 
 with crimson silk ; on his august head a silken handkerchief 
 or KefTee'yeh, girt by a white band of finely woven camel's 
 hair ; and in his fingers a grass fan. He rose graciously on our 
 approach, extended to us the palm of his hand, and made us 
 sit down near his side, keeping, however, Ghafil, as an old 
 acquaintance, between himself and us, perhaps as a precau- 
 tionary arrangement against any sudden assault or treasonable 
 intention on our part, for an Arab, be he who he may, is never 
 ofi" his guard when new faces are in presence. In other respects 
 he showed us much courtesy and good will, made many civil 
 enquiries about our health after so fatiguing a journey, praised 
 Damascus and the Damascenes, by way of an indirect compli- 
 ment, and offered us a lodging in the castle. But here Ghafil 
 availed himself of the privileges conceded by Arab custom to 
 priority of hostship to put in his negative on our behalf; nor 
 were we anxious to press the matter. A pound or so of our 
 choicest coffee, with which we on this occasion presented his 
 excellency, both as a mute witness to the object of our journey, 
 and the better to secure his good will, was accepted very readily 
 by the great man, who in due return offered us his best services. 
 We replied that we stood in need of nothing save his long life, 
 this being the Arab formula for rejoinder to such fair speeches; 
 and, next in order, of means to get safe on to Ha'yel so soon 
 as our business at the Djowf should permit, being desirous to 
 establish ourselves under the immediate patronage of Telal. 
 In this he promised to aid us, and he kept his word. 
 
 Of course coffee was served and dates eaten. Meanwhile 
 the three men of Shomer, whom I have mentioned as Hamood's 
 council or check-weight, after keeping silence awhile where they 
 sat on the raised stone platform opposite to the governor, now 
 entered into familiar conversation. They were all three well- 
 looking middle-aged individuals, wearing the light cotton hand- 
 kerchief spotted with red or blue, which is almost peculiar to
 
 Chap. II] Tkc Djowf 53 
 
 Djebel Shomer, and everything in their personal appearance 
 bespoke a degree of culture and intelligence placing them con- 
 siderably above the inhabitants of the Djowf, and even above 
 Hamood himself, who, although prudent and skilful enough in 
 his affairs, is yet half a Bedouin in manners, and thereby all 
 the better suited to the people he rules. With much ease and 
 off-handedness they drew us into talk, showed great interest in 
 our well-doing, and united in encouraging us to lose no time in 
 making our way to Ha'yel, where they assured us of an ex- 
 cellent welcome from Telal. This was the first time that we 
 heard the genuine Arabic of the interior spoken, and we were 
 both of us much struck by its extreme purity and grace, accom- 
 panied by an extreme elegance of enunciation ; it is in fact the 
 language of the Coran, neither more nor less, with all its niceties, 
 inflections, and desinences, not one is lost or slurred over. 
 Our ears were further charmed by the desire they manifested 
 to witness some display of medical skill, and by the promise 
 that our art would be duly appreciated and earnestly sought 
 after in Djebel Shomer, while Telal himself was by their account 
 a sort of Augustus and Maecenas in one, and not a whit less 
 superior to Hamood than the town of Ha'yel to the semi-Bedouin 
 village where we now were. 
 
 Close by these lords of the privy council sat the Metowwaa', 
 or minister — clergyman, if you will, (the literal meaning of the 
 Arabic word is, "one who enforces obedience," to God, under- 
 stood,) — an old sour-faced gentleman sent hither to teach the 
 men of Djowf their catechism, and little liked either by his 
 scholars or his companions ; a circumstance nowise tending to 
 improve his habitually bad temper. 
 
 During the eighteen days which went by in the Djowf, 
 Hamood, with all his council, very politely returned our visit ; 
 and we on our part made frequent excursions to the castle, and 
 more than once partook of its hospitality, or passed a spare hour 
 in studying the various and interesting scenes it presented. 
 For Hamood, in virtue of his judicial and executive powers, 
 held every morning, and some afternoons also, long audiences 
 in behalf of whoever had grievances to redress or claims to 
 advance ; the contending parties would on such occasions come 
 to plead their cause in person before him in the K'hawah ; and 
 the governor himself, after a patient hearing, would pronounce
 
 54 TJlC Dj'oti'f [Chap. H 
 
 sentence. I ought to say that cases of Hfe and death, along 
 with all permanent legislative acts, are reserved for the head 
 jurisdiction of Ha'yel; whatever falls short of these is left to the 
 vicegerent, who has accordingly plenty of work to go through, 
 the more so that it has almost all to be done personally. A 
 lawyer would have but an indifferent chance of livelihood in 
 Arabia, where every one, the very Bedouins included, has 
 eloquence and presence of mind enough to defend his own 
 cause ; and the chicane of courts would be of little purpose in 
 such an assembly, though bribery is not always absent nor 
 unsuccessful. I was much amused by the simplicity and 
 straightforwardness of all parties in these tribunals ; a court- 
 martial is complicated in comparison. But when the plaintiff 
 or defendant chances to be a Bedouin, we have a thorough 
 comedy ; the following, for instance. 
 
 One day my comrade and myself were on a visit of mere 
 ])oliteness at the castle, the customary ceremonies had been 
 gone through, and business, at first interrupted by our entrance, 
 had resumed its course. A Bedouin of the Ma'az tribe was 
 pleading his cause before Hamood, and accusing some one of 
 having forcibly taken away his camel. The governor was seated 
 with an air of intense gravity in his corner, half leaning on a 
 cushion, while the Bedouin, cross-legged on the ground before 
 him, and within six feet of his person, flourished in his hand 
 a large reaping-hook, identically that which is here used for 
 cutting grass. Energetically gesticulating with this graceful 
 implement, he thus challenged his judge's attention. " You, 
 Hamood, do you hear ? " (stretching out at the same time the 
 hook towards the governor, so as almost to reach his body, as 
 though he meant to rip him open) ; " he has taken from me my 
 camel; have you called God to mind?" (again putting his 
 weapon close to the unflinching magistrate); " the camel is my 
 camel; do you hear?" (with another reminder from the reaping- 
 hook); "he is mine, by God's award and yours too; do you 
 hear, child?" and so on, while IJamood sat without moving a 
 muscle of face or limb, imperturbable and impassible, till some 
 one of the counsellors quieted the plaintiff, with " Remember 
 God, child ; it is of no consequence, you shall not be wronged." 
 Then the judge called on the witnesses, men of the Djowf, to 
 say their say, and on their confirmation of the Bedouin's state-
 
 ciiAr. in TJie Djoivf 55 
 
 ment, gave orders to two of his satellites to search for and 
 bring before him the accused party ; while he added to the 
 Ma'azee, "All right, daddy, you shall have your own ; put your 
 confidence in God," and composedly motioned him back to 
 his place. 
 
 Within the castle limits is enclosed the spacious Mesjid, or 
 Mosque, constructed by order of 'Obeyd when on his first 
 visit to the Djowf But though large, it is a very simple and 
 unadorned construction, being nothing more than a sort of 
 portico, fourteen columns in length by three in depth; and since 
 the space from pillar to pillar is about twelve feet, the entire 
 edifice may be a hundred and eighty long, and nearly forty 
 broad. The supports are of wood, the walls of earth, and the 
 roof of flat rafters. In this meeting-place the stated Friday 
 prayers are read, and the Khotbah or stereotyped sermon 
 pronounced ; all who can attend ought to do so ; but Hamood 
 takes little pains to enforce such regularity ; and in absence of 
 positive constraint, the orthodox injunctions to attendance 
 have too feeble an echo in Djowf hearts to bring about even a 
 tolerable assembly. The sultan's name, 'Abd-el-'Azeez Khan, 
 is mentioned in the Khotbah, and that is all his Ottoman 
 Majesty gets of subjection from the Djowf, or indeed through- 
 out the dominions of Telal. Farther south, the " Lord of the two 
 continents and of the two seas," is denied even the empty 
 honour of name or recognition. 
 
 A fortnight and more went by, and found us still in the 
 Djowf, " honoured guests " in Arab phrase, and well rested 
 from the bye-gone fatigues of the desert. Ghafil's dwelling was 
 still, so to speak, our official home ; but there were two other 
 houses where we were still more at our ease ; that of Dafee, 
 the same who along with Ghafil came to meet us on our first 
 arrival ; and that of Salim, a respectable, and, in his way, a 
 literary old man, our near neighbour, and surrounded by a large 
 family of fine strapping youths, all of them brought up more or 
 less in the fear of Allah and in good example. Hither we used 
 to retire when wearied of Ghafil and his like, and pass a quiet 
 hour in their K'hawah, reciting or hearing Arab poetry, talking 
 over the condition of the country and its future prospects, dis- 
 cussing points of morality, or commenting on the ways and 
 fashions of the day. In either of these houses we were always
 
 56 TJic Djoivf ilhap. II 
 
 sure of finding a hearty welcome and a reluctant farewell ; and 
 when afterwards far off in Ha'yel we continued to receive 
 messages from Diifee and Salim to beg the realization of our 
 ambiguous and indefinite promises of a future return. 
 
 However, in very truth, all, or almost all, were our friends at 
 heart, and really meant us well, with a hearty desire to see us 
 established among them. Proffers of partnership in business, 
 nay, of marriage alliance, were not uncommon, and we had to 
 defend ourselves not less strenuously than Ulysses against the 
 charms of more than one half unveiled Calypso. Even Ghafil 
 was, to a certain extent, sincere ; and it is a general feature in 
 the Arab character, that the heartiest friendship and the most 
 profuse generosity are nowise incompatible with a hard bargain 
 or taking an advantage in affairs, of which this worthy's conduct 
 was an excellent illustration. 
 
 But now came another question ; how were we to get on to 
 Djebel Shomer 1 Between it and us lay the formidable sand- 
 passes, called the Nefood, where Arab travellers, however bold, 
 are in no hurry to adventure at any season of the year, and to 
 pass which in the latter half of July might be reckoned almost 
 as difiicult an exploit, tliough for a somewhat contrary reason, 
 as to sail through Behring's Straits in the month of January. 
 In fact, from May to September few and fiir between are those 
 Avho commit their beasts or themselves to the hazards of these 
 burning sands. So that to all our enquiries on this subject, 
 " wait till the dates be ripe " was the only answer, and these 
 same dates were not to ripen till the rise of Soheyl, or Canopus, 
 here coincident with the first week of September, and the be- 
 ginning of the new year in popular computation. 
 
 " What to do ? " as I once heard a Frenchman say, thus 
 translating his " quoi faire?" a thought too literally into Eng- 
 lish. We did not well know, only we were terribly annoyed 
 at the prospect of so long a delay, when there occurred a 
 favourable and unlooked-for opportunity of accomplishing our 
 wishes. 
 
 Telal, soon after taking possession of the Djowf, had begim 
 to use that province as a basis for extending his power thence 
 over the whole of the surrounding desert and its indwellers, up 
 to the Pilgrim road on the west and Syria on the north. The 
 intervening space is, as we have already seen, occupied chiefly
 
 Chap. II] TJlC Djoii'f 57 
 
 by the Sherarat Bedouins, cTgainst whom Telal directed an 
 open attack, terminated the very year of our visit, 1862, by the 
 submission of the 'Azzam, the last independent branch of the 
 tribe. Just at this nick of time about a dozen chiefs of that 
 clan arrived at the Djowf, on their way to Djebel Shomer, 
 where they purposed to win Telal's good graces by tendering 
 him their allegiance in his very capital. Hamood received them, 
 and lodged them for several days, while they rested from their 
 past fatigues, and prepared themselves for what yet lay before 
 them. Some inhabitants of the Djowf, whose business required 
 their presence at Ha'yel, were to join the party. Hamood sent 
 for us, and gave us notice of this expedition, and on our 
 declaring that we desired to profit by it, he handed us a scrap 
 of paper, addressed to Telal himself, wherein he certified that 
 we had duly paid the entrance fee exacted from strangers on 
 their coming within the limits of Shomer rule, and that we 
 were indeed respectable individuals, worthy of all good treat- 
 ment. Now, as the toll thus levied on the frontiers amounts 
 to only four shillings or somewhat less per individual, one 
 cannot say that it is too much to pay in quittance of all 
 custom-house duties or passport fees soever. Nor is anything 
 else required or expected. We then, in presence of Hamood, 
 struck our bargain with one of the band for a couple of 
 camels, whose price, including all the services of their master 
 as guide and companion for ten days of July travelling, was 
 not extravagant either ; it came up to just a hundred and ten 
 piastres, equivalent to eighteen or nineteen shillings of English 
 money. 
 
 We now laid in provisions for the way in dates and flour, 
 repaired our water-skins, recovered what arrears of debt yet 
 remained in our favour, and awaited the moment for starting ; 
 while our Djowf friends did their best to dissuade us from such 
 a journey at such a season. As we could not of course explain 
 to them our precise reasons for so ill-timed an adventure, our 
 obstinacy in rejecting their well-meant advice seemed almost 
 incomprehensible ; till they ended by setting it down to our 
 being "Sho'wam" or Damascenes ; the inhabitants of SvTia in 
 general, and those of the capital yet more specially, being 
 famous for headiness and the spirit of contradiction. 
 
 Many delays occurred, and it was not till the 18th of July,
 
 58 TJlC Djozvf [Chap. II 
 
 when the figs were fiilly ripe — a circumstance which furnished 
 the natives of Djowf with new cause of wonder at our rushing 
 away, in lieu of waiting Hke rational beings to enjoy the good 
 things of the land — that we received our final "Son of Hodeirah, 
 depart" This was intimated to us, not by a locust, but by a 
 creature almost as queer, namely, our new conductor, a half- 
 cracked Arab, neither peasant nor Bedouin, but something ano- 
 malous between the two, hight Djedey', and a native of the 
 outskirts of Djebel Shomer, who darkened our door in the fore- 
 noon, and warned us to make our final packing up and get 
 ready for starting the same day. Near the hour called by Arabs 
 the 'Asr, that is, between three and four after mid-day, we took 
 leave of our neighbours and mounted our camels, now much 
 lighter laden than when we set out for Ma'an, while Pafee, 
 'Okeyl (the eldest son of Ghafil, for his father was just then 
 absent from the Djowf on a hunting party), and some others of 
 our acquaintance, accompanied us, according to Eastern cus- 
 tom, for a short way on the outset of our journey, heartily sorry 
 to see us go, and with many invitations for a prompt return. 
 " Insha' Allah," "if God wills," was our reply. What better 
 could we say ? 
 
 When once clear of the houses and gardens, Djedey' led us 
 by a road skirting the southern side of the valley, till we arrived, 
 before sunset, at the other or eastern extremity of the town. 
 Here was the rendezvous agreed on by our companions ; but 
 they did not appear, and reason good, for they had right to a 
 supper more under Hamood's roof, and were loth to lose it. So 
 we halted and alighted alone. The chief of this quarter, which 
 is above two miles distant from the castle, invited us to supper, 
 and thence we returned to our baggage, there to sleep. To pass 
 a summer's night in the open air on a soft sand-bed implies no 
 great privation in these countries, nor is any one looked on as 
 a hero for so doing. 
 
 Early next morning, while Venus yet shone like a drop of 
 melted silver on the slaty blue, three of our party arrived and 
 announced that the rest of our companions would soon come 
 up. Encouraged by the news, we determined to march on 
 without further tarrying, and ere sunrise we climbed the steep 
 ascent of the southerly bank, whence we had a magnificent 
 uew of the whole length of the Djowf, its castle and towers.
 
 Chap. II] TJlB DJoivf 59 
 
 and groves and gardens, in the ruddy light of morning, and be- 
 yond the drear northern deserts stretching far away. We then 
 dipped down the other side of the bordering hill, not again to 
 see the Djowf till — who knows when? 
 
 Our way was now to the south-east, across a large plain 
 varied with sand -mounds and covered with the Ghada bush 
 already described, so that our camels were much more inclined 
 to crop pasture than to do their business in journeying ahead. 
 About noon we halted near a large tuft of this shrub, at least 
 ten feet high. We constructed a sort of cabin with boughs 
 broken off the neighbouring plants and suitably arranged shed- 
 wise, and thus passed the noon hours of intolerable heat till 
 the v/hole band came in sight. 
 
 They were barbarous, nay, almost savage fellows, like most 
 Sherarat, whether chiefs or people ; but they had been some- 
 what awed by the grandeurs of Hamood, and yet more so by 
 the prospect of coming so soon before the terrible majesty of 
 Telal himself All were duly armed, and had put on their best 
 suits of apparel, an equipment worthy of a scarecrow or of an 
 Irishman at a wake. Tattered red overalls ; cloaks with more 
 patches than original substance, or, worse yet, which opened 
 large mouths to cry for patching, but had not got it ; little 
 broken tobacco pipes, and no trowsers soever (by the way, all 
 genuine Arabs are satis culottes) ; faces meagre with habitual 
 hunger, and black w'ith dirt and weather stains ; — such were the 
 high-bom chiefs of 'Azzam, on their way to the king's levee. 
 Along with them were two Bedouins of the Shomer tribe, a 
 degree better in guise and person than the Sherarat ; and lastly, 
 three men of Djowf, who looked almost like gentlemen among 
 such ragamuffins. As to my comrade and myself, I trust that 
 the reader will charitably suppose us the exquisites of the party. 
 So w^e rode on together. 
 
 Next morning, a little after sunrise, we arrived at a white 
 calcareous valley, girt round with low hills of marl and sand. 
 Here was the famous Be'er Shekeek, or "well of Shekeek," 
 whence we were to fill our water-skins, and that thoroughly, 
 since no other source lay before us for four days' march amid 
 the sand passes, up to the very verge of Djebel Shomer. This 
 well is very deep, eighty feet at least, judging by the length of 
 cord let down into it before reaching water ; it is about three
 
 6o The Djowf ichap. ii 
 
 feet in breadth at its orifice, though widening out cistern-hke 
 below. Around it is a raised stone parapet, and the interior 
 also is coated with masonry. 
 
 Here our Arabs set to work, and shouting, laughing, and 
 pulling, drew up bucket after bucket, till they filled the skins 
 to bursting. Noon has now passed, and there is no time to 
 lose ; indeed, the stock of water laid in will barely suffice its 
 allotted period, especially in such a heat as this. So we all 
 mount our camels, who have been wisely for once employed 
 in storing a good provision of moisture in their complicated 
 stomachs, and pursue our way. In less than half an hour we 
 have cleared the chalky hollow, and enter at once on the 
 Nefood. But here, travellers and readers, let us pause for a 
 moment before encountering the severest fatigue of the whole 
 journey.
 
 6i 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The Nefood and Djebel Shomer 
 
 Per correr miglior acqua alza le vele 
 Omai la navicella del mio ingegno, 
 Che lascia dietro a se mar si crudele. — Dante 
 
 Nefood — General Idea of the Desert — Descriptio7t of the Nefood — Conduct of 
 the Bedouins in our Party — 'Aalam-es-Sdad — News ofOneyzah — Distant 
 Viciii of Djebel Djobbah — Band of Slionier Horsemen — Djobbah, its Neigh- 
 bourhood — The Governor — ^ Aakil — Second N^cfood — Satid Holloru and 
 Wells — Djebel Shomer — J^enah, Lakeetah, and Woseytah — First Viaa of 
 Ifayel — The Palace, its Buildings and Outer Court — Attendants and 
 People — Seyf the Chambcrlaiii — Unexpected Recognition — Teldls Arsmal; 
 his IC'hdwah — State Prisoners — TeldVs own Person and Retinue — First 
 A/eeting — Supper and Lodgings — \4bd-el-Mahsht, his History and Cha- 
 racter — ' Abd-Allah-ebn-Rasheed — His First Attempt and Adventures — His 
 Enlistmait under Tiirhee-ebn-Sd! ood at Riad — Expedition against Hasa — 
 ^Abd- Allah and Meshdree— Foundation of the Nau Shomer Dynasty — De- 
 struction of Beyt- Alee — Reign of ^ Abd- Allah — Principal Evatts — Wars 
 and Conquests — He begins the New Quarter and Palace of Hdyel — Teldl 
 Succeeds — His Conquests — Internal and External Policy — Personal Quali- 
 ties and Family — Audience given to the ^ Azzdm Sherarat. 
 
 Daughters of the Great Desert, to use an Arab phrase, the 
 " Nefood," or sand passes, bear but too strong a family resem- 
 blance to their unamiable mother. What has been said else- 
 where about their origin, their extent, their bearings, and their 
 connection with the D'hana, or main sand waste of the south, 
 may exempt me from here entering on a minute enarration of 
 all their geographical details ; let it suffice for the present that 
 they are offshoots — inlets, one might not unsuitably call them — 
 of the great ocean of sand that covers about one-third of the 
 Peninsula, into whose central and comparatively fertile plateau 
 they make deep inroads, nay, in some places almost intersect 
 it. Their general character, of which the following pages will, 
 I trust, give a tolerably con-ect idea, is also that of Dahna, or 
 '•red desert," itself The Arabs, always prone to localize 
 rather than generalize, count these sand-streams by scores, but
 
 62 The Ncfood and Djchcl SJiomcr [Ch>ip. hi 
 
 they may all be referred to four principal courses, and he who 
 would traverse the centre must necessarily cross two of them, 
 perhaps even three, as we did. 
 
 The general type of Arabia is that of a central table-land, 
 surrounded by a desert ring, sandy to the south, west, and east, 
 and stony to the north. This outlying circle is in its turn girt by 
 a line of mountains, low and sterile for the most, but attaining 
 in Yemen and 'Oman considerable height, breadth, and fertility, 
 while beyond these a narrow rim of coast is bordered by the 
 sea. The surface of the midmost table-land equals somewhat 
 less than one-half of the entire Peninsula, and its special 
 demarcations are much affected, nay, often absolutely fixed, 
 by the windings and in-runnings of the Nefood. If to these 
 central high-lands, or Nejed, taking that word in its wider 
 sense, we add the Djowf, the Ta'yif, Djebel 'Aaseer, Yemen, 
 'Oman, and Hasa, in short, whatever spots of fertility belong 
 to the outer circles, we shall find that Arabia contains about 
 two-thirds of cultivated, or at least of cultivable land, with a 
 remaining third of irreclaimable desert, chiefly to the south. 
 In most other directions the great blank spaces often left in 
 maps of this country are quite as frequently indications of 
 non-information as of real non-inhabitation. However, we 
 have just now a strip, though fortunately only a strip, of pure 
 unmitigated desert before us, after wJiich better lands await 
 us ; and in this hope let us take courage with the old poet, 
 who has kindly furnished me with a very appropriate heading 
 to this chapter, and boldly enter the Nefood. 
 
 Much had we heard of them from Bedouins and countrymen, 
 so that we had made up our minds to something very terrible 
 and very impracticable. But the reality, especially in these 
 dog-days, proved worse than aught heard or imagined. 
 
 We were now traversing an immense ocean of loose reddish 
 sand, unlimited to the eye, and heaped up in enormous ridges 
 running parallel to each other from north to south, undulation 
 after undulation, each swell two or three hundred feet in average 
 height, with slant sides and rounded crests furrowed in every 
 direction by the capricious gales of the desert. In the depths 
 between the traveller finds himself as it were imprisoned in a 
 suffocating sand-pit, hemmed in by burning walls on every side ; 
 while at other times, while labouring up the slope, he overlooks 
 what seems a vast sea of fire, swelling under a heavy monsoon
 
 Chap. Ill] 
 
 Hex yd and Teldl 6'3 
 
 wind, and ruffled by a cross-blast into little red-hot waves. 
 Neither shelter nor rest for eye or limb amid torrents of light 
 and heat poured from above on an answering glare reflected 
 below. 
 
 Tale scendeva 1' etemale ardore ; 
 Onde la rena s' accendea com' esca 
 Sotto focile, a doppiar lo dolore. 
 
 Add to this the weariness of long summer days of toiling — I 
 might better say wading — through the loose and scorching soil, 
 on drooping half-stupefied beasts, with fevvand interrupted hours 
 of sleep at night, and no rest by day because no shelter, little 
 to eat and less to drink, while the tepid and discoloured water in 
 the skins rapidly diminishes even more by evaporation than by 
 use, and a vertical sun, such a sun, strikes blazing down till 
 clothes, baggage, and housings all take the smell of burning, 
 and scarce permit the touch. The boisterous gaiety of the 
 Bedouins was soon expended, and scattered, one to front, 
 another behind, each pursued his way in a silence only broken 
 by the angry snarl of the camels when struck, as they often 
 were, to improve their pace. 
 
 It was on the 20th of July, a little after noon, that we had 
 left Be'er Shekeek. The rest of that day and almost all night 
 we journeyed on, for here three or four hours of repose at a 
 time, supper included, was all that could be taken, since, if we 
 did not reach the other side of the Nefood before our store of 
 water was exhausted, we were lost for certain. Indeed, during 
 the last twenty-four hours of these passes, to call them by 
 their Arab name, we had only one hour of halt. Monday, the 
 2 1 St of July, wore slowly away, most slowly.it seemed, in the 
 same labour, and amid the same unvarying scene. The loose 
 sand hardly admits of any vegetation ; even the Ghada, which, 
 like many other Euphorbias, seems hardly to require either 
 earth or moisture for its sustenance, is here scant and miserably 
 stunted ; none can afford either shelter or pasture. Sometimes 
 a sort of track appears, more often none ; the moving surface 
 has long since lost the traces of those who last crossed it. 
 
 About this time we noticed in the manner of our Sherarat 
 companions, especially the younger ones, a certain insolent 
 familiarity which put us much on our guard ; for it is the custom 
 of the Bedouin, when meditating plunder or treachery, to try 
 the ground first in this foshion, and if he sees any signs of
 
 64 TJie Ncfood and Djchcl Shomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 timidity or yielding in his intended victim, he takes it as a 
 signal for proceeding further. The best plan in such cases is to 
 put on a sour face and keep silence, with now and then a sharp 
 reprimand by way of intimidation, and this often cows the 
 savage just as a barking dog will shrink back under a steady 
 look. Such was accordingly our conduct on the present 
 occasion. We kept apart for hours at a time, and when along- 
 side of the brigands, said little, and that little anything but 
 friendly. Before long the more impudent appeared abashed or 
 embarrassed and fell back, while an old 'Azzam chief, with a 
 dry face like a withered crab-apple, pushed his dromedary up 
 alongside of mine, under pretext of seeking medical advice, 
 but in reality to make thus a proffer of friendliness and respect. 
 Of course I met his advances with cold and sullen reser\'e ; and 
 hereon he began to apologize for the " Ghushm," " ill-bred 
 clowns " of his party, assuring us that they had, however, no 
 bad intention ; that it was merely want of good education; that 
 all were our brothers, our serv^ants, &c. &c. We received his 
 apology with an air of dignified importance, talked big of what 
 we could or would do — very little, I fear, had matters been 
 brought to the test — and then condescended to friendly chat 
 and professional information, according to what his ailments 
 might require or his intelligence admit. 
 
 But I afterwards learned from the Shomer Bedouins and 
 from the men of Djowf, that the worthy Sherarats, supposing us 
 to have amassed great wealth under Hamood's patronage, had 
 seriously proposed to take the opportunity of this desert solitude 
 to pillage us, and then leave us without water or camels to find 
 our way out of the Nefood as best we might, that is, never. 
 This little scheme they had communicated to the Shomer, 
 hoping for their compliance and aid. But these last, more accus- 
 tomed to the restraints of neighbouring rule, were afraid of the 
 consequences ; knowing, too, that Telal, if anyhow informed of 
 .such proceedings, might very possibly constitute himself our 
 sole legatee, executor, and something more. Accordingly they 
 refused to join, and the conspirators, who perceived from our 
 manner that we already had some suspicion about their inten- 
 tions, hastened to plaster matters over before we should be in 
 a way to compromise their po'sition at Ha'yel, by complaints of 
 their meditated treachery.
 
 Chap. Ill] Ht'iycl aiid Tclal 65 
 
 Near sunset of the second day we came in sight of two lonely 
 ])yramidal peaks of dark granite, rising amid the sand-waves 
 full in our way. " 'Aalam-es-Sa'ad,'' the people call them, that 
 is, " the signs of good luck," because they indicate that about 
 one-third of the distance from Be'er-Shekeek to Djebel Shomer 
 has been here passed. They stand out like islands, or rather 
 like the rocks that start from the sea near the mouth of the 
 Tagus, or like the Maldive group in the midst of the deep 
 Indian Ocean. Their roots must be in the rocky base over 
 which this upper layer of sand is strewn like the sea-water 
 over its bed; we shall afterwards meet with siniilar phenomena 
 in other desert spots. Here the under stratum is evidently of 
 granite, sometimes it is calcareous. As to the average depth 
 of the sand, I should estimate it at about four hundred feet, 
 but it may not unfrequently be much more ; at least I have 
 met with hollows of full six hundred feet in perpendicular 
 descent. 
 
 On we journeyed with the 'Aalam-es-Sa'ad looming dark 
 before us, till when near midnight, so far as I could calculate 
 by the stars, our only timepiece (and not a bad one in these 
 clear skies), we passed close under the huge black masses of 
 rock. Vainly had I flattered myself with a halt, were it but 
 of half an hour, on the occasion. " On we swept," and not till 
 the morning star rose close beneath the Pleiades was the word 
 given to dismount. We tumbled rather than lay down on the 
 ground ; and before sunrise were once more on our way. 
 
 Soon we reached the summit of a gigantic sand ridge. " Look 
 there," said Djedey' to us, and pointed forwards. Far off on 
 the extreme horizon a blue cloud-like peak appeared, nnd 
 another somewhat lower at its side. "Those are the mountains 
 of Djobbah, and the nearest limits of Djebel Shomer," said 
 our guide. Considering how loose the water-skins now flapped 
 at the camel's side, my first thought was, " how are we to reach 
 them?": all the band seemed much of the same mind, for they 
 pushed on harder than before. 
 
 Near this we fell in with a small party of roving Bedouins, 
 from the south ; and by their conversation received our first 
 news of the war then raging in the province of Kaseem, be- 
 tween the Wahhabee monarch and the partisans of 'Oneyzah, — 
 war of which we shall afterwards see and hear our fill, and of 
 
 F
 
 66 The Ncfood and Djcbcl SJioiner fchap. hi 
 
 which we shall learn also, though not till the following year 
 and when on the very point of quitting Arabia, the disastrous 
 conclusion. 
 
 Meanwhile with no slight difficulty we slid down the sand, 
 descending from our elevated position, and at once lost sight, 
 much to my regret, of the peaks of Djobbah; nor did we view 
 them again till when close under their base, at the verge of the 
 Nefood. 
 
 But the further we advanced the worse did the desert grow, 
 more desolate, more hopeless in its barren waves ; and at noon 
 our band broke up into a thorough "sauve quipeut;" some had 
 already exhausted their provisions, solid or liquid, and others 
 were scarcely better furnished ; every one goaded on his beast 
 to reach the land of rest and safety. Djedey', my comrade, and 
 myself, kept naturally together. On a sudden my attention 
 was called to two or three sparrows, twittering under a shrub 
 by the wayside. They were the first birds we had met with in 
 this desert, and indicated our approach to cultivation and life. 
 I bethought me of tales heard in childhood, at a comfortable 
 fireside, how some far-wandering sailors, Columbus and his 
 crew, if my memory serves me right, after days and months of 
 dreary ocean, welcomed a bird that, borne from some yet un- 
 discovered coast, first settled on their mast. My comrade fell 
 a crying for very joy. 
 
 However we had yet a long course before us, and we plouglied 
 on all that evening with scarce an hour's halt for a most scanty 
 supper, and then all night up and down the undulating laby- 
 rinth, like men in an enchanter's circle, fated always to journey 
 and never to advance. During the dark hours that immediately 
 precede the dawn, we fell in with a band of some sixty horse- 
 men, armed with matchlocks and lances ; they formed part of a 
 military expedition directed by order of Telal against the inso- 
 lence of some Tey'yahha Bedouins in the neighbourhood of 
 Teymah. 
 
 The morning broke on us still toiling amid the sands. By 
 daylight we saw our straggling companions like black specks 
 here and there, one far ahead on a yet vigorous dromedary, 
 another in the rear, dismounted, and urging his fallen beast to 
 rise by plunging a knife a good inch deep into its haunches, a 
 third lagging in the extreme distance. Every one for himself
 
 Chap. Ill] Hciycl and Tcldl 6y 
 
 and God for us all ! — so we quickened our pace, looking 
 anxiously before us for the hills of Djobbah, which could not 
 now be distant. At noon we came in sight of them all at 
 once, close on our right, wild and fantastic cliffs, rising sheer 
 on the margin of the sand sea. We coasted them awhile, till 
 at a turn the whole plain of Djobbah and its landscape opened 
 on our view. 
 
 Here we had before us a cluster of black granite rocks, 
 streaked with red, and about seven hundred feet, at a rough 
 guess, in height; beyond them a large barren plain, partly 
 white and encrusted with salt, partly green with tillage, and 
 studded with palm groves, amongst which we could discern, 
 not far off, the village of Djobbah, much resembling that of 
 Djowf in arrangement and general appearance, only smaller, 
 and without castle or tower. Beyond the valley glistened a 
 second line of sand-hills, but less wild and desolate looking 
 than those behind us, and far in the distance the main range of 
 Djebel Shomer, a long purple sierra of most picturesque out- 
 line. Had we there and then mounted, as we afterwards did, 
 the heights on our right, we should have also seen in the 
 extreme south-west a green patch near the horizon, where 
 cluster the palm plantations of Teymah, a place famed in Arab 
 history, and by some supposed identical with the Teman of 
 Holy Writ. 
 
 But for the moment a drop of fresh water and a shelter from 
 the July sun was much more in our thoughts than all the Tey- 
 mahs or Temans that ever existed. My camel, too, was not at 
 the end of his wits, for he never had any, but of his legs, and 
 hardly capable of advance, while I was myself too tired to urge 
 him vigorously, and we took a fair hour to cross a narrow white 
 strip of mingled salt and sand that yet intervened between us 
 and the village. 
 
 Without its garden walls was pitched the very identical tent 
 of our noble guide, and here his wife and family were anxiously 
 awaiting their lord. Djedey' invited us — indeed he could not 
 conformably with Shomer customs do less — to partake of his 
 board and lodging, and we had no better course than to accept 
 of both. So we let our camels fling themselves out like dead or 
 dying alongside of the tabernacle, and entered to drink water
 
 63 Tlic Ncfood and Djchcl Shoiner [Chap. hi 
 
 mixed with sour milk, and to repose in tlie equivocal shade 
 afforded by a single tattered covering of black goat's hair. 
 
 As evening drew on, Djedey', after giving his camels a well- 
 earned draught from the garden Avell close by, invited us to pay 
 a visit of ceremony to the local governor 'Aakil, a native of the 
 village itself, but invested by Telal with vicarious authority. 
 Now our friend's real object in calling in at this hour was to 
 ensure a good supper, a thing which his own domicile could 
 hardly have mustered. To the great delight of my comrade, 
 whom the AVTetchedness of Djedey's hovel had led to anticipate 
 a correspondingly miserable kitchen, our guide's manceuvres, 
 the most intellectual of which a Bedouin is capable, met with 
 deserved success. 'Aakil honoured us with the desired invita- 
 tion ; and the day closed in a good supper and a lively evening, 
 during which Djedey' amused the whole party, by an uncouth 
 dance with the coffee-making negro of the governor. 
 
 Next day we remained quiet ; all glad of an interval of repose 
 before the three days' journey which was to lead us to Ha'yel. 
 Sometimes we climbed the heights to get a wider range of view, 
 sometimes we strolled about the irregular village and talked 
 with its inhabitants ; and here first we met with unmistakable 
 proofs of that deep half-idolizing attachment which the very 
 name of Telal claims throughout the whole of Djebel Shomer. 
 The quiet and settled state of all things here much contrasted 
 with the half-anarchical condition lately witnessed in the Djowf, 
 and its war-seamed features. But the soil of Djobbah is poor, 
 and its produce, though of the same kind with that we had left 
 behind us, was in every way inferior to it. 
 
 The village itself so far resembles the Djowf that I may be 
 excused from entering on particular details regarding houses, 
 gardens, and the like. I may here add, as an apology for brevity 
 of description, while we pass by the different localities of Djebel 
 Shomer, that they have almost all of them, whether large or 
 small, much the same straggling appearance, the same mixture 
 of dwellings and cultivation, of plantations and byways, the 
 same neglect of fortification and defence, which distinguishes 
 them from the compact and well-guarded villages of Nejed 
 Proper, and denotes habitual security ; but also, alas ! a total 
 disregard for whatever is known in Europe by the name of 
 symmetry, of which no true Arab of the north, whether sleeping
 
 Chap. Ill] HCiycl and Tcldl 69 
 
 or waking, had ever an idea. I say of the north, for in Hasa 
 and 'Oman the hiws of architectural proportion are l^nown and 
 observed, nor are they wholly absent from middle and southern 
 Nejed. 
 
 About sunrise on the 25th of July we left Djobbah, crossed 
 the valley to the south-east, and entered once more on a sandy 
 desert, but a desert, as I have before hinted, of a milder and 
 less inhospitable character than the dreary Nefood of two days 
 back. Here the sand is thickly sprinkled with shrubs, and not 
 altogether devoid of herbs and grass ; while the undulations of 
 the surface, running invariably from north to south, according 
 to the general rule of that phenomenon, are much less deeply 
 traced, though never wholly absent. We paced on all day ; at 
 nightfall we found ourselves on the edge of a vast funnel-like 
 depression, where the sand recedes on all sides to leave bare 
 the chalky bottom-strata below; here lights glimmering amid 
 Bedouin tents in the depths of the valley invited us to try our 
 chance of a preliminary supper before the repose of the night. 
 We had, however, much ado to descend the cavity, so steep was 
 the sandy slope; while its circular form and spiral marking 
 reminded me of Edgar Poe's imaginative " Maelstroom." The 
 Arabs to whom the watch-fires belonged were shepherds of the 
 numerous Shomer tribe, whence the district, plain and mountain, 
 takes its name. They welcomed us to a share of their supper ; 
 and a good dish of rice, instead of insipid samh or i)asty 
 Djereeshah, augured a certain approach to civilization. 
 
 At break of day we resumed our march, and met with camels 
 and camel-drivers in abundance, besides a few sheep and goats. 
 Before noon we had got clear of the sandy patch, and entered 
 in its stead on a firm gravelly soil. Here we enjoyed an hour 
 of midday halt and shade in a natural cavern, hollowed out in 
 a high granite rock ; itself an advanced guard of the main body 
 of Djebel Shomer. This mountain range now rose before us, 
 wholly unlike any other that I had ever seen ; a huge mass of 
 crag and stone, piled up in fantastic disorder, with green valleys 
 and habitations intervening. The sun had not yet set when we 
 reached the pretty village of Kenah, amid groves and waters, no 
 more, however, running streams like those of Djowf, but an 
 artificial irrigation by means of wells and buckets. At some 
 distance from the houses stood a cluster of three or four laige
 
 70 The Ncfood and Djcbcl SJiomcr [Chap. irt 
 
 over-shadowing trees, objects of peasant veneration here, as 
 once in Palestine. The welcome of the inhabitants, when we 
 dismounted at their doors, was hearty and hospitable, nay, even 
 polite and considerate ; and a good meal, with a dish of fresh 
 grapes for dessert, was soon set before us in the verandah of a 
 pleasant little house, much reminding me of an English farm- 
 ' cottage, whither the good man of the dwelling had invited us for 
 the evening. All expressed gieat desire to profit by our medical 
 skill; and on our reply that we could not conveniently open 
 shop except at the capital Ha'yel, several announced their 
 resolution to visit us there ; and subsequently kept their word, 
 though at the cost of about twenty- four miles of journey. 
 
 We rose very early. Our path, well tracked and trodden, 
 now lay between ridges of precipitous rock, rising abruptly from 
 a level and grassy plain ; sometimes the road was sunk in deep 
 gorges, sometimes it opened out on wider spaces, where trees 
 and villagers appeared, while the number of wayfarers, on foot 
 or mounted, single or in bands, still increased as we drew nearer 
 to the capital. About noon we came opposite to a large village 
 called Lakeetah, where we turned aside to rest a little during 
 the heat in the house of a wealthy inhabitant. There was an 
 air of newness and security about the dweUings and plantations 
 hardly to be found now-a-days in any other part of Arabia, 
 'Ojnan alone excepted. I may add also the great frequency of 
 young trees and ground newly enclosed, a cheerful sight, yet 
 further enhanced by the total absence of ruins, so common in 
 the East ; hence the general effect produced by Djebel Shomer, 
 when contrasted with most other provinces or kingdoms around, 
 near and far, is that of a newly coined piece, in all its sharpness 
 and shine, amid a dingy heap of defaced currency. It is a fresh 
 creation, and shows what Arabia might be under better rule 
 than it enjoys for the most part : an inference rendered the 
 more conclusive by the fact that in natural and unaided fertility 
 Djebel Shomer is perhaps the least fovoured district in the 
 entire central peninsula. 
 
 We were here close under the backbone of Djebel Shomer, 
 whose reddish crags rose in the strangest forms on our right and 
 left, while a narrow cleft down to the plain-level below gave 
 opening to the capital. Very hard to bring an army through 
 this against the will of the inhabitants, thought I ; fifty
 
 Chap. Ill] Hitjcl aiid T<^lal 71 
 
 resolute men could, in fact, hold the pass against thousands ; 
 nor is there any other approach to Ha'yel from the northern 
 direction. The town is situated near the very centre of the 
 mountains ; it was as yet entirely concealed from our view by the 
 windings of the road amid huge piles of rock. Meanwhile from 
 Djobbah to Ha'yel, the whole plain gradually rises, running up 
 between the sierras, whose course from north-east to south- 
 west crosses two-thirds of the upper peninsula, and forms the 
 outwork of the central high country. Hence the name of 
 Nejed, literally "highland," in contradistinction to the coast 
 and the outlying provinces of lesser elevation. 
 
 The sun was yet two hours' distance above the western 
 horizon, when we threaded the narrow and winding deiile, till we 
 arrived at its further end. Here we found ourselves on the verge 
 of a large plain, many miles in length and breadth, and girt on 
 ever}'' side by a high mountain rampart, while right in front of 
 us, at scarce a quarter of an hour's march, lay the town of 
 Ha'yel surrounded by fortifications of about twenty feet in 
 height, with bastion-towers, some round, some square, and 
 large folding gates at intervals ; it offered the same show of 
 freshness and even of something like irregular elegance that had 
 before struck us in the villages on our way. This, however, was a 
 full-grown town, and its area might readily hold three hundred 
 thousand inhabitants or more, were its streets and houses close 
 packed like those of Brussels or Paris. But the number of 
 citizens does not, in fact, exceed twenty or twenty-two thousand, 
 thanks to the many large gardens, open spaces, and even plan- 
 tations, included within the outer walls, while the immense 
 palace of the monarch alone, with its pleasure grounds annexed, 
 occupies about one-tenth of the entire city. Our attention was 
 attracted by a lofty tower, some seventy feet in height, of recent 
 construction and oval form, belonging to the royal residence. 
 The plain all around the town is studded with isolated houses 
 and gardens, the property of wealthy citizens, or of members of 
 the kingly family, and on the far-off skirts of the plain appear 
 the groves belonging to Kafiir, 'Adwah, and other villages, 
 placed at the openings of the mountain gorges that conduct to 
 the capital. The town walls and buildings shone yellow in the 
 evening sun, and the Avhole prospect was one of tliriving 
 security, delightful to view, though wanting in the peculiar
 
 72 TJic Ncfood and Djebcl SJiomcr [Chai-. hi 
 
 luxuriance of vegetation offered by the valley of Djowf. A few 
 Bedouin tents lay clustered close by the ramparts, and the great 
 number of horsemen, footmen, camels, asses, peasants, towns- 
 men, boys, women, and other like, all passing to and fro on 
 their various avocations, gave cheerfulness and animation to the 
 scene. 
 
 We crossed the plain, and made for the town gate opposite 
 the castle ; next, with no little ditffculty, prevailed on our camels 
 to pace the high-walled street, and at last arrived at the open 
 space in front of the palace. It was yet an hour before sunset, 
 or rather more ; the business of the day was over in Ha'yel, and 
 the outer courtyard where we now stood was crowded with 
 loiterers of all shapes and sizes. We made our camels kneel down 
 close by the palace gate, alongside of some forty or fifty others, 
 and then stepped back to repose our very weary limbs on a stone 
 bench opposite the portal, and waited what might next occur. 
 
 But before we verify the Arab proverb which attributes ill- 
 luck tooccurrencesof the evening, let us cast around a look on this 
 strange scene, strange, that is, to a foreigner, but completely in 
 harmony with the genius of the country and people. Before us 
 are the long earth walls of the palace, enormously thick, and about 
 thirty feet in height, pierced near the summit with loopholes 
 rather than windows, and occupying an extent of four hundred 
 and fifty to five hundred feet in length. The principal gate is 
 placed, according to approved custom, in a receding angle of the 
 wall, and flanked by high square towers; semicircular bastions 
 advance too from space to space all the length of the front. 
 Immediately under the shadow of the wall runs a long bench of 
 beaten earth and stone; we observe, too, about half-way in its 
 line, a sort of throne or raised seat, to be occupied by the 
 monarch's most sacred person when giving public audience. 
 The palace of Meta'ab, the king's second brother, is included in 
 the same mass of building, but has its own entrance ai)art. 
 
 On the other side of the open area, that is, where we are now 
 seated, stands a long range of warehouses and small apartments, 
 each under lock and key. Here is stowed away the merchan- 
 dize which belongs exclusively to the government ; here, too, 
 Telal, as a general rule, lodges his guests ; for no stranger, be he 
 who he may, is ever allowed to sleep within the palace walls. 
 In the same direction, but farth.er up the area, and opposite to
 
 Chap. Ill] Huycl CXud Tclill 73 
 
 the residence of Meta'ab, is the large public mosque, orDjamia'. 
 At its angle the court opens out into the new market-place, 
 which we will visit to-morrow. On the other side of this 
 opening, but on the same line as the Djamia, rises the sump- 
 tuous house of Zamil, the chief treasurer and prime minister too 
 — an arrangement which at least simplifies government salaries, 
 a positive advantage in poor Arab states. Lastly, a tall gate 
 ends the area, and gives admittance into the more plebeian 
 High Street, which here crosses at right angles, and leads up 
 and down through the whole breadth of the town. 
 
 At the opposite extremity of this great courtyard, and com- 
 municating with a second gate through which we had just passed, 
 enters another large street, leading out at some distance on the 
 plain. Towards this end of the enclosure, and still opposite the 
 imlace itself, are the dwellings of two or three principal officers 
 of the household; and lastly, a low door, in ah "the pride that 
 apes humility," gives entrance to the abode and spacious gardens 
 of 'Obeyd, the present king's uncle, a very important character 
 he, and already mentioned on occasion of his first expedition 
 against the Djowf Enough of him for the present; he will end 
 by becoming a personal and even too intimate an acquaintance. 
 
 About the portal, some standing, some seated on the stone 
 platform near its entrance, are several of the subordinate 
 officers in waiting. These men are neatly and, all things con- 
 sidered, cleanly clothed, in white robes and black cloaks, much 
 like Hamood, whose dress we have not long since described ; 
 long silver-tipped wands, strongly resembling those wielded by 
 that venerable class of men whom mortals call Beadles, dis- 
 tinguish those among them who are charged with household 
 employment ; but the greater number are of a military cha- 
 racter, and wear silver-hilted swords. The neighbouring benches 
 on one side of the court and on the other are thronged by a 
 crowd of the better sort of citizens, come from their shops or 
 houses to hear and chat over news, and to take the evening 
 air. Few of them, save those of noble birth, wear arms ; but 
 their general appearance is every way decorous. Some, in 
 plainer clothes, have a peculiar and puritanical look, they will 
 be from Nejed ; a slightly rakish air, on the contrary, points 
 out the man of Kaseem. In the middle of the courtyard 
 itself, or seated among the well-dressed citizens with true Arab
 
 74 Tlic Ncfood and Djcbcl Shoincr [Chap. hi 
 
 fraternity and equality, are not a few whose dingy garments 
 and coarse features bespeak them of mechanical profession, or 
 at least poor. Some Bedouins are mixed Avith the rest, and 
 may at once be known by their scanty ragged dress and cringing 
 attitude. The lowest in the nomade scale here present are the 
 uncouth Sherarat, and the still more uncouth Solibah ; while 
 the Shomer, near akin to many of the townsmen, and somewhat 
 polished by more frequent intercourse with the civilized world, 
 may stand highest in this category. 
 
 At our first appearance a slight stir takes place. The 
 customary salutations are given and returned by those nearest 
 at hand ; and a small knot of inquisitive idlers, come up to see 
 what and whence we are, soon thickens into a dense circle. 
 Many questions are asked, first of our conductor, Djedey', and 
 next of ourselves ; our answers are tolerably laconic. Mean- 
 while a thin middle-sized individual, whose countenance bears 
 the type of smihng urbanity and precise etiquette, befitting his 
 office at court, approaches us. His neat and simple dress, the 
 long silver-circled staff in his hand, his respectful salutation, his 
 politely important manner, all denote him one of the palace 
 retinue. It is Seyf, the court chamberlain, whose special duty 
 is the reception and presentation of strangers. We rise to 
 receive him, and are greeted with a decorous, " Peace be with 
 you, brothers," in the fullness of every inflection and accent 
 that the most scrupulous grammarian could desire. We return 
 an equally Priscianic salutation. "Whence have you come? 
 may good attend you I " is the first question. Of course we 
 declare ourselves physicians from Syria, for our bulkier wares 
 had been disposed of in the Djowf, and we were now resolved 
 to depend on medical practice alone. "And what do you 
 desire here in our town? may God grant you success!" says 
 Seyf "We desire the favour of God most high, and, secondly, 
 that of Telal," is our answer, conforming our style to the cor- 
 rectest formulas of the country, which we had already begun 
 to pick up. Whereupon Seyf, looking very sweet the while, 
 begins, as in duty bound, a little encomium on his master's 
 generosity and other excellent qualities, and assures us that we 
 liave exactly reached right quarters. 
 
 But alas ! while my comrade and myself were exchanging 
 side-glances of mutual felicitation at such fair beginnings,
 
 Chap. Ill] tjfix ycl aiid Tclctl 75 
 
 Nemesis suddenly awoke to claim her due, and the serenity of 
 our horizon was at once overcast by an unexpected and most 
 unwelcome cloud. My readers are doubtless already aware 
 that nothing was of higher importance for us than the most 
 absolute incognito, above all in whatever regarded European 
 origin and character. In fact, once known for Europeans, all 
 intimate access and sincerity of intercourse with the people of 
 the land would have been irretrievably lost, and our onward 
 progress to Nejed rendered totally impossible. These were 
 the very least inconveniences that could follow such a detection ; 
 others much more disagreeable might also be well apprehended. 
 Now thus far nothing had occurred capable of exciting serious 
 suspicion, no one had recognized us, or pretended to recognize. 
 We, too, on our part, had thought that Gaza, Ma'an, and per- 
 haps the Djowf, were the only localities where this kind of 
 recognition had to be feared. But we had reckoned without 
 our host ; the first real danger was reserved for Ha'yel, within 
 the very limits of Nejed, and with all the desert-belt between 
 us and our old acquaintances. 
 
 For while Seyf was running through the preliminaries of his 
 politeness, I saw to my horror amid the circle of bystanders a 
 figure, a face well known to me scarce six months before in 
 Damascus, and well known to many others also, now m.erchant, 
 now trader, now post-contractor, shrewd, enterprising and active, 
 though nigh fifty years of age, and intimate with many Euro- 
 peans of considerable standing in Syria and Bagdad — one, 
 in short, accustomed to all kinds of men, and not to be easily 
 imposed on by any. 
 
 While I involuntarily stared dismay on my friend, and yet 
 doubted if it could possibly be he, all incertitude was dispelled 
 by his cheerful salutation, in the confidential tone of an old 
 acquaintance, followed by wondering enquiries as to what 
 wind had blown me hither, and what I meant to do here in 
 Ha'yel. 
 
 Wishing him most heartily — somewhere else, I had nothing 
 for it but to " fix a vacant stare," to give a formal return of 
 greeting, and then silence. 
 
 But misfortunes never come single. \\Tiile I was thus on my 
 defensive against so dangerous an antagonist in the person of 
 my free and easy friend, lo ! a tall, sinister-featured individual
 
 7^ TJie Ncfood and Djchcl Shomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 comes up, clad in the dress of an inhabitant of ICaseem, and 
 abruptly breaks in with, "And I too have seen him at Damas- 
 cus," naming at the same time the place and date of the meet- 
 ing, and specifying exactly the circumstances most calculated 
 to set me down for a genuine European. 
 
 Had he really met me as he saidi I cannot precisely say; 
 the place he mentioned was one Avhither men, half spies, half 
 travellers, and whole intriguers from the interior districts, nay, 
 even from Nejed itself, not unfrequently resort; and as I myself 
 was conscious of having paid more than one visit there, my 
 officious interlocutor might very possibly have been one of 
 those present on some such occasion. So that although I did 
 not now recognize him in particular, there was a strong intrinsic 
 probability in favour of his ill-timed veracity ; and his thus 
 coming in to support the first witness in his assertions, rendered 
 my predicament, already unsafe, yet worse. 
 
 But ere I could frame an answer or resolve what course to 
 hold, up came a third, who, by overshooting the mark, put the 
 game into our hands. He too salaams me as an old friend, and 
 then, turning to those around, now worked up to a most extra- 
 ordinary pitch of amazed curiosity, says, "And I also know him 
 perfectly well, I have often met him at Cairo, where he lives in 
 great wealth in a large house near the Kasr-el-'Eynee; his name 
 is 'Abd-es-Saleeb, he is married, and has a very beautiful 
 daughter, who rides an expensive horse," &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Here at last was a pure invention or mistake (for I know not 
 which it was) that admitted of a flat denial. " Aslahek' Allah," 
 " May Heaven set you right," said I ; " never did I live at Cairo, 
 nor have I the blessing of any horse-riding young ladies for 
 daughters." Then, looking very hard at my second detector, 
 towards whom I had all the right of doubt, " I do not remember 
 having ever seen you ; think well as to what you say ; many a 
 man besides myself has a reddish beard and straw-coloured 
 mustachios," taking pains however not to seem particularly 
 *' careful to answer him in this matter," but as if merely ques- 
 tioning the precise identity. But for the first of the trio I 
 knew not what to do or to reply, so I continued to look at him 
 with a killing air of inquisitive stupidity, as though not fully 
 understanding his meaning. 
 
 But Seyf, though himself at first somewhat staggered by this
 
 Chap. Ill IJctycl dltd T^ldl 7/ 
 
 sudden downpour of recognition, was now reassured by the 
 discomfiture of the third witness, and came to the convenient 
 conclusion that the two others were no better worthy of credit. 
 " Never mind them," exclaimed he, addressing himself to us, 
 " they are talkative liars, mere gossipers ; let them alone, they 
 do not deserve attention ; come along with me to the K'hawah 
 in the palace, and rest yourselves." Then turning to my poor 
 Damascene friend, whose only wrong was to have been over- 
 much in the right, he sharply chid him, and next the rest, and 
 led us off, most glad to follow the leader, through the narrow 
 and dark portal into the royal residence. 
 
 After passing between files of wandsmen and swordsmen, 
 Arabs and negroes, we entered on a small court, wheie, under 
 a shed, was arranged the dreaded artillery of Telal, nine pieces 
 in all, of different calibre, four only mounted on gun-carriages, 
 and out of the four just three serviceable. Of this last number 
 were the two large iron mortars that had played so important 
 a pare in the siege of the Djowf. The third, a long brass field 
 piece, bore the date of 1810, Avith a very English " G. R." 
 (illegible, I need hardly say, for its actual possessors) embossed 
 above. The other guns were all more or less injured, and 
 quite unfit for duty, but this was a circumstance unknown to 
 the Arabs around, and perhaps to Telal himself, and " all the 
 nine" military muses seemed to impress equ?J awe on the minds 
 of the beholders. This tremendous battery had been in part 
 furnished by the Wahhabee monarch to 'Abd-Allah, father and 
 predecessor of Telal, and in part procured by the agents of the 
 present reign at the seaport of Koweyt on the Persian Gulf, an 
 active and thriving little town. 
 
 We traversed this court, and entered a second, one side of 
 which was formed by the ladies' apartments, duly separated by 
 a high blind wall from profane intercourse, and the other by 
 the K'hawah or guest-room. This apartment was about eighty 
 feet in length by thirty or more in breadth, and of height 
 proportionate ; the beams of the flat roof (for vaulting is here 
 unknown) rested on six large round columns in a central row. 
 It was of evidently recent construction, well lighted, and per- 
 fectly neat. The coftee furnace was of dimensions propor- 
 tionate to those of the hall, and by its side was seated a sturdy 
 negro, who rose at our approach. A few guests from the neigh-
 
 ^8 TJie Ncfood and Djcbcl Shoiiicr [Chap. hi 
 
 bouring provinces, and some of the court attendants, were 
 present. Two men, whose feet were loosely chained with heavy- 
 iron links, shuffled about the hall. They were state prisoners, 
 and condemned to incarceration at his Majesty's royal will and 
 pleasure, but were permitted the entrance of the K'hawah by 
 way of recreation ; a curious instance of the humanity of the 
 Arab character, even in the infliction of punishment. Imagine 
 how the appearance of a convicted rebel in the saloons of the 
 Tuileries or of Buckingham Palace would surprise the court ! 
 One of these men was a chieflet of Djowf, brouglit hither by 
 Telal on his conquest of that district, and not yet liberated, nor 
 likely to be so in a hurry. But neither he nor his companion 
 looked particularly miserable. 
 
 Here we remained whilst coffee was, as wont, prepared and 
 served. Se}-f, who had left us awhile, now came back to say 
 that Telal would soon return from his afternoon walk in a 
 garden where he had been taking the air, and tliat if we would 
 pass into the outer court we should then and there have the 
 opportunity of paying him our introductory respects. He 
 added that we should afterwards find our supper ready, and be 
 provided also with good lodgings for the night; finally, that 
 the K'hawah and what it contained were always at our disposi- 
 tion so long as we should honour Ha'yel by our presence. 
 
 We rose accordingly and returned with Seyf to the outside 
 area. It was fuller than ever, on account of the expected 
 appearance of the monarch. A few minutes later we saw a 
 crowd approach from the upper extremity of the place, namely, 
 that towards the market. When the new-comers drew near, 
 we saw them to be almost exclusively armed men, with some 
 of the more important-looking citizens, but all on foot. In the 
 midst of this circle, though detached from tliose around them, 
 slowly advanced three personages, whose dress and deport- 
 ment, together wath the respectful distance observed by the 
 rest, announced superior rank. " Here comes Telal," said Seyf, 
 in an undertone. 
 
 The midmost figure was in fact that of the prince himself. 
 Short of stature, broad-shouldered, and strongly built, of a very 
 dusky complexion, with long black hair, dark and piercing eyes, 
 and a countenance rather severe than open, Telal might readily 
 be supposed above forty years in age, though he is in fact
 
 Chap. !ii] Htiycl and Tcldl yc^ 
 
 thirty-seven or thirty-eight at most. His step was measured, 
 his demeanour grave and somewhat haughty. His dress, a 
 long robe of Cachemire shawl, covered the white Arab shirt, 
 and over all he wore a deUcately worked cloak of camel's hair 
 from 'Oman, a great rarity and highly valued in this part of 
 Arabia. His head was adorned by a broidered handkerchief, in 
 which silk and gold thread had not been spared, and girt by a 
 broad band of camel's hair entwined with red silk, the manu- 
 facture of Meshid 'Alee. A gold-mounted sword hung by his 
 side, and his dress was perfumed with musk in a degree better 
 adapted to Arab than to European nostrils. His glance never 
 rested for a moment ; sometimes it turned on his nearer com- 
 panions, sometimes on the crowd ; I have seldom seen so truly 
 an " eagle eye " in rapidity and in brilliancy. 
 
 "By his side walked a tall thin individual clad in garments of 
 somewhat less costly material, but of gayer colours and em- 
 broidery than those of the king himself His face announced 
 unusual intelligence and courtly politeness ; his sword was not, 
 however, adorned with gold, the exclusive privilege of the royal 
 family, but with silver only. 
 
 This was Zamil, the treasurer and prime minister — sole 
 minister, indeed, of the autocrat. Raised from beggary by 
 'Abd-Allah the late king, who had seen in the ragged orphan 
 signs of rare capacity, he continued to merit the uninterrupted 
 favour of his patron, and after his death had become equally, or 
 yet more dear to Telal, who raised him from post to post till 
 he at last occupied the highest position in the kingdom after 
 the monarch himself Faithful to his master, and placed by his 
 plebeian extraction beyond reach of rival family jealousy, his 
 even and amiable temper had made him eminently popular 
 without the palace, and as cherished by his master within, a\ hile 
 his extraordinary application to business, joined with a ready 
 but calm mind, and the great services he rendered the state in 
 his double duty, merited, in the opinion of all, those personal 
 riches of which he made a very free and munificent display. 
 
 Of the demurely smiling 'Abd-el-Mahsin, the second com- 
 panion of the king's evening walk, I will say nothing for the 
 moment; we shall have him before long for a very intimate 
 acquaintance and a steady friend. 
 
 Every one stood up as Telal drew nigh. Seyf gave us a sign
 
 8o TJic Ncfood and Djcbcl Shoiner [Chap. in 
 
 • 
 to follow him, made way through the crowd, and saluted his 
 sovereign with the authorized formula of '• Peace be with you, 
 O the Protected of God ! " Telal at once cast on us a pene- 
 trating glance, and addressed a question in a low voice to Seyf, 
 whose answer was in the same tone. The prince then looked 
 again towards us, but with a friendlier expression of face. We 
 approached and touched his open hand, repeating the same 
 salutation as that used by Seyf No bow, hand-kissing, or other 
 ceremony is customary on these occasions. Telal returned our 
 greeting, and then, without a word more to us, whispered a 
 moment to Seyf, and passed on through the palace gate. 
 
 " He will give you a private audience to-morrow," said Seyf, 
 " and I will take care that you have notice of it in due time ; 
 meanwhile come to supper." The sun had already set when 
 we re-entered the palace. This time, after passing the arsenal, 
 we turned aside into a large square court, distinct from the 
 former, and surrounded by an open verandah spread with mats. 
 Two large ostriches, presents offered to Telal by some chiefs of 
 the Solibah tribe, strutted about the enclosure, and afforded 
 much amusement to the negro-boys and scullions of the esta- 
 blishment. Seyf conducted us to the further side of the court, 
 where we seated ourselves under the portico. 
 
 Hither some black slaves immediately brought the supper ; 
 the "piece de resistance" was, as usual, a huge dish of rice and 
 boiled meat, with some thin cakes of unleavened bread and 
 dates, and small onions with chopped gourds intermixed. The 
 cookery was better than what we had heretofore tasted, though 
 it would, perhaps, have hardly passetl muster with a Vatel. 
 We made a hearty meal, took coffee in the K'hawah, and then 
 returned to sit awhile and smoke our pipes in the open air. 
 Needs not say how lovely are the summer evenings, how cool 
 the breeze, how pure the sky, in these mountainous districts. 
 
 Seyf, on his side, got our night quarters ready, and, by his 
 orders, one of the king's magazines (I have already mentioned 
 them) had been emptied, swept, and matted for our reception. 
 My readers are, I should think, sufficiently acquainted with 
 eastern customs to know that neither chairs nor tables, tubs nor 
 washhand basins, can reasonably be expected. We entered our 
 lodgings, closed and locked the outer door, and then fell into 
 deep consultation what was next to be done; coming at last
 
 Chat. Ill] Huycl and Tchil 8 1 
 
 to the best conclusion after a long journey; that of a sound and 
 prolonged sleep. 
 
 While we are thus, to borrow Madge Wildfire's phrase, " in 
 the land of Nod," it may perhaps be well, instead of recounting 
 our dreams, to gratify the curiosity of those who would desire 
 to learn whether we had any further encounter with our un- 
 welcome friends from the north, and what was the secjuel of 
 their history. Be it known, then, that the first and worthiest 
 of the two, the trader-post-contractor, had been so utterly 
 puzzled by our chilling " cut," and subsequently by the rebukes 
 he received from Seyf and others, that he ended in doubting 
 his own eyes, and concluded that he must have made some 
 strange mistake about our identity, or perhaps even his own ; 
 for, on the third day, when we once more came across each 
 other in the street, he began a confused discourse much like 
 that of the old woman in the ballad, " Oh dear me, it is not 
 I," and made such very humble apologies for his past conduct, 
 that I felt half disposed out of sheer pity to set his mind at 
 ease with a " no mistake at all, old fellow, you were perfectly 
 in the right." But prudence would not permit of this extra 
 kindness ; and besides, his public abjuration produced the best 
 imaginable effect on those present, so I left him to his regrets, 
 in which he may be plunged up to the present day, for aught I 
 know. The following morning he left Ha'yel, nor have I since 
 seen him anywhere. 
 
 For the man of Kaseem, his stay in this capital was yet 
 shorter, and the next day saw him on his way home, nor 
 did we again meet him ; thus his tale, tnie or not, fell to the 
 ground for want of repetition and confirmation. 
 
 As to the third, who had so obligingly set me up with house 
 and family, he was a citizen of the town itself, and we had in 
 consequence frequent interviews during the following weeks. 
 But he readily gave up his unfounded pretensions to previous 
 intimacy, and declared before all that he had mistaken his man. 
 And thus the triple cloud, fraught v/ith distrust and danger, 
 passed away without further ill consequences, at least of a direct 
 nature. But the morrow's sun is up, and we must up with him. 
 
 Our door was yet unopened, when a low rap announces a 
 visitor. My companion undoes the bolt with a " samm'," 
 equivalent on these occasions to "come in." 
 
 G
 
 B2 The Nefood and Djcbcl SJiomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 It is 'Abd-el-Mahsin, the same whom we had seen the evenhig 
 before as companion of Telal. He enters with a " hope I don't 
 intrude " air, and begins by excusing himself for breaking in on 
 us so early, asks after our health, trusts that we are somewhat 
 refreshed from the fatigues of our journey; in short, makes no 
 less display of politeness, though without any overdoing or 
 affectation soever, than a French marquis of the old school 
 could to guests newly arrived at his chateau. He then proceeds 
 to enquiries about our road hither, how we had fared on the 
 way, laments over the coarse manners and ill breeding of 
 Bedouins, and the heat of the desert. Next he shows a great 
 desire to be instructed in medicine, adding that he is not 
 altogether ignorant of the healing art, and in a word directs 
 his whole conversation so as to make us feel perfectly at home, 
 and thus proceeds to sound us on the purport of our visit to 
 IJa'yel, and who we really were. 
 
 His appearance was certainly much in his favour, and one 
 that inspired confidence, or even familiarity. He could not have 
 been under fifty, but bore his years well; his complexion equal 
 in fairness to that of most Italians, his eye large and intelligent, 
 his features regular; in youth he must have been positively 
 handsome; his person was slender and a little bent by advancing 
 age ; his dress extremely neat, though unadorned ; a plain wand 
 in his hand bespoke his pacific and unmilitary turn; in short, 
 he had the look of a scientific or literary courtier, perhaps 
 an author, certainly a gentleman. A curious half-smile, but 
 partially disguised by the ceremonious gravity of a first visit, 
 showed him to be no enemy to a joke, while it tempered the 
 thoughtful expression of his large forehead and meaning eye. 
 
 Such was 'Abd-el-Mahsin, the intimate friend and inseparable 
 companion of the prince. He belonged to the ancient and 
 noble family of 'Aleyj'an, chiefs of the town and district of 
 Bereydah in Kaseem. There he had once enjoyed the confidence 
 of his own fellow-citizens, and the boon fellowship of Khursheed 
 Basha the Eg>'ptian governor, during the period that this latter 
 held Kaseem before the final re-establishment of the Wahhabee 
 dynasty. Avoiding any open part in political affairs, and 
 devoting himself in appearance to literature and society, he 
 was, in fact, the deepest intriguer of the province, and guided 
 all the machinations of his relatives to deliver his country from
 
 Chap. Ill] Haycl and Teldl 83 
 
 foreign occupation. But when a few years later 'Abd-el-Mahsin 
 found that Feysul had only concurred in freeing them from the 
 tyranny of Egypt in order the better to subject them to his own, 
 he became once more the active though secret agent of his 
 powerful family in opposing the progress of Wahhabee prepon- 
 derance and rule. At last came the ruin of the 'Aleyyan family, 
 consummated by one of the blackest acts of perfidy that stain 
 the annals of Central Arabia. 'Abd-el-Mahsin escaped the first 
 fury of the massacre that destroyed most of his relatives, but was 
 involved in the proscription which followed immediately after, 
 and had to flee for his life. After some months of concealment 
 on the outskirts of the province, finding that no hope was left 
 in his native country, he took refuge with Telal, and had now 
 lived for about ten years in the palace of the Shomer prince, 
 first a guest, then a friend and favourite, welcomed in moments 
 of relaxation on account of his gaiety, his natural elegance, and 
 his extensive knowledge of Arab history and anecdote ; but 
 prized in more serious hours for his shrewd advice and wise 
 counsel. When on our way home a year later my companion 
 and myself beguiled the long hours of horseback in the plains 
 of Mosool or the hills of Orfah by passing in review the events 
 of our Arabian journey, we readily agreed that from Gaza to 
 Ras-el-Hadd we had not met with any one superior, or perhaps 
 equal, in natural endowments and cultivated intellect to 'Abd- 
 el-Mahsin 'Aleyyan. 
 
 Hardly had he entered on conversation than we guessed, and 
 rightly guessed, that he had been sent by Telal in apreparatoiy 
 way to the audience fixed by the king for a few hours later. 
 We were accordingly on our guard, and stuck perseveringly to 
 Damascus, SjTia, and doctoring. On any other topics started 
 by our friend while beating the bush, we gave very off-hand 
 answers, implying that these things did not regard us, and to a 
 few hesitating questions about Egypt, and even about Europe, 
 we put on an appearance of great ignorance and unconcern. 
 
 Meanwhile it was our turn to find out everything possible 
 about Telal and his real position, especially in what regarded 
 the Wahhabee dynasty, and his own fashion of government. 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin's answers were naturally cautious and guarded 
 enough ; yet we were able this ver}' morning to discover much 
 that we had been previously ignorant of.
 
 84 TJic Ncfocd and Djchcl SJiomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 I give the summary of what v/e then learnt from our friendly 
 visitor, combined with what fuller information the following 
 weeks supplied. The limits of this volume will allow but few 
 other specimens of Arabian history, as told by Arabs. 
 
 This province, in common with the rest of the peninsula, 
 underwent the short-lived tyranny of the first Wahliabee empire 
 at the beginning of the present century, and, like many other 
 districts, was but transiently affected by it. The storm soon 
 blew over, and left matters pretty much where they were before. 
 At this period the town of Ha'yel was already looked on as in 
 a manner the capital of Djebel Shomer, a distinction which it 
 owed partly to its superior size and resources, and partly to its 
 central position ; yet its chiefs could not enforce their authority 
 over any great distance beyond the walls of the town, at least 
 in a regular way. The supreme rule was held by the family of 
 Beyt 'Alee, ancient denizens of the city, and who seem to have 
 fully appreciated both in theory and practice " the right divine 
 of kings to govern A\Tong." 
 
 But there lived then in the same town of Ha'yel a young and 
 enterprising chief, of the family Rasheed, belonging to the clan 
 of Dja'afer, the noblest branch of the Shomer tribe. Many of 
 his near relations were Bedouins, though his own direct ancestors 
 had long occupied the social position of townsmen. His name 
 was 'Abd-Allah-ebn-Rasheed ; wealthy, as wealth here goes, 
 high-born, and conscious of ability and vigour, he aspired to 
 wrest their hitherto undisputed pre-eminence from the chiefs of 
 Beyt 'Alee ; his own powerful and numerous relatives lent their 
 aid to his endeavour. The inhabitants of Ha'yel favoured some 
 the one and some the other party, and on the whole 'Abd-Allah's 
 fiction was the stronger within the walls of the capital. But 
 the neighbouring village of Kefar held to a man for Beyt 'Alee, 
 and Kefar was at that time almost equal in strength and popu- 
 lation to Ha'yel; indeed, to judge by popular song and local 
 tradition, our only guide here, Kefar was considered the more 
 aristocratic town of the two. 
 
 After many preliminary bickerings, the stniggle between 'Abd- 
 Allah and Beyt 'Alee began ; but the result proved unfavourat)]e 
 to the young competitor for sovereignty, and he was driven into 
 exile. This happened about the year 1818 or 1820. With a 
 few of his relatives, fugitives like himself, he took the roac^ of
 
 Chap. Ill] Hciycl aild Tcldl 85 
 
 the Djowf, in hopes of refuge and alhance ; but not finding either, 
 he passed on to Wadi Sirlian, whose depths have ever been a 
 common asylum for men in a similar predicament up to the 
 present time. While he and his followers were wandering amid 
 the labyrinths of the valley, they were suddenly attacked by a 
 strong party of 'Anezeh Bedouins, hereditary enemies of the 
 Shomer clan. 'Abd-AUah and his companions fought well, but 
 numbers gained the day. The Benoo-Dja'afer fell without ex- 
 ception on the field of battle; the victorious 'Anezeh "stripped 
 and gashed the slain;" none of 'Abd-Allah's companions re- 
 mained alive, and he himself was left for dead amid the corpses 
 on the sand. 
 
 The 'Anezeh, as is often their wont, " made assurance doubly 
 sure" by cutting the throats of the wounded where they lay on 
 the ground ; and in this respect 'Abd-Allah had fared no better 
 than his comrades. But the destined possessor of a throne 
 was not thus to perish before his time. While he lay senseless, 
 his blood fast ebbing from the gaping gash, the locusts of the 
 desert, so runs the Arab tale, surrounded the chief, and with 
 their wings and feet cast the hot sand into his wounds, till this 
 rude styptic stayed the life-stream in its flow. Meanwhile a 
 flock of Kata, a partridge-like bird common in these regions, 
 hovered over him to protect him from the burning sun — a ser- 
 vice for which unwounded travellers in the Arabian v/ilds would 
 be hardly less grateful. 
 
 A merchant of Damascus, accompanied by a small caravan, 
 was on his way home to Syria from the Djowf, and chanced to 
 pass close by the scene of carnage and miracle. He saw the 
 wounded youth, and the wondrous intervention of Heaven in 
 his behalf. Amazed at the spectacle, and conjecturing no ordi- 
 nary future for one whose life was so dear to Providence, he 
 alighted by his side, bound up his wounds, applied what means 
 for reviving suspended animation the place and circumstances 
 could allow of, placed him on one of his camels, and took him 
 to Damascus. 
 
 There 'Abd-Allah, now the charitable merchant's guest, and 
 treated by him like a son, speedily recovered strength and 
 vigour. His generous preserver then supplied him with arms 
 and ]jrovision for the way, and sent him back with a well-stored 
 girdle to Arabia once more.
 
 S6 The Nefood and Djchcl SJionicr [Chap. hi 
 
 But to Djebel Shoraer he could not return as a prince, and 
 would not return as a subject. So, following a circuitous track, 
 he passed on to the Inner Nejed, and there offered his services 
 in quality of " condottiere" to Turkee, son of 'Abd-Allah-ebn- 
 Sa'ood. Turkee was then actively engaged in reconstructing 
 his father's kingdom, ruined by the Eg)^ptian invasion, and in 
 recovering one after another the provinces formerly subject to 
 Wahhabee domination. From such a prince 'Abd-AUah natur- 
 ally found a ready welcome, and work in abundance. He was 
 the foremost in every fray, and soon became the head of a con- 
 siderable division in the Wahhabee army. 
 
 In 1830 or thereabouts, for I have been unable to procure 
 from Arab negligence the exact date of this or of many other 
 important incidents, Turkee resolved on the conquest of IJasa, 
 one of the richest appanages of the old Nejdean crown. But 
 since public affairs did not permit the withdrawing of his own 
 personal presence from Ri'ad, his capital, he placed his eldest 
 son Feysul at the head of the royal armies, and sent them to the 
 invasion of the eastern coast. 'Abd-Allah as a matter of course 
 joined the expedition, and, though a stranger by birth, was much 
 looked up to by Feysul and his officers, and was almost their 
 leader in all military operations. 
 
 Hardly had the Wahhabee army reached the frontiers of 
 Hasa, and, having passed the narrow defiles of Ghoweyr, where 
 we too, gentle reader, will pass in due time, were just proceeding 
 to lay siege to the town of Hofhoof Avhen news reached them 
 that Turkee had been treacherously assassinated during the 
 evening prayers in the great mosque of the city by his own 
 cousin Mesharee, and that the murderer had already occupied 
 the vacant throne. 
 
 A council of war was at once called. The " Hushais " there 
 present, and they were the greater number, advised Feysul to 
 continue the war in Hasa, and after the conquest of that opulent 
 province, return rich with its spoils to wrest the crown from his 
 usurping relative. But 'Abd-Allah, a verj' Ahithophel in counsel, 
 observed that such delay would only serve to give Mesharee 
 better leisure for collecting troops, fortifying the capital, and 
 thus becoming a yet more dangerous, if not an insurmountable 
 enemy. Accordingly, he insisted on Feysul's immediate return 
 with all his troops to Ri'ad, as the surest way to take Mesharee
 
 Chap. Ill] Hd ycl and Tcldl 8y 
 
 unprepared, avenge the yet warm blood of Turkee, and secure 
 the capital and the central provinces for the rightful heir. For 
 what concerned Has a, its conquest could be only all the more 
 certain for being a moment deferred. 
 
 Feysul, wiser than Absalom, subscribed to 'Abd-Allah's 
 opinion, and the event fully justified him. Without loss of 
 time the camp was broken up, and the whole army in move- 
 ment on its backward way for Ri'ad, under whose walls forced 
 marches speedily brought them, while Mesharee yet imagined 
 his competitor far off on the other side of the passes in the 
 distant plains of Hasa. 
 
 On the first appearance of the lawful prince, all Nejed rose 
 round his banner. The capital followed the example, the gates 
 were thrown open, and Feysul entered Ri'ad amid enthusiastic 
 acclamations, and without striking a blow. 
 
 But Mesharee still occupied the palace, whose high walls and 
 massive outworks could stand a long siege, as sieges go in 
 Arabia ; while within the fortress he had at his disposition all 
 the state treasur}^, artillery, and ammunition, beside good store 
 of provisions in case of blockade ; lastly, he was protected by a 
 powerful garrison of his own retainers, well paid and well 
 armed. Thus provided, he determined to hold out, and wait a 
 turn of fortune. It came, but against him. 
 
 Feysul, on his side, ordered an immediate assault on the 
 fortress. It was delivered, but the thick walls and iron-bound 
 gates, joined to the desperate valour of the defenders, baffled 
 all efforts ; and the assailants were reduced to wait the slow 
 results of a regular siege. 
 
 This lasted twenty days without bringing material advantage 
 to either party. But on the twenty-first night, 'Abd-Allah, 
 desirous to bring matters to a conclusion by any means, how- 
 ever hazardous, took with him two sturdy companions of his 
 Shomer kinsmen, refugees like himself, and, under cover of 
 darkness, went roaming round the castle walls in hopes of 
 detecting some unguarded spot. At a nnrrov*- window high up 
 under the battlements (it was afterwards pointed out to me 
 when I was at the very place) a light was glimmering. 'Abd- 
 Allah drew clo-e underneath, took a pebble, and threw it up 
 against the window. A head appeared and called out in a 
 muffled tone, " Who are you 1 " 'Abd-Allah recognized the voice
 
 88 TJic Ncfood and Djcbcl SJiovicr [Chap. hi 
 
 cf an old palace retainer, long in the service of the deceased 
 monarch, and his own intimate friend. He answered by his 
 name. " What is your purpose 1 " said the old man. " Let us 
 down a cord, and we will arrange the rest." 
 
 Presently the rustling of a rope came down the wall. 'Abd- 
 AUah and his two companions clambered up one after the other, 
 and soon stood together within the palace chamber. " Where 
 does Mesharee sleep 1" was the ominous question. The servant 
 of Turkee indicated the way. Threading the dark corridors, 
 barefoot and in silence, the three adventurers reached the door 
 of the usurper's bedchamber. They tried it ; it was bolted 
 from within. " In the name of God ! " exclaimed 'Abd-Allah, 
 and with one vigorous thrust burst the lock, and the room lay 
 open. 
 
 There lay Mesharee, with a pair of loaded pistols under his 
 pillow. At the noise he started up, and saw three dark outlines 
 before him. Seizing his weapons, he fired them oft" in quick 
 succession, and the two companions of 'Abd-Allah fell, one 
 dead, the other death-wounded, yet alive. But 'Abd-Allah 
 remained unscathed, and rushed on his victim, sword in hand. 
 IMesharee, a man of herculean size, seized the arms of his enemy 
 and grappled with him. Both fell on the floor, but Mesharee 
 kept firm hold on the sword-arm of 'Abd-Allah, and bent him- 
 self to wrest the weapon from his hand. While thus they rolled 
 together in doubtful struggle, the dying comrade of 'Abd-Allah, 
 collecting his last strength, dragged himself to their side, and 
 seized the wrist of Mesharee with such convulsive force, that it 
 made him for an instant relax his hold. That instant 'Abd- 
 Allah freed his sword, and plunged it again and again into the 
 body of his antagonist, who expired without a struggle. 
 
 Not a cry had been raised, not an alarm given. 'Abd-Allah 
 cut off the head of Mesharee wliere he lay, and with it in his 
 hand returned to the chamber where the servant of Turkee 
 awaited trembling the result of the attempt. By the lamplight 
 both made themselves sure that the disfigured features were 
 indeed those of the usurper. Then without a moment's loss 
 'Abd-Allah went to the window and, leaning out, raised his 
 voice to its utmost pitch to alarm the camp of Feysul, whose 
 advanced guard was not far from the palace. Several soldiers 
 started up, and when they approached the wall, " Take the
 
 Chap. IIIl Huycl ttud Tclcil 89 
 
 dog's head," exclaimed 'Abd-Allah, and flung his bloody trophy 
 in the midst. A shout of triumph echoed throughout the city. 
 Meanwhile the servant of Turkee rushed down to the outer 
 palace gates, and threw them open, proclaiming Aman, or 
 quarter, to all of Mesharee's retinue who would acknowledge 
 Feysul for their master. A few minutes more, and Feysul 
 himself stood within his father's walls, now his own. 
 
 No resistance was offered. " God has willed it," was the 
 only comment of Mesharee's followers as they presented un- 
 hesitating allegiance to their new sovereign. Feysul was now 
 undisputed master throughout Nejed, and the circumstances 
 of his accession only secured him the more the attachment of 
 his subjects. 
 
 The son of Turkee was not ungrateful to him Avhose intre- 
 pidity had placed him on his father's throne. He openly ac- 
 knowledged — an honourable proceeding in a king — the eminent 
 services of 'Abd-Allah, and determined to requite his daring 
 mercenary with a crown, bestowed in return for the crown thus 
 acquired. To this end he named him absolute governor of his 
 native province, Shomer, with right of succession, and supplied 
 him with troops and all other means for the establishment of 
 his rule. 
 
 'Abd-Allah returned to Ha'yel, now no longer a proscribed 
 exile, but a powerful and dreaded chieftain, with an army at 
 his bidding. He soon drove out the rival family of Beyt 'Alee 
 from the town, where his own authority was henceforth supreme. 
 Here he fixed his residence, while he intrusted the fulness of 
 his vengeance on the ill-fated chieftains of Beyt 'Alee to his 
 younger brother 'Obeyd, "the Wolf," to give him the name by 
 which he is commonly known, a name well earned by his 
 unrelenting cruelty and deep deceit. The Beyt 'Alee, after a 
 flight into Kaseem, were cut off root and branch ; one child 
 alone, hidden in a small village on the outskirts of Kaseem, 
 escaped the slayers. When Telal years after ascended the 
 throne, he sent for the lad, the only representative now sur- 
 viving of his hereditary enemies, gave him estates and riches, 
 and installed him in a handsome dwelling within the capital 
 itself, thus with rare but politic generosity obviating the last 
 chances of a rival faction. 
 
 'Abd-Allah's main care, meanwhile, was to consolidate his
 
 go TJic Ncfood and Djcbel Sliomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 power in Djebel Shomer itself. Before long he saw himself 
 sole master of the whole mountain district. But beyond 'Aja' 
 and Solma his sway did not extend, and the conquests made 
 by his brother in the south were according to the previous 
 stipulation given over to the Wahhabee monarch. 'Abd-Allah 
 too all his lifetime paid a stated tribute to Feysul, of whom he 
 was in fact a mere viceroy, while, the more to ensure the 
 support of his powerful neighbour and jealous benefactor, he 
 caused the Wahhabee religion to be recognized officially for 
 that of the new state, and encouraged the Nejdean Metow'wa'as 
 (a term already explained) in their zeal for the extirpation of 
 the many local superstitious practices still observed in Djebel 
 Shomer. He did not, however, neglect the while to strengthen 
 his own national influence, and to this end he had at an early 
 period contracted a marriage alliance with a powerful chieftain's 
 family of Dja'afer, his near kinsman by blood. Strong in the 
 support of this restless clan, who cared little about Wahhabee 
 dogmas and enactments which they well knew could never 
 reach them, he subdued with their help the rivalry of town and 
 country nobles, and gratified at once his own ambition and the 
 rapacity of his Bedouin allies by the measures that crushed his 
 domestic enemies and ensured his pre-eminence. Plots were 
 formed against him, broken, and formed again; hired assassins 
 dogged him in the streets, open rebellion broke out in the pro- 
 vince, but 'Abd-Allah escaped every danger and prostrated 
 every opponent, till his ''star," less fickle if less famous than 
 that of the Corsican, became a proverb for good fortune in 
 Shomer ; it was no other than his own calculating courage and 
 inflexible resolve. Yet his memory is scarcely a favourite with 
 the citizens of Ha'yel, little disposed to sympathize with Wah- 
 habees and Bedouins ; and the weight of the new government 
 pressed heaviest, as needs was, on the best and most thriving 
 portion of the general population. 
 
 Towards the latter part of his reign 'Abd-Allah took a mea- 
 sure eminently calculated, at least under the actual circum- 
 stances, to secure the permanence of his dynasty. Hitherto 
 he had dwelt in a quarter of the capital which the old chieftains 
 and the nobility had mainly chosen for their domicile, and 
 where the new monarch was surrounded by men his equals in 
 birth and of even more ancient title to conunand. But now he
 
 Chap. Ill] IfdHjel and T^Idl 91 
 
 added a new quarter to the town, and there laid the foundations 
 of a vast palace destined for the future abode of the king and 
 the display of all his grandeur, amid streets and nobles of his 
 own creation. The walls of the projected edifice were fast 
 rising when he died, almost suddenly, in 1844 or 1845, leaving 
 three sons, Telal, Meta'ab, and Mohammed, the eldest scarce 
 twenty years of age, besides his only surviving brother 'Obeyd, 
 who could not then have been much under fifty. 
 
 Telal was already highly popular, much more so than his 
 father, and had given early tokens of those superior qualities 
 which accompanied him to the throne. All parties united to 
 proclaim him sole heir to the kingdom and lawful successor to 
 the regal power, and thus the rival pretensions of 'Obeyd, hated 
 by many and feared by all, were smothered at the outset and 
 put aside without a contest. 
 
 The young sovereign possessed, in fact, all that Arab ideas 
 require to ensure good government and lasting popularity. 
 Affable towards the common people, reserved and haughty Avith 
 the aristocracy, courageous and skilful in war, a lover of com- 
 merce and building in time of peace, liberal even to profusion, 
 yet always careful to maintain and augment the state revenue, 
 neither over-strict nor yet scandalously lax in religion, secret 
 in his designs, but never known to break a promise once given, 
 or violate a plighted faith; severe in administration, yet averse 
 to bloodshed, he offered the very type of what an Arab prince 
 should be. T might add, that among all rulers or governors, 
 European or Asiatic, with whose acquaintance I have ever 
 chanced to be honoured, I know few equal in the true art of 
 government to Telal, son of 'Abd-Allah-ebn-Rasheed. 
 
 His first cares were directed to adorn and civilize the capital. 
 Under his orders, enforced by personal superintendence, the 
 palace commenced byhis fatherwas soon b'ought to completion. 
 But he added, what probably his fother would hardly have 
 thought of, a long row of warehouses, the dependencies and 
 property of the same palace; next he built a market-place con- 
 sisting of about eighty shops or magazines, destined for public 
 commerce and trade, and lastly constructed a large mosque for 
 the official prayers of Friday. Round the palace, and in many 
 other parts of the town, he opened streets, dug wells, and 
 laid out extensive gardens, besides strengthening the old fortifi-
 
 92 The Ncfood and Djchcl Shovicr [Chap, hi 
 
 cations all round and adding new ones. At the same time he 
 managed to secure at once the fidelity and the absence of his 
 dangerous uncle by giving him charge of those military expedi- 
 tions which best satisfied the restless energy of 'Obeyd. The 
 first of these wars was directed, I know not on what pretext, 
 against Kheybar. But as Telal intended rather to enforce sub- 
 mission than to inflict ruin, he associated with 'Obeyd in the 
 military command his own brother Meta'ab, to put a check on 
 the ferocity of the former. Kheybar was conquered, and Tela! 
 sent thither, as governor in his name, a young man of Ha'yel, 
 prudent and gentle, whom I subsequently met when he was on 
 a visit at the capital. 
 
 Not long after, the inhabitants of Kaseem, weary of Wahha- 
 bee tyranny, turned their eyes towards Telal, who had already 
 given a generous and inviolable asylum to the numerous politi- 
 cal exiles of that district. Secret negotiations took place, and 
 at a favourable moment the entire uplands of that province — ■ 
 after a fashion not indeed peculiar to Arabia — annexed them- 
 selves to the kingdom of Shomer by uni\-ersal and unanimous 
 suffrage. Telal made suitable apologies to the Nejdean monarch, 
 the original sovereign of the annexed district; he could not re- 
 sist the popular wish; it had been forced on him, &c. &c. &c. , — 
 but Western Europe is familiar with the style. Feysul felt 
 the inopportuneness of a quarrel with the rapidly growing 
 power to which he himself had given origin only a few years 
 before, and, after a \\Ty face or two, swallowed the pill. Mean- 
 while Telal, knowing the necessity of a high military reputation 
 both at home and abroad, undertook in person a series of 
 operations against Teyma' and its neighbourhood, and at last 
 against the Djowf itself. Every^vhere his arms were successful, 
 and his moderation in victory secured the attachment of the 
 \'anquished themselves. 
 
 Other expeditions of minor consequence, but always fortunate 
 in their result, were headed by Telal ; while 'Obeyd is said to 
 have taken the field above forty times. These military doings, 
 in which there was often more display than slaughter, were 
 principally directed against the Bedouins, who occupied, as a 
 glance at the map will show, a very large i)ortion of Telal's do- 
 mains, and whom that prince made it his capital business to 
 put down everywhere. With the nomades of the outer districts
 
 Chap. Ill] IJotycl and T^ldl 93 
 
 he had no great difficulty; but he found much more with his 
 own kinsmen and near neighbours, the Arabs of Shomer. 
 
 In order to carry out his views for enriching the country by 
 the benefits of free and regular commerce, security on the high 
 roads and the cessation of plundering forays were indispensable. 
 Now the tribe of Dja'afar, his own blood relations, had grown 
 especially insolent through the favour of 'Abd-Allah, whose in- 
 struments they had been in subduing the towns and villages of 
 the mountain. Telal, who had not the same need of them, 
 played his father's game backwards, subduing these same 
 Bedouins by the means of the very populations whom they had 
 formerly oppressed, and who were naturally eager for their turn 
 of revenge; while the quarrels of the clansmen among them- 
 selves aftbrded him frequent occasion for setting them one 
 against another, till, weakened and divided, they all in com- 
 mon submitted to his yoke. " Divide et impera," is a maxim 
 known to Arab, no less than to European statesmanship. 
 Henceforth no Bedouin in Djebel Shomer, or throughout the 
 whole kingdom, could dare to molest traveller or peasant. 
 
 This obstacle removed, Telal applied himself with character- 
 istic vigour and good sense to the execution of more pacific 
 projects. Merchants from Basrah, from xVIeshid 'Alee and 
 Wasit. shopkeepers from Medinah.and even from Yemen, were 
 invited by liberal offers to come and establish themselves in 
 the new market of Ha'yel. With some Telal made govern- 
 ment contracts equally lucrative to himself and to them; to 
 others he granted privileges and immunities; to all protection 
 and countenance. Many of these traders belonged to the 
 Shiya'a sect, hated by all good Sonnites, doubly hated by the 
 Wahhabees. But Telal affected not to perceive their religious 
 discrepancies, and silenced all murmurs by marks of special 
 favour towards these very dissenters, and also by the advantages 
 which their presence was not long in procuring for the town. 
 The desired impulse was given, and Ha'yel became a centre of 
 trade and industry, and many of its inhabitants followed the ex- 
 ample of the foreigners thus settled among them, and rivalled 
 them in diligence and in wealth. 
 
 All this, however, could not but irritate the Wahhabee faction 
 of the country, at whose head stood the sanguinary fanatic 
 'Obeyd. Feysul, too, already annoyed by the Kaseem annexa-
 
 94 The Ncfood and Djchcl Shojucr [Chap. hi 
 
 tion, now sent forth from his Nejdean fastnesses loud protesta- 
 tions against the laxity of his " brother," Telal. Besides, 
 horrible to Wahhabee thought and hearing, Telal was rumoured 
 to indulge in the heretical pleasure of tobacco, to wear silk, and 
 to be very seldom seen in the mosque; though indeed it might 
 be charitably hoped that he said his j^rayers at home. Lastly, 
 and this was no good sign in Wahliabee eyes, he showed much 
 more disposition to pardon prisoners or criminals than to be- 
 head them ; and the encouragement he gave to commerce did 
 not seem, from their point of view, consistent with the character 
 of a true Muslim. 
 
 In spite of all Telal steadily pursued his way, while his dex- 
 terous prudence threw over these enormities a veil sufficient for 
 decency, if not for absolute concealment. If he smoked, it 
 was only in private, and by way of remedy, prescribed by the 
 best physicians, for some occult disease, which admitted of no 
 other means of cure; no sooner shall the malady be removed, 
 than he will give it up. If he harboured Shiya'as, it was that 
 they had to his own personal knowledge declared themselves 
 sincere converts to the Sonnee creed. The commerce of Ha'yel 
 was not his, but the work of private individuals, with whom, 
 much to his regret, he could not interfere. What excuse he 
 made for his unorthodox leniency in war and judgment I did 
 not hear, but I doubt not that it was a plausible one. And 
 finally, if he was obliged by business to absent himself some- 
 times from the mosque, he always took care that his uncle or 
 some one of the family should be there to represent him : — 
 
 Ne'er went to church, 'twas such a busy life ; 
 But duly sent his family and wife. 
 
 But above and besidesapologies, judicious presents despatched 
 from time to time to the Nejed, and an alliance brought about 
 with one of Feysul's numerous daughters, went far to appease 
 the Wahhabee. In his own kingdom also Telal made suitable 
 concessions to orthodox zeal. The public sale of tobacco was 
 prohibited; and if any went on in a contraband way in back 
 shops or under private roofs, government could not be held 
 responsible. Although silk was tolerated for wear, orders were 
 given that the ungodly material should be mixed with so much 
 cotton as to render it no longer an object of strict and legal
 
 Chap. Ill] Hll ycl ttud Tclill 95 
 
 animadversion. In the capital, where Nejdean spies often 
 came, the inhabitants were requested to pay fitting attendance 
 on pubhc prayers, and the mosque became tolerably full. 
 Besides 'Obeyd was so regular and devout, so far from the 
 abominations of silk and tobacco, so frequent in long recita- 
 tions of the Coran and invectives against infidels, that his good 
 example might almost atone for and cover the scandals given 
 by his nephew, and yet more by Meta'ab, a very " wild young 
 man," whose eternal Nargheelah and silken dress, unsanctified 
 by a single thread of cotton, shocked pious noses and eyes, 
 and constituted a crime of which said one day a Nejdean 
 Metow'waa', pointing to the gay head-dress of the prince, " all 
 other wickedness may be forgiven, but that never." Whereon 
 Meta'ab, in a towering passion, turned the over-zealous censor 
 unceremoniously out of doors. I return to Telal. 
 
 Towards his own subjects his conduct is uniformly of a na- 
 ture to merit their obedience and attachment, and few sovereigns 
 have here met with better success. Once a day, often twice, he 
 gives public audience, hears patiently, and decides in person, 
 the minutest causes with great good sense. To the Bedouins, 
 no insignificant portion of his rule, he makes up for the restraint 
 he imposes, and the tribute he levies from them, by a profusion 
 of hospitality not to be found elsewhere in the whole of Arabia 
 from 'Akabah to 'Aden. His guests at the midday and evening 
 meal are never less than fifty or sixty, and I have often counted 
 up to two hundred at a banquet, while presents of dress and 
 arms are of frequent if not of daily occurrence. It is hard for 
 Europeans to estimate how much popularity such conduct 
 brings an Asiatic prince. Meanwhile the townsfolk and villa- 
 gers love him for the more solid advantages of undisturbed 
 peace at home, of flourishing commerce, of extended dominion, 
 and military glory. 
 
 To capital punishment he is decidedly adverse, and the 
 severest penalty with which he has hitherto chastised political 
 offences is banishment or prison. Indeed, even in cases of 
 homicide or murder, he has been known not unfrequently to 
 avail himself of the option allowed by Arab custom between a 
 fine and retaliation, and to buy off the oftender, by bestowing 
 on the family of the deceased the allotted price of blood from 
 his own private treasury, and that from a pure motive of
 
 96 TJlc Ncfood and Djcbcl SJiomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 humanity. When execution does take place, it is ahvays by 
 beheading ; nor is indeed any other mode of putting to death 
 customary in Arabia. Stripes, however, are not uncommon, 
 though administered on the broad back, not on tlie sole of the 
 foot. They are the common chastisement for minor offences, 
 like stealing, cursing, or quarrelling ; in this last case both 
 parties usually come in for their share. 
 
 With his numerous retainers he is almost over-indulgent, and 
 readily pardons a mistake or a negligence ; falsehood alone he 
 never forgives ; and it is notorious that whoever has once lied 
 to Telal must give up all hopes of future favour. 
 
 In private life he relaxes much of his official gravity ; laughs, 
 jokes, chats, enjoys poetry and tales, and smokes, but only in 
 presence of his more intimate friends. He has three wives, 
 taken each and all, it would seem, from some political motive. 
 One is the daughter of Feysul, the Wahhabee monarch, a 
 second belongs to a noble family of Ha'yel, a third is from 
 among his kinswomen of the tribe of Dja'afar ; thus in a way 
 conciliating three different interests, but uniting them in one 
 household. He has three sons : the eldest named Bedr, a clever 
 and handsome lad of twelve or thereabouts; the second. Bander; 
 the third is 'Abd-Allah, a very pretty and intelligent child of 
 five or six. He has some daughters, too, but I do not know 
 their number, for here, as elsewhere in the East, they are looked 
 on as something rather to be ashamed of than otherwise, and 
 accordingly are never mentioned. 
 
 Such is Telal. His reign has now lasted nearly twenty years, 
 and hitherto with unvaried and well-deserved prosperity. He 
 has gone far to civilize the most barbarous third of the Arabian 
 continent, and has established law and security where they had 
 been unknown for ages past. We shall now see him in a more 
 intimate and personal point of view. 
 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin stayed with us awhile, and then left us, saying 
 that the public audience of the day was drawing nigh, and that 
 his attendance there would be exj)ected ; for ourselves we were 
 to be admitted immediately afterwards to a private interview. 
 Meanwhile we may reasonably conjecture that he went to tell 
 Telal of his own espionage, and conjectures regarding the Syrian 
 adventurers. 
 
 The sun was now tolerably high in heaven ; but as the long
 
 Chap. Ill] IJitycI aud Tcldl 97 
 
 palace wall faced the west, the seats beneath it and even a good 
 part of the courtyard were yet in shade. When morning 
 advanced this space gradually filled up with groups of citizens, 
 countrymen, and Bedouins, some to despatch business, others 
 merely as lookers on. About nine, if I judged correctly of the 
 time from the solar altitude, Telal, "dressed in all his best," 
 and surrounded by a score of armed attendants, with his third 
 brother Mohammed at his side (for the second, Meta ab, was 
 absent from Ha'yel, nor did he return till some days later), 
 issued in due state and gravity from the palace portal, and took 
 his seat on the raised dais in the centre against the wall. 'Abd- 
 el-Mahsin and Zamil placed themselves close by, while officers 
 and attendants, to the number of sixty or thereabouts, filled up 
 the Hnc. Immediately in front of Telal, but squatted on tlie 
 bare ground, were our Sherarat companions, the 'Azzam chiefs, 
 every one with his never-failing camel-switch in his hand ; 
 around and behind sat or stood a crowd of spectators, for the 
 occasion was one of some solemnity. 
 
 The audience lasted about half an hour, during which the 
 'Azzam chieftains or ragamuffins presented their coarse Bedouin 
 submission, much like runaway hounds crouching before their 
 whipper-in, when brought back to the kennel and the lash. 
 Telal accepted it, though without giving them to understand 
 his own personal intentions respecting them and their clans- 
 men, and detained them for several days without any decisive 
 answer, thus affording them suitable leisure to experience the 
 profusion of his hospitality, and to become yet more deeply 
 impressed with the display of his power. 
 
 " The Arab's understanding is in his eyes," is here a common 
 proverb, and current among all, whether Bedouins or townsmen. 
 It implies, " the Arab judges of things as he sees them present 
 before him, not in their causes or consequences : " keen and 
 superficial. This is eminently true of the Bedouins, though 
 more or less of every Arab whatsoever; it is also true in a 
 measure of all children, even European, who in this resemble 
 not a little the "gray barbarian." A huge palace, a few large 
 pieces of artillery, armed men in gay dresses, a copious supper, 
 a great crowd, there are no better arguments for persuading 
 nomades into submission and awe ; and one may feel perfectly 
 safe that they will never inquire too deeply whether the cannon 
 
 H
 
 98 TJie Nefood and Djebel Shomcr [Chap. hi 
 
 are serviceable, the armed men faithful, the income of the 
 treasury sure, or the supper of wholesome digestion. This 
 Telal knows right well, and in this he seems to have the 
 advantage over many who have attempted to establish their 
 influence, partial or total, over the Arab race. 
 
 Other minor affairs are now concluded ; the levee is at last 
 over, Telal rises, and, accompanied by Zamil, Mohammed, 
 Sa'eed (his head cavalry officer), a Meshid merchant named 
 Hasan, and two or three others, slowly moves off towards the 
 farther end of the court where it joins the market-place. Se}^ 
 comes up to us, and bids us follow.
 
 Hiph Hi lit 
 
 PLAN or HAYEL. 
 
 i MMaa^i /hiatt • \ f /.amt/4 Aat^f 
 
 
 r r.aniaijwUhi/1 the HUJi '^ GqulMdinff tufheP.fpwfStmii 
 
 J
 
 99 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 Life in Ha'yel 
 
 Ueberall regt sich Eildung und Streben, 
 Alles will sich mit Farbun belcbcn, 
 Doch an Blumen fchll's in Revier, 
 Sie nimmt geputzte Mcnschcn dafur. 
 Kehre dich urn von diescn Hohcn 
 Nach der Stadt zuruck zu sehen. — Cotlu 
 
 Private Audiatce of Tddl—His Suspicions — Our House — We begin Doctoring 
 — Plati of Life and Action — Our Daily Life — A Walk out of Town ; V.e^v 
 Round Hdyd — Market-place Early— Visitors and Patients — ' Ojeyl and 
 his Brother — ' Abdcl-Mahsin and Teldl's Three Children — Mohammed-el- 
 Jvadee — Peasant of Mogah — Doheym — J^aseem hnmigration — Market near 
 Noon — Interior of Hay el — Dohe)'nis House and Family-— A Fever Case — 
 Walk through the Town — Mirage — Prayers of the Agr and Sermon — 
 Purity of Elocution in Hiycl — T'ldl at the Mosque — His Afternoo7t Au- 
 diences — The Emecr Rosheyd — Dohey's House and Family — Literary Meet- 
 ings in a Garden — Evenings at Hayel — New Course of Events — Third 
 Jntervitw with T^tdl— A Shomer Passport — 'Obeyds Letter on our Account 
 to 'Abd- Allah ut Riad — Reasons for leaving Hayel — Our Guides for 
 JCaseem — Fartwell Visits of ' Abd-el-Mahsin, Zdmil, and Others — Mutual 
 Regrets — IVe quit Hd'yel. 
 
 Telal once free from the mixed crowd, pauses a moment till 
 we rejoin him. The simple and customary salutations are given 
 and returned. I then present him with our only available 
 testimonial, the scrap written by Hamood from the Djowf. He 
 opens it, and hands it over to Zamil, better skilled in reading 
 than his master. Then laying aside all his wonted gravity, and 
 assuming a good-humoured smile, he takes my hand in his right 
 and my companion's in his left, and thus Avalks on with us 
 through the court, past the mosque, and down the market- 
 place, while his attendants fonn a moving wall behind and on 
 either side. 
 
 He was in his own mind thoroughly persuaded that we were, 
 as we appeared, Syrians ; but imagined, nor was he entirely in 
 the wrong thus far, that we had other objects in view than mere 
 
 H 2
 
 100 Life in Ha yd [Chap. iv 
 
 medical practice. But if he was right in so much, he was less 
 fortunate in the interpretation he chose to put on our riddle, 
 having imagined that our real scope must be to buy horses for 
 some government, of which we must be the agents ; a conjecture 
 which had 'certainly the merit of plausibility. However, Telal 
 had, I believe, no doubt on the matter, and had already deter- 
 mined to treat us well in the horse business, and to let us have 
 a good bargain, as it shortly appeared. 
 
 Accordingly he began a series of questions and cross-questions, 
 all in a jocose way, but so that the very drift of his inquiries 
 soon allowed us to perceive what he really esteemed us. We, 
 following our previous resolution, stuck to medicine, a family 
 in want, hopes of good success under the royal patronage, and 
 much of the same tenor. But Telal was not so easily to be 
 blinkered, and kept to his first judgment. Meanwhile we passed 
 down the street, lined with starers at the king and us, and at 
 last arrived at the outer door of a large house near the farther 
 end of the Sook or market-place ; it belonged to Hasan, the 
 merchant from Meshid 'Alee. 
 
 Three of the retinue stationed themselves by way of guard at 
 the street door, sword in hand. The rest entered with the king 
 and ourselves; we traversed the courtyard, where the remainder 
 of the armed men took position, while we went on to the 
 K'hawah. It was small, but well furnished and carpeted. Here 
 Telal placed us amicably by his side in the highest place ; his 
 brother Mohammed and five or six others were admitted, and 
 seated themselves each according to his rank, while Hasan, 
 being master of the house, did the honours. 
 
 Coffee was brought and pipes lighted. ^Meantime Ebn- 
 Rasheed renewed his interrogatory, skilfully throwng out side 
 remarks, now on the government of Syria, now on that of Egypt, 
 then on the Bedouins to the north of Djowf, or on the tribes of 
 Hejaz or the banks of Euphrates, thus to gain light whence and 
 to what end we had in fact come. Next he questioned us on 
 medicine, perhaps to discover whether we had the right pro- 
 fessional tone; then on horses, about which same noble animals 
 vvc affected an ignorance unnatural and very unpardonable in an 
 Englishman ; but for which I hope after^va^ds to make amends 
 to my readers. All was in vain ; and after a full hour our 
 noble friend had only managed by his cleverness to get himself
 
 Chap, m NortJi, Central Arabia lOi 
 
 farther off the right track than he had been at the outset. He 
 felt it, and determined to let matters have their own course, 
 and to await the result of time. So he ended by assuring us 
 of his entire confidence and protection, offering us to boot a 
 lodging on the palace grounds. But this we declined, being 
 desirous of studying tlie country as it was in itself, not through 
 the medium of a court atmosphere ; so we begged that an abode 
 might be assigned us as near the market-place as possible : and 
 this he promised, though evidently rather put out by our inde- 
 pendent ways. 
 
 Excellent water-melons, ready peeled and cut up, with peaches 
 hardly ripe, for it was the beginning of the season, w-ere now 
 brought in, and we all partook in common. This was the 
 signal for breaking up ; Telal renewed his proffers of favour 
 and patronage; and w'e were at last reconducted to our lodgings 
 by one of the royal guard. 
 
 Seyf now went in search of a permanent dwelling-place 
 wherein to instal us ; and before evening succeeded in finding 
 one situated in a street leading at right angles to the market, 
 and at no unreasonable distance from the palace. The house 
 itself consisted of two apartments, separated by an unroofed 
 court, with an outer door opening on the road ; over the rooms 
 was a flat roof surrounded by a very high parapet, thus making 
 an excellent sleeping-place for summer. The locality had been 
 occupied by one of the palace retinue, Koseyn-el-Misree, who 
 at Seyf s bidding evacuated the premises in our favour, and 
 moved off to take up his quarters in the neighbourhood. We 
 examined the dwelling-place, and found it tolerably convenient ; 
 the rooms were each about sixteen feet in length by eight or 
 nine in breadth, and of corresponding height ; one of them 
 might officiate as a store-room and kitchen, while the other 
 should be fitted up for a dwelling apartment. It was the zenith 
 of the dog-days, and a bedchamber would have been a mere 
 superfluity ; the roof and open air were every way preferable, 
 nor had we to fear intrusion, the court-walls being sixteen feet 
 high or more. Every door was provided with its own distinct 
 lock; the keys here are made of iron, and in this respect Ha'yel 
 has the better of any other Arab town it was my chance to 
 visit, where the keys were invariably wooden, and thus veiy 
 liable to break and get out of order.
 
 102 Life in Ha yd [Chap, iv 
 
 Before nightfall we had transferred all our goods and chattels 
 to our new abode, and taken leave of Seyf, who, sweetly smiling, 
 informed us that whenever we chose to take our meals at the 
 palace we should always find them ready, and that our present 
 lodgings were entirely at the king's cost, whose guests we were 
 accordingly to consider ourselves, however long our stay might 
 prove. We begged him to express our gratitude to Telal, and 
 once arrived " at home," shut the street door, and made sun- 
 dry arrangements, the result of which shall be visible on the 
 morrow. 
 
 Next morning, the 29th of July, about an hour after sunrise, 
 the loiterers of the town — and they are numerous here as those 
 who ever hung on the bridge at Coventry — had in us and our 
 dwelling a new centre of curiosity and attraction. This was 
 just what we wanted ; so our outer door had been purposely left 
 open, and the interior spectacle displayed to the delighted 
 beholders. 
 
 Round the walls of the courtyard and following the shade 
 they afforded, we had arranged ends of carpet, empty saddle- 
 bags, and the like, for the convenience of whoever might come 
 to visit or consult the great doctor ; I beg pardon of the 
 medical faculty for my assumed title. The inner room on the 
 left of the court had been decently carpeted, and there I sat in 
 cross-legged state, with a pair of scales before me, a brass 
 mortar, a glass ditto, and fifty or sixty boxes of dnigs, with a 
 small flanking line of bottles. Two Arab books of medical 
 science by my side answered all the purposes of a diploma ; of 
 English or French " vade-mecums " I had but two, and they 
 were concealed behind the cushion at the back, to be consulted 
 in secret, if necessary. My companion, who did his best to 
 look like a doctor's serving-man, sat outside near the door ; 
 his duty was to enquire of comers-in what they wanted, and 
 to admit them one by one to the professional sanctuar)'. In 
 the opposite room, to the right, a cauldron, a pile of wood, two 
 or three melons, bread, dates, and so forth, promised some- 
 thing better than the purgatives and emetics on the left. We 
 had, of course, put on our Sunday's best, that is, clean shirts, 
 a more decent head-gear, and an upper garment or Combaz — 
 Zaboon they here style it — in England it would pass for a 
 flowered dressing-gown. Such was our appearance on setting
 
 chai'. ivj NortJi Central Arabia 103 
 
 up business in IJa'yel, while we awaited the first onset of its 
 custom. 
 
 Nor had we long to wait. The courtyard was soon thronged 
 with visitors, some from the palace, others from the town. One 
 had a sick relation, whom he begged us to come and see, 
 another some personal ailment, a third had called out of mere 
 politeness or curiosity ; in short, men of all conditions and of 
 all ages, but for the most part open and friendly in manner, so 
 that we could already anticipate a very speedy acquaintance 
 with the town and whatever it contained. 
 
 The nature of our occupations now led to a certain daily 
 routine, though it was often agreeably diversified by incidental 
 occurrences. Perhaps a leaf taken at random from my journal, 
 now regularly kept, may serve to set before my readers a 
 tolerable sample of our ordinary course of life and society at 
 Ha'yel, while it will at the same time give a more distinct idea 
 of the town and people than we have yet supplied. It is, 
 besides, a pleasure to retrace the memories of a pleasant time, 
 and such on the whole was ours here ; and I trust that the 
 reader will not be wholly devoid of some share in my feelings. 
 
 Be it, then, the loth of August, whose jotted notes I will put 
 together and fill up the blanks. I might equally have taken 
 the 9th or the nth, they are all much the same ; but the day 
 I have chosen looks a little the closer written of the two, and 
 for that sole reason I prefer giving it. 
 
 On that day, then, in 1862, about a fortnight after our es- 
 tablishment at Ha'yel, and when we were, in consequence, fully 
 inured to our town existence, Seleem Abou Mahmood-el-'Eys 
 and Barakat-esh-Shamee, that is, my companion and myself, 
 rose, not from our beds, for we had none, but from our roof- 
 spread carpets, and took advantage of the silent hour of the 
 first faint dawn, while the stars yet kept watch in the sky over 
 the slumbering inhabitants of Shomer, to leave the house for a 
 cool and undisturbed walk ere the sun should arise and man go 
 forth unto his work and to his labour. We locked the outer 
 door, and then passed into the still twilight gloom down the 
 cross-street leading to the market-place, which we next followed 
 up to its farther or south-western end, where large folding-gates 
 separate it from the rest of the town. The wolfish city-dogs, 
 whose bark and bite too render walking the streets at night a
 
 104 -^lA' ^'^ IJaycl [Chap. IV 
 
 rather precarious business, now tamely stalked away in the 
 gloaming, while here and there a crouching camel, the packages 
 yet on his back, and his sleeping driver close by, awaited the 
 opening of the warehouse at whose door they had passed the 
 night. Early though it was, the market-gates were already un- 
 closed, and the guardian sat wakeful in his niche. On leaving 
 the market we had yet to go down a broad street of houses 
 and gardens cheerfully intermixed, till at last we reached the 
 western wall of the town, or, rather, of the new quarter added 
 by 'Abd-Allah, where the high portal between round flanking 
 towers gave us issue on the open plain, blown over at this hour 
 by a light gale of life and coolness. To the west, but some 
 four or five miles distant, rose the serrated mass of Djebel 
 Shomer, throwing up its black fantastic peaks, now reddened 
 by the reflected dawn, against the lead-blue sky. Northward 
 the same chain bends round till it meets the town, and then 
 stretches away for a length of ten or twelve days' journey, 
 gradually losing in height on its approach to Meshid 'Alee and 
 the valley of the Euphrates. On our south we have a little 
 isolated knot of rocks, and far off the extreme ranges of Djebel 
 Shomer or 'Aja', to give it its historical name, intersected by 
 the broad passes that lead on in the same direction to Djebel 
 Solma. Behind us lies the capital. Telal's palace, with its 
 high oval keep, houses, gardens, walls, and towers, all coming 
 out black against the ruddy bars of eastern light, and behind, 
 a huge pyramidical peak almost overhanging the town, and 
 connected by lower rocks with the main mountain range to 
 north and south, those stony ribs that protect the central heart 
 of the kingdom. In the plain itself we can just distinguish by 
 the doubtful twilight several blackish patches irregularly scat- 
 tered over its face, or seen as though leaning upward against 
 its craggy verge; these are the gardens and country-houses of 
 'Obeyd and other chiefs, besides hamlets and villages, such as 
 Kefar and 'Adwah, with their groves of palm and " Ithel" (the 
 Arab larch), now blended in the dusk. One solitary traveller 
 on his camel, a troop of jackals sneaking oft' to their rocky 
 caverns, a few dingy tents of Shomer Bedouins, such are the 
 last details of the landscape. Far away over the southern hills 
 beams the glory of Canopus, and announces a new Arab year; 
 the pole-star to the north lies low over the mountain tops.
 
 Chap, ivj NortJi Cciitval Arabia 1 05 
 
 We pace the pebble-strewn flat to the south, till we leave 
 behind us the length of the town wall, and reach the little cluster 
 of rocks already mentioned. We scramble up to a sort of niche 
 near its summit, whence, at a height of a hundred feet or more, 
 we can overlook the whole extent of the plain and wait the sun- 
 rise. Yet before the highest crags of Shomer are gilt with its 
 first rays, or the long giant shadows of the easterly chain have 
 crossed the level, we see groups of peasants, who drawing their 
 fruit and vegetable-laden asses before them, issue like little 
 bands of ants from the mountain gorges around, and slowly 
 approach on the tracks converging to the capital. Horsemen 
 from the town ride out to the gardens, and a long line of camels 
 on the westerly Medinah road \vinds up towards Ha'yel. We 
 \vait ensconced in our rocky look-out and enjoy the view till the 
 sun has risen, and the coolness of die night air warms rapidly 
 into the sultry day; it is time to return. So we quit our 
 solitary perch, and descend to the plain, where keeping in 
 the shadow of the western fortifications we regain the town 
 gate and thence the market. There all is now life and move- 
 ment; some of the warehouses, filled with rice, flour, spices, or 
 coffee, and often concealing in their inner recesses stores of the 
 prohibited American weed, are already open ; we salute the 
 owners while we pass, and they return a polite and friendly 
 greeting. Camels are unloading in the streets, and Bedouins 
 standing by, looking anything but at home in the town. The 
 shoemaker and the blacksmith, those two main props of Arab 
 handicraft, are already at their work, and some gossiping by- 
 standers are collected around them. At the corner where our 
 cross-street falls into the market-place, three or four country 
 women are seated, with piles of melons, gourds, egg-plant 
 fruits, and the other garden produce before them for sale. My 
 companion falls a haggling with one of these village nymphs, and 
 ends by obtaining a dozen " badinjans " and a couple of water 
 melons, each bigger than a man's head, for the equivalent of an 
 English twopence. With this purchase we rctuin home, where 
 we shut and bolt the outer door, then take out of a flat basket 
 what has remained from over night of our wafer-like !Ha'yei 
 bread, and with this and a melon make a hasty breakfast. I 
 say a hasty one, for although it is only half an hour after sun- 
 rise, repeated knocks at our portal show the arrival of patients
 
 1 06 L ifc in Ha yd [Chap, iv 
 
 and visitors : early rising being here the fashion, and reason 
 must wherever artificial lighting is scanty. However, we do not 
 at once open to our friends, nor will they take offence at the 
 delay, but remain where they are chatting together before our 
 door till we admit them ; of so little value is time here. Our 
 drink is water, for which we address ourselves to a goat-skin 
 filled from the neighbouring well by Fatimah, daughter of our 
 landlord Hasan-el-AIisree, and suspended against the wall in 
 the shady corner of the court. We untie its mouth where it 
 hangs, and let out the contents into a very rude but strong 
 brass cup of town manufacture, and with this teetotaller draught 
 content ourselves. I hardly know why we had not yet begun 
 at Ha'yel to make our own coffee ; we became better house- 
 keepers in the after course of the journey. We then arrange 
 the carpets, and I retire to my doctoral seat within, taking care 
 to have the scales and an Arab book in ostentatious evidence 
 before me, while Barakat-esh-Shamee opens the entrance. 
 
 In comes a young man of good appearance, clad in the black 
 cloak common to all of the middle or upper classes in Central 
 Arabia; in his hand he bears a wand of the Sidr or lotos-wood. 
 A silver-hilted sword and a glistening Kafee'yah announce him 
 to be a person of some importance, while his long black ringlets, 
 handsome features and slightly olive complexion, with a tall 
 stature and easy gait, declare him native of Djebel Shomer, 
 and townsman of Ha'yel; it is 'Ojeyl, the eldest born of a large 
 family, and successor to the comfortable house and garden of 
 his father not long since deceased, in a quarter of the town 
 some twenty minutes' walk distant. He leads by the hand his 
 younger brother, a modest-looking lad of fair complexion and 
 slim make, but almost blind, and evidently out of health also. 
 After passing through the preliminary ceremonies of intro- 
 duction to Barakat, he approaches my recess, and standing 
 without, salutes roe with the greatest deference. Thinking 
 him a desirable acquaintance, I receive him very graciously, 
 and he begs me to see what is the matter with his brother. I 
 examine the case, finding it to be within the limits of my skill, 
 and not likely to require more than a very simple course of 
 treatment. Accordingly I make my bargain for the chances of 
 recovery, and find 'Ojeyl docile to the terms proposed, and 
 with little disposition, all things considered, to backwardness
 
 Chap. IV] Novth Central A rabia 1 07 
 
 in payment. Arabs, indeed, are in general close in driving a 
 bargain and open in downright giving ; they will chaffer half a 
 day about a penny, while they will throw away the worth of 
 pounds on the first asker. But 'Ojeyl was one of the best 
 specimens of the Hayel character, and of the clan Ta'i, re- 
 no\vned in all times for their liberal ways and high sense of 
 honour. I next proceed to administer to my patient such dmgs 
 as his state requires, and he receives them with that air of abso- 
 lute and half religious confidence Avhich well-educated Arabs 
 show to their physician, whom they regard as possessed of an 
 almost sacred and supernatural power — a feeling, by the way, 
 hardly less advantageous to the patient than to the practitioner, 
 and which may often contribute much to the success of the 
 treatment. 
 
 During the rest of my stay at Ha'yel, 'Ojeyl continued to be 
 one of my best friends, I had almost said disciples; our mutual 
 visits were frequent, and always pleasing and hearty. His 
 brother's cure, which followed in less than a fortnight, confirmed 
 his attachment, nor had I reason to complain of scantiness in 
 his retribution. 
 
 Meanwhile the courtyard has become full of visitors. Close 
 by my door I see the intelligent and demurely-smiling face of 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin, where he sits between two pretty and well- 
 dressed boys ; they are the two elder children of Telal, Bedr 
 and Bander; their guardsman, a negro slave with a handsome 
 cloak and sword, is seated a little lower down. Farther on are 
 two tOAvnsmen, one armed, the other with a wand at his side. A 
 rough good-natured youth of a bronzed complexion, and whose 
 dingy clothes bespeak his mechanical profession, is talking A\-ith 
 another of a dress somewhat different in form and coarser in 
 material than that usually worn in Ha'yel; this latter must be 
 a peasant from some one of the mountain villages. Two 
 Bedouins, ragged and uncouth, have straggled in with the rest; 
 while a tall dark-featured youth, with a gilded hilt to his sword, 
 and more silk about him than a Wahhabee would approve, has 
 taken his place opposite to 'Abd-el-Mahsin, and is tr\ing to 
 draw him into conversation. But this last has asked Barakat 
 to lend him one of my Arabic books to read, and is deeply 
 engaged in its perusal. 
 
 'Ojeyl has taken leave, and I give the next turn of course to
 
 io8 Life in Ha yd [Chap. iv 
 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin. He informs me that Telal has sent me his 
 two sons Bedr and Bander that I may examine their state of 
 heahh, and see if they require doctoring. This is in truth a Httle 
 stroke of poUcy on Telal's part, who knows equally with myself 
 that the boys are perfectly well and want nothing at all. But 
 he wishes to give us a mark of his confidence, and at the same 
 time to help us in establishing our medical reputation in the 
 town; for though by no means himself persuaded of the reality 
 of our doctoral title, he understands the expediency of saving 
 appearances before the public. 
 
 Well, the children are passed in review with all the seriousness 
 due to a case of heart-complaint or brain-fever, while at a wink 
 from me, Barakat prepares in the kitchen a draught of cinnamon 
 water, which with sugar, named medicine for the oc:casion, 
 pleases the young heirs of royalty and keeps up the farce; 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin expatiating all the time to the bystanders on 
 the wonderful skill with which I have at once discovered the 
 ailments and their cure, and the small boys thinking that if this 
 be medicine, they will do their best to be ill for it everv' day. 
 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin now commits them to the negro, who, however, 
 before taking them back to the palace, has his own story to tell 
 of some personal ache, for which I prescribe without stipulating 
 for payment, since he belongs to the palace, where it is import- 
 ant to have the greatest number of friends possible, even on the 
 back-stairs. But 'Abd-el-Mahsin remains, reading, chatting, 
 quoting poetry, and talking history, recent events, natural 
 philosophy, or medicine, as the case may be. 
 
 Let us now see some of the other patients. The gold-hiltcd 
 swordsman has naturally a special claim on our attention. 
 It is the son of Rosheyd, Telal's maternal uncle. His palace 
 stands on the other side of the way, exactly opposite to our 
 house; and I will say nothing more of him for the present, 
 intending to pay him afterwards a special visit, and thus become 
 more thoroughly acquainted with the whole family. 
 
 Next let us take notice of those two townsmen who are 
 conversing, or rather "chafiing," together. Though both in 
 plain apparel, and much alike in stature and features, there 
 is yet much about them to distinguish the two; one has a 
 civilian look, the other a military. He of the wand is no less 
 a personage than Mohammed-el-Kadee, chief justice of Ha'ycl,
 
 Chap, m NovtJi Cciitval Arabia 109 
 
 and of course a very important individual in the town. How- 
 ever his exterior is that of an elderly unpretentious little man, 
 and one, in spite of the proverb which attributes gravity to 
 judges, very fond of a joke, besides being a tolerable repre- 
 sentative of what may here be called the moderate party, neither 
 })articipating in the fanaticism of the Wahhabee, nor yet, like 
 the most of the indigenous chiefs, hostile to Mahometanism; 
 he takes his cue from the court direction, and is popular with 
 all factions because belonging properly to none. 
 
 He requires some medical treatment for himself, and more 
 for his son, a big heavy lad with a swollen arm, who has accom- 
 panied him hither. Here too is a useful acquaintance, well 
 up to all the scandal and small talk of the town, and willing 
 to communicate it. Our visits were frequent, and I found 
 his house well stored with books, partly manuscript, partly 
 printed in Egypt, and mainly on legal or religious subjects. 
 Among those of the latter description were, by way of example, 
 a collection of Khotbahs or sermons for all the Fridays in the 
 year. Mohammed was a great talker, and exercised on all 
 matters a freedom of remark common though not peculiar to 
 men of the legal profession; he became in short our "daily 
 news" for court intrigue and city gossip, what had been said 
 in public, and what done in private, who ran away with whom, 
 and so forth. Yet on the whole the portrait he thus laid 
 before us of Ha'yel and its inhabitants, noble or commoners, 
 was a favourable one, more so perhaps than could be in justice 
 given of most capitals. This might be the result of the character 
 of those tribes who, as Arab annals have it, coalesced into the 
 present population, namely, Ta'i and Wa'il, with their kindred 
 clans, and who were, so fame assures us, the flower of Arab 
 enterprise and generosity, the most affable in peace, the most 
 daring in war, and the most honourable at all times amid the 
 inhabitants of Nejed and Upper Arabia. In later ages the civi- 
 lization of town-life has cast an agreeable varnish over their 
 rougher qualities, while that civilization itself is of too simple a 
 character to render them artificial or corrupt. 
 
 Of the country folks in the villages around, like Mogah, 
 Delhemee'eh, and the rest, Mohammed-el-Kadee used to speak 
 with a sort of half-contemptuous pity, much like a Parisian 
 talking of Low Bretons; in fact, the difference between these
 
 no Life in Ha yd [Chap. iv 
 
 rough and sturdy boors, and the more refined inhabitants of 
 the capital, is, all due proportion allowed, no less remarkable 
 here than in Europe itself. We will now let one of them come 
 forward in his own behalf, and my readers shall be judges. 
 
 It is accordingly a stout clown from ]\Iogah, scantily dressed 
 in working wear, and who has been occupied for the last half- 
 hour in tracing sundry diagrams on the ground before him 
 with a thick peach-tree switch, thus to pass his time till his 
 betters shall have been sensed. He now edges forward, and 
 taking his seat in front of the door, calls my attention with an 
 " I say, doctor." Whereon I suggest to him that his bulky 
 corporation not being formed of glass or any other transparent 
 material, he has by his position entirely intercepted whatever 
 little light my recess might enjoy. He apologizes, and shuffles 
 an inch or two sideways. Next I enquire what ails him, not 
 without some curiosity to hear the answer, so little does the 
 herculean frame before me announce disease. Whereto 
 Do'eymis, or whatever may be his name, replies, " I say, I am 
 all made up of pain." This statement, like many others, 
 appears to me rather too general to be exactly true. So I 
 proceed in my interrogatory : " Does your head pain you % " 
 " No." (I might have guessed that ; these fellows never feel 
 what our cross-Channel friends entitle "/^ mal des beaux 
 esprits.") " Does your back ache 1 " " No." " Your arms 1 " 
 "No." "Your legs?" "No." "Your body?" "No." 
 " But," I conclude, " if neither your head nor your body, back, 
 arms, or legs pain you, how can you possibly be such a com- 
 position of suffering 1" "I am all made up of pain, doctor," 
 replies he, manfully intrenching himself within his first position. 
 The fact is, that there is really something \\Tong with him, but 
 he does not know how to localize his sensations. So I push 
 forward my enquiries, till it appears that our man of Mogah has 
 a chronic rheumatism ; and on ulterior investigation, conducted 
 with all the skill that Barakat and I can jointly muster, it comes 
 out that three or four months before he had an attack of the 
 disease in its acute form, accompanied by high fever, since 
 which he has never been himself again. 
 
 This might suffice for the diagnosis, but I wish to see how he 
 will find his way out of more intricate questions ; besides, the 
 townsmen sitting by, and equally alive to the joke with myself,
 
 Chap. IV] NoviJi Cciitfal A ruhia III 
 
 whisper " Try him again." In consequence, I proceed with 
 " What was the cause of your first illness 1 " "I say, doctor, 
 its cause was God," replies the patient. " No doubt of that," 
 say I ; '' all things are caused by God : but what was the 
 particular and immediate occasion % " " Doctor, its cause was 
 God, and, secondly, that I ate camel's flesh when I was cold," 
 rejoins my scientific friend. "But was there nothing else T' 
 I suggest, not quite satisfied with the lucid explanation just 
 given. " Then,, too, I drank camel's milk ; but it was all, I say, 
 from God, doctor," answers he. 
 
 Well, I consider the case, and make up my mind regarding 
 the treatment. Next comes the grand question of payment, 
 which must be agreed on beforehand, and rendered, conditional 
 on success ; else no fees for the doctor, not at Ha'yel only, but 
 throughout Arabia. I enquire what he will give me on re- 
 covery. " Doctor," answers the peasant, " I will give you, do 
 you hear 1 I say, I will give you a camel." But I reply that I 
 do not want one. " I say, remember God," which being in- 
 terpreted here means, " do not be unreasonable ; I will give 
 you a fat camel, every one knows my camel ; if you choose, I 
 will bring witnesses, I say." And while I persist in refusing 
 the profi"ered camel, he talks of butter, meal, dates, and such- 
 like equivalents. 
 
 There is a patient and a paymaster for you. However, all 
 ends by his behaving reasonably enough ; he follows my pre- 
 scriptions with the ordinary docility, gets better, and gives me 
 for my pains an eighteenpenny fee. 
 
 So pass two or three hours, during which the remaining 
 visitors already mentioned take each their turn, others come 
 and go, and the sun nears the zenith. For brevity's sake, I 
 pass on at once to the mechanic, who, after long waiting in tlie 
 shade with genuine Arab patience, now advances, and with a 
 good-natured grin on his broad features begs me to accompany 
 him to his house, where his brother is lying ill of a fever. 
 .A.fter a short conversation, I direct Barakat to stay at home 
 till my return, and gratify my petitioner by consenting to his 
 invitation. 
 
 Small of stature, dusky in complexion, strongly built, and 
 with a sly expression about his face which resembles almost 
 strikingly that of Murillo's Spanish beggar-boy, Doheym
 
 112 Life in Ha.ycl [Chap, iv 
 
 (literally " blacky,") may stand for a not unfair specimen of a 
 large class among the Central Xejdean population. Partly from 
 a desire of increasing gain, partly from dislike to Wahhabee 
 Puritanism, his family has not long since emigrated northward 
 from Kaseem to Ha'yel, Avhere they have fixed their residence, 
 but still retain many of the distinctive ways and habits of their 
 native district. Such immigrations have of late become very 
 common, and have greatly contributed to the numerical and 
 military strength of Djebel Shomer, while they add much to its 
 industrial and commercial prosperity. My readers will perhaps 
 call to mind Louis XIV and the repeal of the Nantes edict, 
 and add one parallel more between Arabia and Europe. P'or 
 the civilization of Kaseem is of ancient date, and its inhabitants 
 possess traditional skill in all kinds of handicraft and trade, far 
 superior to anything found among the recently organized tribes 
 of the north, while the memories of former independence, pro- 
 tracted wars and victories, have given to their character a 
 steadiness and resolution in all their undertakings very unlike 
 the unsustained though dashing bravery of the north, formed 
 in brief forays and in Bedouin feuds. The good-natured and 
 social disposition common to Arabs in general has been also 
 fostered among them by centuries of city and town life till it 
 occasionally attains the level of sprightliness, while it bestows 
 on them a more decided turn of ease and urbanity in their 
 conversation than is general in Shomer and its dependencies. 
 It is natural enough that such men should for the most succeed 
 well in obtaining easy admittance and speedy success in a 
 strange land, though they readily after a short sojourn avail 
 themselves of any good opportunity for returning to their native 
 country, a land favoured both by nature and art much more 
 than the stony precincts of Ha'yel and the rough sierras of 
 Sulma and 'Aja'. 
 
 Doheym takes up his thin black cloak, and wraps it round 
 him in folds that a sculptor might admire, and out we set 
 together. As we go on to the Sook, he nods and smiles to some 
 fifty acquaintances, or stops a moment to interchange a {^w 
 words with those of his own land. The market-place is now 
 crowded from end to end ; townsmen, villagers. Bedouins, some 
 seated at the doors of the warehouses and driving a bargain 
 with the owners inside, some gathered in idle groups, gossiping
 
 Chap, ivi NortJi Ccjitval Arabia 113 
 
 over the news of the hour : for the tongue is here what the 
 printed paper is in Europe. 
 
 Groups of lading and unlading camels block up the path ; I 
 look right and left \ there within the shops I see one merchant 
 laboriously summing up his accounts (I know not how the 
 Arabs of old times were ever good mathematicians, certainly at 
 present a simple reckoning of addition poses nine out of the ten); 
 another, for want of customers, is reading in some old dog-eared 
 manuscript of prayers, or of natural history, or of geography — 
 such geography ! where almost all the world except Arabia is 
 filled up with "Anthropophagi and men whose heads do grow 
 beneath their shoulders." The Goran is little dealt in here, 
 but the Shiya'ees of Meshid 'Alee may perchance have in their 
 hands some small illuminated treatise on the imaginary ex- 
 cellencies of Alee or one of his family, or very likely a some- 
 what unscriptural, or more truly antiscriptural narrative of the 
 amours of Joseph with Zuleykha, Potiphar's traditionary wife ; 
 or the history of David's frailties, wherein the monarch's fault 
 is made to consist not, as some innocently suppose, in taking 
 his neighbour's wife, but in the extravagance of adding a 
 hundredth to the ninety-nine he is supposed to have already, 
 but lawfully, possessed, — and suchlike edifying tales. 
 
 Mixed with the city crowd, swordsmen and gaily-dressed 
 negroes, for the negro is always a dandy when he can afford 
 it, belonging mostly to the palace, are now going about their 
 affairs ; the well-dressed chieftain and noble jostles on amid 
 the plebeian crowd on terms of astounding familiarity, and 
 elbows or is elbowed by the artisan and the porter ; while the 
 court officers themselves meet with that degree of respect alone 
 which indicates deference rather than inferiority in those who 
 pay it. A gay and busy scene ; the morning air in the streets 
 yet retains just sufficient coolness to render tolerable the bright 
 rays of the sun, and everywhere is that atmosphere of peace, 
 security, and thriving known to the visitors of Inner Arabia, but 
 less familiar to the Syrian or Anatolian traveller. Should you 
 listen to the hum of discourse around, you will seldom hear a 
 curse, an imprecation, or a quarrel, but much business, re- 
 partee, and laughter. Doheym and I slowly pick out our way 
 through the crowd amid many greetings on either hand, till 
 we reach tlie open space of the palace court where the Sook
 
 1 14 Life in Ha yd [Chap. iv 
 
 falls into it ; and thence we pass through the high gateway, and 
 enter the main artery of the town. 
 
 It is a broad and level road, having on its left the walls of 
 the palace gardens, overtopped here and there by young date 
 trees, for this plantation is quite recent, and the work of the 
 present reign only; on its right a succession of houses, scattered 
 among gardens of older growth and denser vegetation ; the trees 
 overhang the walls, and we are glad to avail ourselves of their 
 deep dark shade. Doheym entertains me with descriptions of 
 Nejed and Kaseem, and extols in no measured terms the land 
 of his birth ; he has seen too the Wahhabee monarch in person, 
 though not in Ri'ad his capital. Thus we beguile a quarter of 
 an hour's leisurely walk (it were superfluous to say that no one 
 hurries his pace in these semi-tropical regions, especially in 
 the month of August), till we reach an open space behind the 
 palace garden, where a large and deep excavation announces 
 the Maslakhah, or slaughter-house (literally " skinning-place "; 
 of the town butchers. In any other climate such an establish- 
 ment would be an intolerable nuisance to all neighbours if thus 
 placed within the city limits, and right in the centre of gardens 
 and habitations. But here the drjmess of the atmosphere is 
 such that no ill consequence follows ; putrefaction being effec- 
 tually anticipated by the parching influence of the air, which 
 renders a carcass of three or four days' standing as inoffensive 
 to the nose as a leather drum ; and one may pass leisurely by 
 a recently deceased camel on the road-side, and almost take 
 it for a specimen prepared with arsenic and spirits for an 
 anatomical museum. 
 
 At this point the street leads off to the interior of the capital. 
 The part hitherto traversed on our walk is the new quarter, and 
 dates almost entirely from the accession of the actual dynasty ; 
 but now we are to enter on the original town of Ha'yel, where 
 everything announces considerable though not remote antiquity. 
 The two main quarters which form the old city are divided by 
 a long road, narrower and less regular than that we have yet 
 followed. Nor was this line of demarcation more to indicate 
 a division of the buildings than of the inhabitants, split up as 
 they formerly were by civil and internecine hostility. But to 
 this the strong hand of Ebn-Rasheed has at last put an end. 
 Right and left crossways, branching out off the main patli, lead
 
 Chap. IV] Novth Cciitml Arabia 115 
 
 to side streets and lesser subdivisions. We take a very narrow 
 and winding lane on the right, by which Doheym leads me 
 awhile through a labyrinth of gardens, wells, and old irregular 
 houses, till we reach a cluster of buildings, and a covered 
 gallery, conducting us through its darkness to the sun-glare of 
 a broad road, bordered by houses on either side, thougli a low 
 court wall and outer door generally intervenes between them 
 and the street itself. The arch is here unknown, and the 
 portals are all of timber-work enclosed in brick, and equally 
 rough and solid in construction. My guide stops before one 
 such and knocks. " Samm' " (" come in ") is heard from with- 
 inside, and immediately afterwards some one comes up and 
 draws back the inner bolt. We now stand in a courtyard, 
 where two or three small furnaces, old metal pots and pans of 
 various sizes, some enormously big — for the Arabs pique them- 
 selves now, like their ancestors of two thousand years since, in 
 having cauldrons large enough to boil an entire sheep — sheets 
 of copper, bars of iron, and similar objects, proclaim an Arab 
 smithy. Some brawny, half-naked youths covered with soot 
 and grime come up to present a shake of their unwashed hands, 
 while they exchange Nejdean jokes with Doheym. His elder 
 brother So'eyd, whose gravity as head of the family has been a 
 little ruffled by the sportiveness of his younger relatives, re- 
 bukes the juveniles, hastens to purify his own face and hands, 
 and then introduces me to the interior of the house, where 
 in a darkened room lies another brother, the sick man on 
 whose behalf I have been summoned ; he is in a high fever 
 and hardly able to speak, though there is fortunately no 
 immediate danger. I take my seat by the patient and address 
 a few preliminary questions to the bystanders, intermixed with 
 hopeful prognostics, while the sick man tries to look cheerful, 
 and shows that he expected my coming to see him, and is 
 pleased at it. To put out the tongue even unasked, and to 
 hold forth the hand that the doctor may feel the pulse, are 
 customary proceedings here; but if you do not wish to pass for 
 an ignoramus, you must successively try both wrists, either 
 radial being supposed entirely independent of its fellow, and 
 each with a separate story to tell ; whence my readers may 
 deduce that the real theory of the circulation of the blood is 
 equally unknown with the name of Harvey. When I have
 
 1 1 6 Life in Ha yd [Chap. iv 
 
 pla3ed my part, the elder brother takes me aside and enquires 
 about the diagnosis and prognosis, or, in plain English, what is 
 the matter, and what maybe the consequences. On my guarded 
 reply, he promises compliance with whatever I may prescribe, 
 and then invites me to sit down and take coffee before any 
 further doctorings. I show a desire of at once getting things in 
 order for the patient but the patient himself in a low voice, 
 eked out with signs, indicates his wish that I should first and 
 foremost partake of their hospitality. Were he actually dying 
 I doubt whether matters could hold another course in these 
 countries. So dates are brought, pipes are lighted, Doheym 
 prepares coffee, and the room in which (mind you) the sick man 
 is lying, fills with visitors. Seclusion makes no part of Arab 
 treatment ; on the contrary it is considered almost a sacred 
 duty to visit and enliven the sufferer by the most numerous 
 and the most varied society that can be got together. The 
 Arab invalid himself has no idea of being left alone ; to be 
 kept in company is all his desire; nay, the same system is 
 observed even when death occurs in a family, and the sur- 
 vivor's nearest of kin, son, wife, or husband, keep open hous^; 
 for many days after in order to receive the greatest amount of 
 consolatory calls possible, so that the soUtude of woe has few 
 advocates here. 
 
 In Doheym's house the visitors are mainly natives of Kaseem, 
 or Upper Nejed. It was easy to perceive from their bearing 
 and from the tone of their conversation that the inhabitants of 
 the above-named provinces were no less superior to those of 
 Djebel Shomer in whatever is understood by civilization and 
 general culture, than the Shomerites to those of Djowf, or the 
 people of Djowf to the Bedouins. Indeed, if my readers will 
 draw a diagonal line across the map of Arabia from north-west 
 to south-east, following the direction of my actual journey 
 through that country, and then distinguish the several regions 
 of the peninsula by belts of colour brightening while they 
 represent the respective degrees of advancement in arts, com- 
 merce, and their kindred acquirements, on the Dupin system, 
 they will have for the darkest line that nearest to the north, 
 or Wadi Serhan, while the Djowf, Djebel Shomer, Nejed, yasa, 
 and their dependencies, grow lighter in succession more and 
 more, till the belt corresponding to 'Oman should show the
 
 CiiAP. IV] North Central Arabia 117 
 
 cheerfullest tint of all. In fact, it is principally owing to the 
 circumstance that the northern and western parts of Arabia 
 have been hitherto those almost exclusively visited by travellers, 
 that the idea of Arab barbarism or Bedguinism has found such 
 general acceptance in Europe. 
 
 Here we are now in Ha'yel, yet in the midst of Nejdean 
 poHtics and debate, Avhere the bigotry and tyranny of the 
 Wahhabee meet with oft-recurring and cordial detestation. The 
 siege of 'Oneyzah, its latest news, conjectures, hopes and fears 
 relative to its duration and result, are the chief topic of con- 
 versation. Already, indeed, when hardly beyond the boun- 
 daries of the Djowf, had we heard of that great event of the 
 Arabian day. But here it was the all-engrossing subject of 
 anxious enquiry and speculation, and the real though disguised 
 cause of the frecjuent visits paid by the chiefs of Kaseem to 
 Telal, and of their endless rendezvous in the apartments of 
 'Abd-el-Mahsin. 
 
 That large town had been for centuries the capital of the 
 province, or rather of a full third of Arabia, namely, of what 
 we may call its north-western centre. Its commerce with 
 Medinah and Mecca on the one hand, and with Nejed, nay, 
 even with Damascus and Bagdad, on the other, had gathered 
 in its warehouses stores of traffic unknown to any other locality 
 of inner Arabia, and its hardy merchants were met with alike 
 on the shores of the Red Sea and of the Persian Gulf, and 
 occasionally on the more distant banks of the Euphrates, or by 
 the waters of Damascus. Meanwhile the martial and energetic 
 cliaracter of its population prevented a too exclusive predomi- 
 nance of the commercial over the military spirit, and the war- 
 riors of 'Oneyzah had twice at a recent period been seen be- 
 neath the walls of Bahholah in the very heart of 'Oman, though 
 separated from them by three months' distance of Arab march, 
 'Oneyzah itself boasted a double enclosure of fortifications, 
 unbaked brickwork it is true, but in their height and thickness 
 no less formidable to Arab besiegers in their present state of 
 obsidionary science, than the defences of Antwerp or of Badajoz 
 to a European army. The outer circle of walls, with its trench 
 and towers, protected the gardens, while the inner range sur- 
 rounded the compact mass of the town itself. Here a young 
 and courageous chief Zamil, or, to give him the name by which
 
 1 1 8 L ifc ill Hdycl [Chap. iv 
 
 he is often familiarly styled, Zoweymil-el-'Ateeyah, was adored 
 by his fellow-citizens and subjects for his gentleness and libe- 
 rality in peace, and his daring in war. It was this chief who 
 now held 'Oneyzah against the troops of Feysul, reigning 
 monarch of the Wahhabee or Ebn-Sa'ood dynasty. Such was 
 the position of affairs in August 1862 ; the rest of my stay in 
 Arabia exactly coincided with the continuation and catastrophe 
 of this bloody drama, of which I was in part rendered by 
 circumstances a very unwilling eyewitness. 
 
 We left Doheym and his friends or relatives in earnest dis- 
 cussion of these topics. However, their conversational powers 
 Avere nowise confined to war and politics ; medicine and sur- 
 gery (for the Arabs hardly distinguish the one from the other, 
 whether in theory or practice; indeed, their favourite remedy or 
 jjanacea, the actual cauter}', belongs rather to the latter than 
 the former) were often brought on the carpet, and I was 
 pleased to find my Kaseem acquaintances speak on these 
 matters with much good sense, all due allowances made, and 
 even with some slight tinge of experience. Many plants that 
 grow hereabouts possess some medicinal virtue, tonic, sedative, 
 or narcotic, and are occasionally employed by the more knowing 
 inhabitants. The use, too, of fomentations and other external 
 remedies or palliatives is not entirely beyond their skill, and 
 natural quickness may and does fill up to a certain measure the 
 deficiencies of theoretical ignorance. 
 
 An hour wears away in agreeable and lively talk. Some 
 other patients are offered to my care, and visits are arranged, 
 till, after suitable prescriptions for the invalid, I rise to take 
 my leave. Doheym's eldest brother offers to accompany me 
 to some of the neighbouring houses, where he expects that 
 mutual advantage may be derived for the sick and for the 
 doctor. 
 
 This part of the town is composed of large groups or islands 
 of houses, arranged with some approach to regularity amid 
 gardens and wells : but it jjossesses neither market nor mosque, 
 an additional evidence of the prevailing want of organization 
 before the Ebn-Rasheed dynasty. The streets or lanes are 
 cleaner than I had expected to find them, but this is due in part 
 to the remarkable dryness of the climate. We stroll about here 
 and there, sometimes drawing near to the high craggy rock
 
 Chap. IV] NortJi. Central Arabia 1 19 
 
 that overhangs the eastern town wall, somethnes winding 
 through the groves that border the inner line of the southern 
 fortifications, till noon is past, and the heat renders further 
 walking unadvisable. So'eyd reconducts me to the main road, 
 and there quits me with a promise to send Doheym in the 
 evening to inform me of the state of my patient. 
 
 I now return homewards alone ; the streets and the market 
 are nearly solitary ; the small black shadows lie close gathered 
 up at the stems of the palm-trees or under the walls, everything 
 sleeps under the heavy glare of noon. Perhaps, instead of going 
 on directly to our domicile, curiosity and the pleasure of being 
 alone leads me on some minutes farther up to the western gate, 
 thence to look out on the great plain between Ha'yel and the 
 mountain. That plain now appears transformed into one wide 
 lake, whose waters seem to bathe the rocky verge of Shomer, 
 while nearer to the town they fade into deceptive pools and 
 shallows; it is the every-day illusion of the mirage. If we 
 return when the meridian heat is passing away, we may see the 
 fair)^ lake shrunk up to a distant pond, and before evening it 
 will quite disappear, to return next day an hour or two before 
 noon. Meanwhile this semblance of water, "the eye of the 
 landscape," as the Arabs not inappropriately call that element, 
 renders the view, which would else be too arid and rough, very 
 lovely. Were it but real ! 
 
 After feasting my gaze on this beautiful though now famiUar 
 phenomenon, I regain our dwelling. Barakat and myself make 
 our dinner, and talk over the visits and affairs of the morning. 
 We have then two hours or so of quiet before us, for it is 
 seldom that any one calls at this period of the day, hardly less 
 a siesta here than in Italy or Spain. At last the 'Asr ap- 
 proaches, a division of time well known in the East, but for 
 which European languages have no corresponding name ; it 
 begins from the moment when the sun has reached half-way in 
 his declining course, and continues till about an hour and a 
 half or rather less before his setting. We now leave the house 
 together, and direct our steps towards the palace by a cross-way 
 leading between the dwellings of some court retainers and an 
 angle of the great mosque. In this latter there will generally 
 be a decent number of worshippers for the Salat-el-'Asr, or 
 afternoon prayers, es^^'cially since this is the hour chosen by
 
 120 Life in Hayel [Chap, iv 
 
 Telal and Zamil out of the five legal periods for performing 
 their devotions in public, though even then they are not un- 
 frequently absent. These prayers are invariably followed by the 
 reading aloud of a chapter or section selected from some tradi- 
 tionary work, and to tliis often succeeds a short extemporary 
 sermon or commentary on what has been read. 
 
 Concerning the ceremonies of the prayer itself— though 
 slightly different among the Hambelees and Malekees of Cen- 
 tral Arabia, from those in fashion wath the Wahhabees, on the 
 one hand, and from what is generally observed among the 
 Shafi'ees and Haneefecs more frequently met with in Syria or 
 in Turkey, on the other— I will not here detain my reader. 
 For a correct idea of Mahometan worship in its ordinary form, 
 I would beg leave to refer such as desire it to the third chapter 
 of Lane's Egypt, where they will find whatever instruction they 
 may need on this and on analogous subjects given in clear 
 and interesting detail, and with incomparable accuracy upon 
 all points. 
 
 When prayer is over, about half the congregation rise and 
 depart. Those who remain in the mosque draw together near 
 the centre of the large and simple edifice, and seat themselves 
 on its pebble-strewn floor, circle within circle; some lean their 
 backs against the rough square pillars, I might better call them 
 l)iers, that support the roof, some play with the staff or riding- 
 switch in their hands. In the midmost of the assembly a 
 person selected as reader, but neither Imam nor Khateeb, who 
 is supposed to be better acquainted with letters than are the 
 average of his countrymen, besides being gifted with a good 
 and sonorous voice, holds on his knees a large manuscript, 
 which might be an object of much curiosity at Berlin or Paris ; 
 It contains the traditions of the propliet, or the lives of his 
 companions, or perhaps El-Bokharee's commentaries, or some- 
 thing else of the kind. Out of this he reads in a clear but 
 somewhat monotonous tone, accompanying each word by an 
 inflexion and accentuation worthy of Sibawee'yah or Kosey', 
 and hardly to be attained by the best professional grammarian 
 of Syria or Cairo. And reason clear; here it is nature, there 
 art. This kind of lecture lasts ordinarily from ten minutes to 
 a quarter of an hour, and is listened to in decorous silence, 
 while all who have any pretensions to religious feeling, and
 
 Chap. IV] North Cciitval Arabia 12 1 
 
 these form of course a large proportion of tliose present on 
 such occasions, look down on the ground, or fix their eyes on 
 the reader and his volume. Others, of a less serious turn of 
 mind, and the younger auditors, put themselves at their ease ; 
 and others, again, whisper sceptical criticism to their neigh- 
 bours, or interchange glances of sarcasm at the recital of some 
 portentous exploit, or totally incredible vision. I regret to say 
 that Telal himself, when he honoured these meetings Avith his 
 presence, set invariably a very bad example of attention, giving 
 the time to studying the faces of the congregation, and showing 
 by the expression of his quick-glancing eye, that his thoughts 
 were much more occupied by questions of actual life and 
 politics, than by the wise sayings of the Prophet, or the glorious 
 achievements of his companions. 
 
 If the prince were in the mosque his custom was after about 
 ten minutes' patience to give the reader a sign that he had had 
 enough of it, on which the latter would close his book, and the 
 assembly break up without further ceremony. But if the prince 
 were absent, the reader's place would be taken by one of the 
 elder and more respectable individuals belonging to the semi- 
 literary semi-religious class, or by the Imam or the Khateeb 
 himself, who would then give a short verbal explanation of the 
 chapter just read, or at times an extemporaiy sermon, but 
 sitting, and in a familiar w^ay, I have often heard much good 
 sense and practical morality enounced on these occasions both 
 here and in Kaseem. 
 
 When the reading, or the reading and sennon together, are 
 concluded, every one would remain seated in silence for a 
 minute or so, partly as though to reflect on what they had 
 heard, and partly to gi\e the more important personages pre- 
 sent free time to retire before the press of the throng. Telal 
 would naturally be the first to rise and leave the building, 
 accompanied by Zamil and his brothers or 'Abd-el-Mahsin, and 
 take his place on a stone bench in the courtyard without, there 
 to hold a short afternoon audience. On this occasion minor 
 causes, and whatever had not been deemed of sufficient import- 
 ance to occupy the morning hours, would often be discussed ; 
 and Telal himself would occasionally relax into a condescending 
 smile when some Bedouin presented his uncouth complaint, or 
 two townsmen, guilty of having called each other hard names,
 
 122 Life in Hd yd [Chap. iv 
 
 were brought into his presence. I \vas more than once an 
 amused spectator of these scenes ; Telal's manner was concise 
 and sarcastic ; the decision very frequently to administer a few 
 stripes, nowise severe ones, to both parties; the royal judge 
 wisely observing that insult was almost always the offspring of 
 provocation, and that where the fault was equally divided, 
 the punishment should be so too. But it was a very mild 
 one; a Charterhouse boy in my time (1838-44) might have 
 thought himself lucky had three marks in the Black Book 
 brought him no more from the dreaded head-master of our day. 
 
 We now mix with the crowd; sometimes 'Abd-el-Mahsin 
 would single us out, and enter into deep discussion of Arab 
 literature and history ; or a friend from among the townsmen, 
 often one of the younger chiefs who had become in a certain 
 way our clients and companions, would invite us to peaches and 
 dates, with a cup of that coffee which Arabia alone can afford, 
 in his father s or uncle's house. 
 
 Of dinners or suppers, for either name may suit the evening 
 meal, I have already spoken at sufficient length, and need not 
 here go through the scene again. Ex imo disce otnt'es, at least 
 in %vhat regards the comestibles through the whole of inner 
 Arabia from the Djovvf to the neighbourhood of Ri'ad. Never 
 had a nation less idea of cookery than the Arabs ; in this 
 science, anyhow, Turks, Persians, and Indians leave them 
 immeasurably behind ; they know no more of it in truth than 
 just enough to bring them within the " cooking animal " defi- 
 nition of man. Rice and boiled mutton, all piled in one large 
 dish, a little indifferent bread, dates, perhaps a hard-boiled egg 
 or two, hashed gourds or something of the kind for garnish ; 
 the monarch of all Shomer cum Ujowf and Klieybar has no 
 more at his table. Wash your hands, say Bismillah (unless 
 you desire to pass for an atheist), fall to, eat as fast as though 
 you were afraid that the supper would run away, then say, 
 "El hamdu I'lllah," or '• dianks to God," with an added 
 compliment to your host if you wish to be polite, wash your 
 hands again, with soap or with potash, for sometimes the one 
 will be brought you and sometimes the other, and all is over 
 as far as the meal is concerned. You have smoked a pipe or 
 two and drunk three or four cups of coffee before supper; you
 
 Chap, m Novth Cciitral xlvabia 123 
 
 may now smoke and drink one only, for that is the etifjuctte 
 after eating, and then wish your friends good evening and go 
 away. 
 
 Rosheyd, Telal's maternal uncle, and our next-door neigh- 
 bour, as I have before mentioned, invited us not unfrequently 
 to his house. He was a rather shrewd, amusing, but very 
 superficial character, proud of his knowledge of foreign lands, 
 liaving travelled farther than almost any other man in Ha'yel. 
 He had even reached Kerkook, seven days' journey north of 
 Bagdad, and was besides no stranger to Egypt, both Upper and 
 Lower. Like too many travellers of more cultivated races, he 
 had managed to see the outside of everything and the inside of 
 nothing, and would spin long yams of grotesque adventures 
 and exotic singularities, much reminding one of the way in 
 which men are apt to talk of other countries than their own 
 when they have visited them without previous knowledge of 
 language, history, and manners. But his heart was better than 
 his head, and if not a wise he was at least a kind and steady 
 friend. 
 
 Policy's invitations were particularly welcome, both from the 
 pleasantness of his dwelling-place, and from the varied and 
 interesting conversation that I was sure to meet with there. 
 This merchant, a tall and stately man of between fifty and sixty 
 years of age, and whose thin features were lighted up by a lustre 
 of more than ordinary intelligence, was a thorough Ha'yelite of 
 the old caste, hating Wahhabees from the bottom of his heart, 
 eager for information on cause and effect, on lands and govern- 
 ments, and holding commerce and social life for the main props 
 if not the ends of civil and national organization. His uncle, 
 now near eighty years old, to judge by conjecture in a land 
 where registers are not much in use, had journeyed to Lidia, 
 and traded at Bombay ; in token whereof he still wore an Indian 
 skull-cap and a Cachemire shawl. The rest of the family were 
 in keeping with the elder members, and seldom have I seen 
 more dutiful children or a better educated household. My 
 readers will naturally understand that by education I here imply 
 its moral not its intellectual phase. The eldest son, himself a 
 middle-aged man, would never venture into his father's presence 
 without unbuckling his sword and leaving it in the vestibule,
 
 124 Life in Ha yd [CuAr. iv 
 
 nor on any account presume to sit on a level with him or by 
 his side in the divan. 
 
 The divan itself was one of the prettiest I met with in these 
 parts. It was a large square room, looking out on the large 
 house-garden, and cheerfully lighted up by trellised windows 
 on two sides, while the w-all of the third had purposely been 
 discontinued at about half its height, and the open space thus 
 left between it and the roof propped by pillars, between which 
 "a fniitful vine by the sides of the house" was intertwined so 
 as to fill up the interval with a gay network of green leaves and 
 tendrils, transparent like stained glass in the eastern sunbeams. 
 Facing this cheerful light the floor of the apartment was raised 
 about two feet above the rest, and covered with gay Persian 
 carpets, silk cushions, and the best of Arab furniture. In the 
 lower half of the K'hawah, and at its farthest angle, was the 
 small stone coffee-stove, placed at a distance where its heat 
 might not annoy the master and his guests. Many of the 
 city nobility would here resort, and the talk generally turned 
 on serious subjects, and above all on the parties and politics of 
 Arabia; while Dohey' would show himself a thorough Arab 
 patriot, and at the same time a courteous and indulgent judge 
 of foreigners, qualities seldom to be met with together in any 
 notable degree, and therefore more welcome. 
 
 Many a pleasant hour have I passed in this half greenhouse, 
 half K'hawah, mid cheerful faces and varied talk, while inly 
 commenting on the natural resources of this manly and vigorous 
 people, and straining the eye of forethought to discern through 
 the misty curtain of the future by what outlet their now un- 
 fruitful because solitary good may be brought into fertilizing 
 contact with that of other more advanced nations, to the mutual 
 benefit of each and all. 
 
 Talk went on with the ease and decorum characteristic of good 
 Eastern society, without the flippancy and excitement which 
 occasionally mars it in some countries, no less than over-silence 
 does in others. To my mind the Easterns are generally superior 
 in the science of conversation to the inhabitants of the West ; 
 perhaps from a greater necessity of cultivating it, as the only 
 means of general news and intercourse where newspapers and 
 pamphlets are unknown. 
 
 Or else some garden was the scene of our afternoon leisure,
 
 Chap. ni NovtJi Ccutval Arabia 125 
 
 among fruit-trees and palms, by the side of a watercourse, whose 
 constant supply from the well hid from view among thick 
 foliage, seemed the work not of laborious art but of unassisted 
 nature. Here, stretched in the cool and welcome shade, would 
 we for hours canvass with 'Abd-el-Mahsin, and others of similar 
 pursuits, the respective merits of Arab poets and authors, of 
 Omar-ebn-el-Farid or Aboo'l 'Ola, in meetings that had some- 
 thing of the Attic, yet with just enough of the Arab to render 
 them more acceptable by their Semitic character of grave 
 cheerfulness and mirthful composure. 
 
 Or when the stars came out, Barakat and myself would stroll 
 out of the heated air of the streets and market to the cool open 
 plain, and there pass an hour or two alone, or in conversation 
 with what chance passer-by might steal on us half unperceived 
 and unperceiving in the dusk, and amuse ourselves with his 
 simplicity if he were a Bedouin, or with his shrewdness if a 
 townsman. 
 
 Thus passed our ordinary life at Ha'yel. Many minor inci- 
 dents occurred to diversify it, many of the little ups and downs 
 that human intercourse never fails to furnish ; sometimes the 
 number of patients and the urgency of their attendance allowed 
 of little leisure for aught except our professional duties ; some- 
 times a day or two would pass with hardly an)- serious occupa- 
 tion. But of such incidents my readers have a sufficient sample 
 in what has been already set down. Suftice to say, that from 
 the 27th of July to the 8th of September we remained doctor- 
 ing in the capital or in its immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 By this time we had obtained sufficient knowledge of the 
 Shomer capital and its denizens, while far the greater part of 
 our journey lay yet before us, and the autumn was already 
 drawing on. Besides, any notable prolongation of our stay at 
 Ha'yel might be dangerous both for ourselves and for Telal ; we 
 were watched by the spies of 'Obeyd and Feysul, and so was 
 the monarch also. The Bagdad merchants, too, who formed a 
 numerous and not uninfluential body in the town, looked on 
 us with positive dislike, supposing us in reality Damascenes, for 
 whom the Shiy'aees bear an especial and hereditary hatred, 
 that twelve centuries have rather increased than diminished. 
 Accordingly, though in most respects so dissident from the 
 Wahhabee sectarians, they now sided with them in one thing.
 
 126 Life ill Ha yd [Chap, iv 
 
 and that was in giving us askance looks of no friendly import, 
 and in saying of us all the harm imaginable, whenever they 
 could safely do so, I mean among themselves and behind our 
 backs. Moreover, my stock of remedies was limited, and I 
 had cause to fear lest too much expenditure of them in one 
 place might barely leave us enough to suffice for the prac- 
 tice awaiting us in the rest of our long journey. Now the 
 journey across the Shomer frontier could only be pursued with 
 Telal's cognizance, and by his good will. In fact, a passport 
 bearing the royal signature is indispensable for all who desire 
 to cross the boundary, especially into the Wahhabee territory ; 
 without such a document in hand no one would venture to 
 conduct us. 
 
 Accordingly we requested and obtained a special audience 
 at the palace. Telal, of whose goodwill we had received fre- 
 quent, indeed daily proofs during our sojourn at Ha'yel, proved 
 a sincere friend — patron would be a juster word — to the last ; 
 exemplifying the Scotch proverb about the guest not only who 
 " will stay," but also who " maun gang." To this end he then 
 dictated to Zamil, for Telal himself is no scribe, a passport or 
 general letter of safe conduct, enough to ensure us good treat- 
 ment within the limits of his rule, and even beyond. I subjoin 
 the translation for the benefit of the Foreign Office and all 
 therein employed. 
 
 " In the name of God the Merciful, we, Telal-ebn-Rasheed, 
 to all dependent on Shomer who may see this, peace be with 
 you and the mercy of God. Next, we infomi you that the 
 bearers of this paper are Seleem-el-'Eys-Abou-Mahmood and 
 his associate Barakat, physicians, seeking their livelihood by 
 doctoring, with the help of God, and journeying under our 
 protection, so let no one interfere with or annoy them, and 
 peace be with you." Here followed the date. 
 
 When this was written, Telal affixed his seal, and rose to 
 leave us alone with Zamil, after a parting shake of the hand, 
 and wishing us a prosperous journey and speedy return. Yet 
 with all these motives for going, I could not but feel reluctant 
 to quit a pleasing town, where we certainly possessed many 
 sincere friends and well-wishers, for countries in which we 
 could by no means anticipate equal favour or even equal 
 safety. Indeed, so ominous was all that we heard about
 
 Chap. IV] No)'tJi Ccvitval Arabia 127 
 
 Wahhabee Nejed, so black did die landscape before us look, 
 on nearer approach, that I almost repented of my resolution, 
 and was considerably inclined to say, " Thus far enough, and 
 no farther." 
 
 Eut " over shoes over boots," and the "tra Beatrice e te e 
 questo muro " of the Florentine, though in a somewhat altered 
 sense, ran in my memory, and gave me courage. And then we 
 had already got so far that to turn back from what was yet to 
 traverse, be it what it might, would have been an unpardonable 
 want of heart. We now requested Zamil to let us know where 
 we were to find out our destined companions for the road. He 
 answered that they had received orders to come in quest of us, 
 and that they would unfaiUngly present themselves at our house 
 the very same day. 
 
 'Obeyd, Telal's uncle, had left Ha'yel the day before on a 
 military expedition against the Bedouins of the West. In 
 common with all the sight-seers of the town, we had gone to 
 witness his departure. It was a gay and interesting scene. 
 'Obeyd had caused his tent to be pitched in the plain without 
 the northern walls ; and there reviewed his forces. About 
 one-third were on horseback, the rest were mounted on light 
 and speedy camels ; all had spears and matchlocks, to which 
 the gentry added swords ; and while they rode hither and 
 thither in sham manoeuvres over the parade-ground, the whole 
 appearance was very picturesque and tolerably martial. 'Obeyd 
 now unfurled his own peculiar standard, in which the green 
 colour distinctive of Islam had been added border-wise to the 
 white ground of the ancestral Nejdean banner, mentioned 
 fourteen centuries back by 'Omar-ebn-Kelthoom, the poet of 
 Taghleb, and many others. Barakat and myself mixed with the 
 crowd of spectators. 'Obeyd saw us, and it was now several 
 days since we had last met. Without hesitating, he cantered up 
 to us, and while he tendered his hand for a farewell shake, he 
 said: "I have heard that you intend going to Ri'ad; there you 
 will meet with 'Abd-Allah the eldest son of Feysul ; he is my 
 particular friend ; I should much desire to see you high in 
 his good graces, and to that end I have written him a letter 
 in your behalf, of which you yourselves are to be the bearers ; 
 you will find it in my house, where I have left it for you with 
 one of my servants," He then assured us that if he found us
 
 128 Life in If a yd [Chap. iv 
 
 still at Ha'yel on his return, he would continue to befriend us 
 in every way; but that if we journeyed forward to Nejed, we 
 should meet with a sincere friend in 'Abd-Allah, especially if 
 we gave him the letter in question. 
 
 He then took his leave with a semblance of affectionate cor- 
 diality that made the bystanders stare ; thus supporting to the 
 last the profound dissimulation which he had only once belied 
 for a moment. The letter was duly handed over to us the same 
 afternoon by his head-steward, whom he had left to look after 
 the house and garden in his absence. Doubtless my readers 
 will be curious to know what sort of recommendation 'Obeyd 
 had provided us \\dth. It was written on a small scrap of thick 
 paper, about four inches each way, carefully folded up and 
 secured by three seals. However, " our fears forgetting man- 
 ners," we thought best with Hamlet to make perusal of this 
 grand commission before delivering it to its destination. So we 
 undid the seals with precautions admitting of reclosing them in 
 proper form, and read the royal knavery. I give it word for 
 word ; it ran thus : " In the Name of God the Merciful, the 
 Compassionate, We 'Obeyd-ebn-Rasheed salute you, O 'Abd- 
 Allah son of Feypulebn-Sa'ood, and peace be on you, and the 
 mercy of God and His blessings." (This is the invariable com- 
 mencement of all Wahhabee epistles, to the entire omission of 
 the complimentary formulas used by other Orientals.) "After 
 which," so proceeded the document, "we inform you that the 
 bearers of this are one Seleem-el-'Eys, and his comrade Barakat- 
 esh-Shamee, who give themselves out for having some know- 
 ledge in" — here followed a word of equivocal import, capable of 
 interpretation alike by " medicine " or " magic," but generally 
 used in Nejed for the latter, which is at Ri'ad a capital crime. 
 " Now may God forbid that we should hear of any evil having 
 befallen you. We salute also your father Feysul, and your 
 brothers, and all your family; and anxiously await your news 
 in answer. Peace be with you." Here followed the signet 
 impression. 
 
 A pretty recommendation, especially under the actual cir- 
 cumstances. However, not content with this, 'Obeyd found 
 means to transmit further information regarding us, and all in 
 the same tenour, to Ri'ad, as we afterwards discovered. For 
 his letter, I need hardly say that it never passed from our
 
 Chap, ut Novtli Coitval A rabid 1 29 
 
 possession, where it yet remains as an interesting autograph, 
 to that of "Abd-Allah ; with whom it would inevitably have 
 proved the one only thing wanting, as we shall subsequently 
 see, to make us leave the forfeit of our lives in the Nejdean 
 man-trap. 
 
 Before evening three men knocked at our door ; they were 
 our future guides. The eldest bore the name of Mubarek, and 
 was a native of the suburbs of Bereydah; all three were of the 
 genuine Kaseem breed, darker and lower in stature than the 
 inhabitants of Ha yel, but not ill-looking, and extremely affable 
 in their demeanour. Mubarek told us that their departure from 
 Ha'yel had been at first fixed for the morrow, or the 7 th of the 
 month, but that owing to some delay on the part of their com- 
 panions, for the band was a large one, it liad been subsequently 
 put off to the 8th or the day after. Such procrastinations are 
 of continual occurrence in the East, where the mcde of travel- 
 ling renders them unavoidable, and one must be prepared for 
 them and take them as they come, under penalty of making 
 oneself ridiculous by unavailing impatience. We now struck a 
 bargain with Mubarek for the hire of two of his camels to bear 
 ourselves and our chattels; the price was almost ridiculously 
 small, even after making allowance for the comparatively high 
 value of money in these inland regions ; and we were glad to 
 see that the polite and chatty manners of our new guides pro- 
 mised us an agreeable journey. 
 
 We had soon made all necessary arrangements for our 
 departure, got in a few scattered debts, packed up our pharma- 
 copoeia, and nothing now remained but the pleasurable pain of 
 farewells. They were many and mutually sincere. Meta'ab 
 had indeed made his a few days before, when he, a second 
 time, left Ha'yel for the pastures ; Telal we had already taken 
 leave of, but there remained his younger brother Mohammed to 
 give us a hearty adieu of good augury. Most of my old ac- 
 quaintance or patients, Dohey' the merchant, Mohammed the 
 judge, Doheym and his family, not forgetting our earliest friend 
 Seyf the chamberlain, Sa'eed the cavalry officer, and others of 
 the court, freemen and slaves, white or black (for negroes 
 readily follow the direction indicated by their masters, and are 
 not ungrateful if kindly treated while kept, in their due posi- 
 tion), and many others of whose names Homer would have 
 
 K
 
 130 Life in If a yd [Chap, iv 
 
 made a catalogue and I will not, heard of our near departure, 
 and came to express their regrets, with hopes of future meeting 
 and return. 
 
 'Abd-el-Malisin, too, accompanied by Bedr, the eldest of 
 Telal's sons, came a little before evening to see us a last time 
 and bid us God-speed. All along he had been our daily and 
 Avelcome companion, and his cultivated and well-stored mind, 
 set off by ready eloquence, had done much to charm our stay 
 and to take off the loneliness that even in the midst of a crowd 
 is apt to weigh on strangers in a foreign land. The boy, too, 
 Bedr, was much what his father must have been at that age ; 
 we had helped to cure him of some slight feverish attacks not 
 uncommon at that time of life, and our young patient showed 
 in return steady gratitude and simple attachment, more, per- 
 haps, than is customary among children, at least of high birth, 
 while his modest and polite manners would have done credit 
 to a European court education. 'Abd-el-Mahsin assured us, in 
 Telal's name and his own, that Ave carried with us the good- 
 will of all the court, and we sat thus together till sunset, staving 
 off the necessity of separating by word and answer that had no 
 meaning, except that we could not make up our minds to part. 
 Our latest, but not least affectionate visit, that night was from 
 Zamil. 
 
 Early next morning, before day, Mubarek and another of 
 his countrymen, named Dahesh, were at our door with the 
 camels. Some of our town friends had also come, even at this 
 hour, to accomy)any us as far as the city gates. We mounted 
 our beasts, and while the first sunbeams streamed level over 
 the plain, passed through the south-western portal beyond the 
 market-place, the 8th of September 1862, and left the city of 
 Ha'yel.
 
 131 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Journey from Hayel to Bereydah 
 
 More bleak to view, the Iiills nt length recede, 
 And, leis luxuriant, smoother vales extend; 
 
 Immense horizon-bounded plains succeed, 
 Far as the eye discerns, without an end. 
 
 Byron 
 
 A New Stage of our yourney — Comparative Unimportance of Bedouins in 
 Central Arabia — Our Travelling Companions — Their Characters — 
 Horse Trade from Shomer to Koweyt — Limits of Djcbel ^Ajd' — ''Eyn 
 Thejjajah — Valley betiveen ''Ajd' and Solma — Attack of Harb Bedouins — 
 Djebel Solma — Tomb of IJdtim-el-Ta'i — Feyd — Its GoverJior and Court 
 of fusttce — Description of the Village — Solibah Encampment — Upper 
 J^aseem — Its Territorial Features — Arab Foetiy — Nejed — Vegetation — 
 Springs — Watershed of Northern Arabia, whereabouts — li^efa, its Appear- 
 ance — Koseybah — Kowdrah, its Situation — Wahhdbee Limit — Stone Circle 
 ofEyoon — Topographical Features of Lower Kaseem — Its Culture — Palm 
 Groves, Cotton, and curious Narcotic Plant — Character of the Inhabitants 
 — Their Intercourse with Ifejaz — Its Effects — Cabul Darvjceshes — ''Eyoon 
 — FoleylCs Suppa- — Road to Bereydah — Ghat — False Alarm — Distant 
 View of Bereydah — Suburb of Doiveyr — Mubdrek's Cottage — Family Life. 
 
 Another stage of our way. From Gaza to Ma'an, from Ma'an 
 to the Djowf, from the Djowf to Ha'yel, three such had now 
 been gone over, not indeed without some fatigue or discomfort, 
 yet at comparatively httle personal risk, except what nature 
 herself, not man, might occasion. For to cross the stony desert 
 of the northern frontier, or the sandy Nefood in the very height 
 of summer, could not be said to be entirely free from danger, 
 where in these waterless wastes thirst, if nothing else, may alone, 
 and often does, suffice to cause the disappearance of the over- 
 adventurous traveller, nay, even of many a Bedouin, no less 
 effectually than a lance thrust or a musket ball. But if nature 
 had been so far unkind, of man at least we had hitherto not 
 
 K 2
 
 132 Journey from Ha yd to Bcrcydah [Chap. v 
 
 much to complain; the Bedouins on their route, however rough 
 and uncouth in their ways, had, with only one exception, meant 
 us fairly well, and the townsmen in general had proved friendly 
 and courteous beyond our expectation. Once within the es- 
 tablished government limits of Ebn-Rasheed and among his 
 subjects, we had enjoyed our share in the common security 
 afforded to wayfarers and inhabitants for life and property, 
 while good success had hitherto accompanied us. " Judge of 
 the day by its dawn," say the Arabs; and although this proverb, 
 like all proverbs, does not always hold exactly true, whether 
 for sunshine or cloud, yet it has its value at times. And 
 thus, whatever unfavourable predictions or dark forebodings 
 our friends might hint regarding the Inner Nejed and its 
 denizens, we trusted that so favourable a past augured some 
 what better things for the future. 
 
 From physical and material difficulties like those before met 
 with, there was henceforward much less to fear. The great 
 heats of summer were past, the cooler season had set in; besides, 
 our path now lay through the elevated table-land of Central 
 Arabia, whose northern rim we had already surmounted at our 
 entrance on the Djebel Shomer. Nor did there remain any 
 uncultivated or sandy track to cross comparable to the Nefood 
 of Djowf between Ha'yel and Ri'ad; on the contrary-, we were 
 to expect pasture lands and culture, villages and habitations, 
 cool mountain air, and a sufficiency if not an abundance of 
 water. Nor were our fellow companions now mere Bedouins 
 and savages, but men from town or village life, members of 
 organized society, and so far civilized beings. 
 
 When adieus, lookings back, wavings of the hand, and all the 
 customary signs of farewell and good omen were over between 
 our Ha'yel friends and ourselves, we pursued our road by the 
 plain which I have already described as having been the fre- 
 quent scene of our morning walks; but instead of following the 
 south-westerly path towards Kefar, whose groves and roof-tops 
 now rose in a blended mass before us, we turned eastward, and 
 rounded, though at some distance, the outer wall of Ha'yel for 
 nearly half an hour, till we struck off by a soutli-easterly track 
 across stony ground, diversified here and there by wells, each 
 ■with a cluster of gardens and a few houses in its neighbourhood. 
 At last we reached a narrow winding pass among the cliffs of
 
 Chap. VT LoZVCr Ncjcd 1 33 
 
 Djebel 'Aja', whose mid-loop encircles Ha'yel on all sides, and 
 here turned our heads to take a last far-off view of what had 
 been our home, or the agreeable semblance of a home, for 
 several weeks. 
 
 Our only companions as yet were Mubarek and Dahesh. V/e 
 had outstripped the rest, whose baggage and equipments had 
 required a more tedious arrangement than our own. However, 
 this could not long continue; and accordingly after some hours 
 of turning and twisting in the mountain gorges, we stopped 
 near noon in a little shrubby plain, where our camels found 
 pasture and we shade, to await the arrival of our lingering 
 fellow travellers. 
 
 Before long they came up, a motley crew. Ten or there- 
 abouts of the Kaseem j some from Bereydah itself, others from 
 neighbouring towns ; two individuals who gave themselves out, 
 but with more asseveration than truth, to be natives of Mecca 
 itself; three Bedouins, two of whom belonged to the Shomer 
 clan, the third an 'Anezah of the north; next a runaway negro 
 conducting four horses, destined to pass the whole breadth of 
 Arabia and to be shipped off at Koweyt on the Persian Gulf 
 for Indian sale ; tvvo merchants, one from Zulphah in the pro- 
 vince of Sede}T, the other from Zobeyr near Basrah ; lastly, 
 two women, wives of I know not exactly whom in the caravan, 
 with some small children: all this making up, ourselves in- 
 cluded, a band of twenty-seven or twenty-eight persons, the 
 most mounted on camels, a few on horseback, and accom- 
 panied by a few beasts of burden alongside — such was our 
 Canterbury pilgrims' group. 
 
 " The more the merrier," says the proverb. And so it was 
 for the most of our party, though we had an exception in the 
 persons of the two self-indited Meccans, Mohammed and Ibra- 
 heem, sour-tempered individuals, always complaining, quarrel- 
 ing, and backbiting. They stated themselves to have been 
 corn merchants, ruined in the great inundation, which carried 
 away or injured a third of the sacred town in the autumn of 
 1861; and since that time had been travelling, so they said, 
 from place to place and from, chief to chief, to seek from the 
 liberality of the faithful wherewithal to pay their debts on re- 
 turning to their native city. But their statement abounded 
 with intrinsic improbabilities, and when such were pointed out,
 
 134 Journey from Hard to BcrcydaJi [Chap. v 
 
 as occasionally was the case, Ihcy had ready another entirely 
 different story, equally false perhaps, of feud and manslaughrer. 
 The sum total was that they were beggars and impostors, and, 
 so far as we could make out from circumstances hardly worth 
 detailing, Mohammed was a cook from Cairo, and Ibraheem 3 
 bankrupt shopkeeper, native of Gaza or thereabouts. They 
 were, however, sufficiently acquainted with Mecca to have much 
 to say about that place, and I learnt from them many curious 
 ])articulars regarding the pilgrimage and its accompaniments. 
 These two worthies gave us the equivocal pleasure of their 
 society not only the whole way to Bereydah, but even to Ri'ad. 
 itself, where, if my readers will allow me to anticipate for a 
 moment the course of events, Ibraheem distinguished himself 
 by stealing one of our saddle-bags on his departure. 
 
 The 'Anezah Bedouin, Ghashee, was a different and a more 
 amusing character. Though young, he had roved over all that 
 lies between Anatolia and Yemen, visited many cities, and made 
 acquaintance with innumerable chiefs and tribes, amongst whom 
 were some, thus I soon found to my great anxiety, with whom 
 I had been myself personally intimate while in Syria. Indeed 
 it was a remarkably good fortune that Ghashee and I had never 
 met under the tents of Faris-ebn-Hodeyb or Ha'il-ebn-Djandul 
 among the Sebaa' or the Soa'limah, or an awkward recognition, 
 worse even than that of our Damascene friend at Ha'yel, must 
 have resulted. 
 
 The Zobeyr merchant and his associate wore polite and in- 
 telligent men, fairly conversable, and who told us much worth 
 hearing; views and facts to be interwoven, where occasion 
 serves, into the many-coloured web of this narrative. 
 
 Among the natives of Kaseem itself, one, by name Foleyh, an 
 inhabitant of the large village called 'Eyoon, richly dressed and 
 mounted on a handsome horse, was acknowledged by all for 
 the most important personage in the caravan. He belonged to 
 one of the old and noble families of his province, and was a 
 landholder of more than ordinary wealth. When we reach 
 'F.voon we shall be his guests at supper. 
 
 The other members of the caravan presented nothing worthy 
 of especial notice, quiet business-like men, taken up with their 
 own small affairs of commerce and cultivation, or absorbed in 
 the i)assing events of the journey — every-day characters, soon
 
 Chap. V] Lowev Ncjcd 1 35 
 
 known and soon forgotten. I must, however, make an excep- 
 tion in favour of the negro Ghorra: a thorough African, half- 
 cracked, and a fugitive from his master at Medinah, he had 
 nought and obtained a kind of protection from Telal at Ha'yel, 
 and was now, legally or not, in possession of his liberty. A 
 rich artisan of Shomer had entrusted him with four fine horses, 
 and Ghorra, delighted with his newly acquired dignity of free- 
 man and jockey, danced, grinned, sang, and diverted himself 
 further by playing so many tricks and telling such extraordi- 
 nary and inconceivable lies, that he often aroused the anger 
 of the more serious Arabs. At Bereydah we parted, but met 
 again at Ri'ad, whither he had preceded us by a few days only; 
 but those few had been well employed, and he had already 
 obtained himself the reputation of being the greatest liar ever 
 known in the Nejdean capital — no slight distinction, all things 
 considered. 
 
 More than half of the export of Arab horses to Bombay, I 
 may here remark, passes by the seaport of Koweyt, especially 
 since the growing importance of that active little town in late 
 years. The animals themselves are generally from the north of 
 Arabia, or the Syrian desert, and of real Arab, though not of 
 Nejdean breed. In what consists the difference between ordi- 
 nary Arab and Nejdean horses, how far the latter surpass the 
 former, where they are to be found, and what becomes of 
 them, are points which I must reserve till we reach the noble 
 creatures in the heart of Nejed. But the former, of Shomer 
 or 'Anezah breed, are high-blooded and often very perfect in all 
 their points, and such were those which Ghorra now led for 
 Koweyt. 
 
 Thus assembled, on we went together, now amid granite rocks, 
 now crossing grassy valleys, till near sunset we stopped under a 
 high cliff at the extreme southerly verge of Djebel 'Aja', or, in 
 modern parlance, of Djebel Shomer. The mountain here ex- 
 tended far away to right and left ; but in front a wide plain of 
 full twenty miles across opened out before us, till bounded 
 southwards by the long bluish chain of Djebel Solma, whose 
 line runs parallel to the heights we were now to leave, and 
 belongs to the same formation and rocky mass denominated 
 in a comprehensive way the mountains of Ta'i or Shomer. 
 Solma is, however, in height and length unequal to 'Aja', for
 
 136 yoiirncy from Ilaycl to Bcrcydah [Chap. v 
 
 while this latter range crosses nearly two-thirds of Arabia in a 
 continuous line, and attains at times an elevation of 1,400 feet 
 or thereabouts above the plain, Solma does not seem to own a 
 crest of above seven or eight hundred feet at most. 
 
 Here — that is, where we now halted to make our evening 
 meal, at the foot of Ajas — was a source of clear water, not 
 undeservedly named by the people of the land " the abundant- 
 gushing fountain." The full rnoon rose on the east over the 
 great plain like the open sea; we lighted our fires and prepared 
 our supper. This was simple enough — unleavened bread, and 
 coffee to wash it down. Our only additional dainties were 
 dried dates laid in at Ha'yel; no other kind of provision can 
 bear the heat of day travelling in this climate. It was indeed 
 September, but September in Arabia is not exactly September 
 in England, though in these uplands the temperature was colder 
 than the southerly degree of latitude taken alone might have led 
 us to expect. 
 
 Scarcely was supper over and a pipe smoked than we re- 
 mounted our camels, and rode slowly on under the glorious 
 moonlight till it almost blended with the dawn. Our line of 
 march crossed the plain at right angles to its length, and while 
 we advanced by the deceptive glitter of the moonbeams, we soon 
 lost all distinct view of the mountains before or behind us, and 
 seemed to be in the midst of a vast whitish lake, where patches 
 of dark green, formed by a kind of broom and similar shrubs, 
 lay around like islands in the water. The soil here is a light 
 earth mixed with sand, and so it continues throughout Upper 
 Kaseem ; it is not unfertile, but is scantily supplied with water; 
 offering tolerable pasture land for flocks and herds, but rarely 
 presenting irrigation enough to merit a village. At last, fairly 
 tired out and drunk with drowsiness, to translate the Arab 
 phrase, we staggered off our camels to the ground, and there 
 slept through the short cool hours of late night and early 
 morning. 
 
 The whole of the next day, till about four in the afternoon, 
 was spent in traversing what remained of this great plain. There 
 we fell in with a danger entirely unexpected by myself and my 
 companion, but against which the more experienced men of Ka- 
 seem had been all along on the look-out; indeed, it was precisely 
 the fear of some such occurrence that had urged them to their
 
 Chap. V] LoiVCV Ncjcd 1 3/ 
 
 forced niglit march and to the quickened pace of the following 
 day. 
 
 This valley, the separation of Solma from 'Aja', is of a length 
 much greater than its breadth, and attains westward the very 
 neighbourhood of Medinah, thus opening out into the passes of 
 Hejaz and the great pilgrim route a little above the town where 
 Mahomet lies buried. Now it so happens that the portion of 
 the Hajj road, corresponding to this opening, is, and always 
 has been more than any other, infested by marauding Bedouins, 
 principally of the IJarb tribe, who have often here stopped the 
 entire pilgrim caravans in defiance of their Turkish guard, and 
 who, not content with the booty captured in Hejaz, often take 
 a run up the very valley which we were now crossing ; and it 
 requires all the vigilance and energy of Telal to prevent their 
 inroads from becoming habitual, and thus interrupting the regu- 
 lar communication between his dominions and Nejed. 
 
 Our band, who had a wholesome fear of meeting with one of 
 these nom.ade foray-parties, here quickened their pace, and the 
 event justified their precautions. For, at about three in the 
 afternoon, we saw some way off to our west a troop of these 
 identical Bedouins coming up from the direction of Medinah. 
 While they were yet in the distance, and half-hidden from view 
 by the shrubs and stunted acacias of the plain, we could not 
 precisely distinguish their numbers ; but they were evidently 
 enough to make us desire, with Orlando, " that we might be 
 better strangers." On our side we mustered about fifteen 
 matchlocks, besides a few spears and swords. The Bedouins had 
 already perceived us, and continued to approach, though in the 
 desultory and circuitous way which they affect when doubtful of 
 the strength of their opponent ; still they gained on us more 
 than was pleasant. 
 
 Fourteen armed townsmen might stand for a reasonable 
 match against double the number of Bedouins, and in any case 
 we had certainly nothing better to do than to put a bold face on 
 the matter. The 'Eyoon chief, Foleyh, with two of his country- 
 men and Ghasliee, carefully primed their guns, and then set off 
 at full gallop to meet the advancing enemy, brandishing their 
 weapons over their heads, and looking extremely fierce. Under 
 cover of this manoeuvre the rest of our band set about getting 
 their arms ready, and an amusing scene ensued. One had lost
 
 138 Journey from H a yd to DcrcydaJL [Chap. v 
 
 his match, and was hunting for it in his housings, another in 
 his haste to ram the bullet home had it stuck midway in the 
 barrel, and could neither get it up nor down, the lock of a third 
 was rusty and would not do duty ; the women began to whine 
 piteously ; the two Meccans, Avho for economy's sake were both 
 riding one only camel, a circumstance which caused between 
 them many international squabbles, tried to make their beast 
 gallop off with them, and leave the others to their fate, while 
 the more courageous animal, despising such cowardly measures, 
 insisted on remaining with his companions and sharing their 
 lot; — all was thoroughly Arab, much hubbub and little done. 
 Had the menacing feint of the four who protected our rear 
 proved insufficient, we might all have been in a very bad 
 predicament, and this feeling drew every face with reverted 
 gaze in a backward direction. But the Harb banditti, intimi- 
 dated by the bold countenance of Foleyh and his companions, 
 wheeled about and commenced a skirmishing retreat, in which 
 a few shots guiltless of bloodshed were fired for form's sake on 
 either side, till at last our assailants fairly disappeared in the 
 remote valley. 
 
 Our valiant champions now returned from pursuit, much 
 elated with their success, and we journeyed on together, skirting 
 the last rocky spur of Solma, close by the spot where Hatim Ta'i, 
 the well-known model, half mythic and half historical, of Arab 
 hospitality and exaggerated generosity, is said to be buried. 
 Here we crossed some low hills that form a sort of offshoot 
 to the Solma mountain, and limit the valley ; and the last rays 
 of the setting sun gilded to our view in a sandy bottom some 
 way off the palm-trees of Feyd. 
 
 This ancient village or townlet is situated on one of the tracks 
 that lead diagonally from Coufa or Meshid 'Alee to Medinah, 
 and now belongs to the government of Telal. Its local chief or 
 president is chosen from among the natives of the place, such 
 being in general Telal's system, for it is only in rare instances 
 and for very particular reasons that he appoints one of the 
 capital or the central district to be prefect in a distant locality. 
 However, all rules admit of exceptions, and immediate recourse 
 to the central authority becomes at times indispensable. Ac- 
 cordingly extraordinary commissioners are not unknown even in 
 Arabia, and we now precisely happened to fall in with one.
 
 Chap. V] LoiUO' Ncjcd 1 39 
 
 Quarrels had arisen between the inhabitants of Feyd, and the 
 local governor had proved incompetent to re-establish peace and 
 order, so that a king's officer from Ha'yel had just been sent to 
 take cognizance of the matter. Hence, at the very hour when we 
 entered the village, a little after sunset, a group of inhabitants 
 clustered in an open space near the walls marked the presence 
 of Telal's commissioner, who was there holding his court of 
 justice. 
 
 In a country where every man is his own lawyer, and where 
 the jury too is of a simpler formation and much less numerous 
 than in English courts, criminal causes are comparatively soon 
 settled. The head man of the place, the village ]Kadee, a 
 personage never wanting even in the smallest Arab community, 
 and two or three of the principal inhabitants, usually fill the 
 place of jurors, though their verdict is after all rather of moral 
 than of strictly legal weight. The office of crown advocate 
 merges in the judge, and that of counsel in the accused party 
 himself Sometimes, however, the prosecution is conducted 
 by the plaintiff, when distinct from the supreme authority 
 itself, for instance, in cases of private murder and the like. We 
 had the advantage of being present while sentence was passed 
 on one of the Feyd culprits, and of witnessing its execution 
 immediately after; it was identically the same with that which 
 many a schoolboy in our own conservative island incurs from 
 the justice of his offended master; and here also the sufferer 
 screamed much more loudly than the light infliction warranted. 
 
 It is only fair to say that in capital proceedings, and indeed 
 in all more serious affairs, Arab justice is by no means equally 
 rough and ready. Witnesses are summoned and sworn in, the 
 trial lasts many days, appeal from a lower to a higher tribunal 
 up to that of the monarch himself is granted if asked, and after 
 final sentence has been pronounced, execution is deferred for 
 a space of never less than twenty-four hours and sometimes 
 prorogued for weeks and months, till matters often end in a 
 free pardon, or in a mitigation of the legal penalty. Nor can 
 the most absolute rulers of Arabia violate with impunity the 
 restrictions placed by a sense of responsibility and humanity 
 on the too rapid course of such trials, or venture to condemn a 
 subject to death in time of peace simply on their own authority, 
 or without the stated intervention of legal procedures. Here,
 
 140 Journey from Ha yd to Bcrcydah [Ch.ul v 
 
 again, we may note an important resemblance between the 
 Arab pure and the European. 
 
 We had halted close by the village gate. But Mubarek judged, 
 and probably with good reason, that among men whose whole 
 thoughts were taken up by feuds and trials, our supper might 
 stand a chance of being but a poor one if sought for in the 
 cottages of Feyd itself. It happened that some Solibah Bedouins 
 were encamped at a few minutes' distance from the village, and 
 to their tents we directed our camels, alighted, and after a 
 brief introduction we had the pleasure of seeing a faint column 
 of smoke arise behind the tent walls — in a land like this, a sure 
 sign of kitchen operations. Our supper was not of superfine 
 quality, for the Solibahs are poor, but it was abundant in quan- 
 tity, and thereby well fitted for travellers like ourselves, after a 
 long march of two days and a night with hardly any rest or pause. 
 
 Feyd may be taken as a tolerable sample of the villages met 
 with throughout Northern or Upper Kaseem, for they all bear 
 a close likeness in their main features, though various in size. 
 Imagine a little sandy hillock of about sixty or seventy feet 
 high in the midst of a wide and dusty valley; part of the 
 eminence itself and the adjoining bottom is covered by low 
 earth-built houses, intermixed with groups of the feathery Ithel. 
 The grounds in the neighbourhood are divided by brick walls 
 into green gardens, where gourds and melons, leguminous 
 plants and maize, grow alongside of an artificial irrigation from 
 the walls among them ; palms in plenty — they were now heavy 
 laden with red-brown fruits ; and a few peach or apricot trees 
 complete the general lineaments. The outer walls are low, 
 and serve more for the protection of the gardens than of the 
 dwellings ; here are neither towers nor trenches, nor even, at least 
 in many places, any central castle .or distinguishable residence 
 for the chief; his habitation is of the same one-storied con- 
 struction as those of his neighbours, only a little larger. Some 
 of these townlets are quite recent, and date from the Shomer 
 annexation, which gave this part of the province a degree of 
 quiet and prosperity unknown under their former Wahhabee 
 rulers. 
 
 Next morning, the loth of September, we were all up by 
 moonlight, two or three hours before dawn, and off" on our road 
 to the south-east. Tlie whole country that we had to traverse
 
 chak V] Lozvcr Nijcd 141 
 
 for the next four days was of so uniform a character, that a few 
 words of description may here serve for the landscape of this 
 entire stage of our journey. 
 
 Upper Kaseem is an elevated plateau or steppe, and forms 
 part of a long upland belt, crossing diagonally the northern half 
 of the Peninsula ; one extremity reaches the neighbourhood of 
 Zobeyr and the Shatt-el-'Aarab, while the other extends down- 
 wards to the vicinity of Medinah. Its surface is in general 
 covered with grass in the spring and summer seasons, and with 
 shrubs and brushwood at all times, and thus affords excellent 
 pasture for sheep and camels. Across it blows the fresh eastern 
 gale, so celebrated in Arab poetry under the name of " Seba 
 Nejdin," or " Zephyr of Nejed" (only it comes from precisely 
 the opposite comer to the Greek and Roman ZephjT), and con- 
 tinually invoked by sentimental bards to bring them news of 
 imaginary loves or pleasing reminiscences. No wonder, for 
 most of these versifiers being themselves natives of the barren 
 Hejaz or the scorching Tehamah, perhaps inhabitants of Egypt 
 and Syria, and knowing little of Arabia, except what they have 
 seen on the dreary Meccan pilgrim road, they naturally look 
 back to with longing and frequently record whatever glimpses 
 chance may have allowed them of the cooler and more fertile 
 highlands of the centre, denominated by them Nejed in a 
 general way, with their transient experience of its fresh and 
 invigorating climate, of its courteous men and sprightly maidens. 
 But when, nor is this seldom, the sweet smell of the aromatic 
 thyme-like plants that here abound, mixes with the light morn- 
 ing breeze and enhances its balmy influence, then indeed can 
 one excuse the raptures of an Arab Ovid or Theocritus, and 
 appreciate — at least I often did — their yearnings after Nejed, 
 and all the praises they lavish on its memory. 
 
 Then said I to my companion, while the camels were hastening 
 
 To bear us down the pass between Meneefah and Demar, 
 *' Enjoy while thou canst the sweets of the meadows of Nejed : 
 
 With no such meadows and sweets shalt thou meet after this evening. 
 Ah ! heaven's blessing on the scented gales of Nejed, 
 
 And its greensward and groves glittering from the spring shower, 
 And thy dear friends, when thy lot was cast awhile in Nejed— 
 
 Little hadst thou to complain of what the days brought thee ; 
 Months flew past, they passed and we perceived not, 
 
 Nor when their moons were new, nor when thev «aned."
 
 142 Journey from Ila yd to Bcrcydah [Chap. v 
 
 — Regrets for an unwilling departure. Another, now far away 
 from the land of his real or imaginary loves, thus expresses his 
 longings : — 
 
 Ah ! breeze of Nejed, when thou blowest fresh from Nejed, 
 
 Thy fanning adds love to my love and sorrow to my sorrow. 
 When the turtle-dove is cooing in the bright glancing morn 
 
 From its leafy cage over tangled tufls of thyme, 
 I wept as a very child would weep, and could bear up no longer, 
 
 And my heart revealed to itself its long-hidden secret. 
 Yet they say that when the beloved one is close at hand 
 
 Love cloys, and that distance, too, brings forgetfulness. 
 Presence and distance have I tried, and neither aught availed me. 
 
 Save that better is for me when the loved one's abode is near, than 
 when it is distant ; 
 Save that nearness of the loved one's abode gives little solace 
 
 Unless the loved one herself requite love with love. 
 
 .... But enough, I hope, to awake in the sympathetic reader 
 something of the feelings with which myself, with two or three 
 companions of more delicate mental fibre than the rest, made 
 ourselves " as sad as night only for wantonness," by reciting 
 scraps of Arab poetry, while the breeze of Nejed blew over us 
 in the uplands of Nejed. And now let us return to the prosaic 
 and actual features of the country. 
 
 Sometimes the plain sinks for miles together into a shallow 
 irregular basin, where streams pour down and water collects in 
 the rainy season, leaving pools not entirely dried up even in 
 autumn. Here the alluvial soil bears a more vigorous crop of 
 shrubs, diversified with occasional trees, generally Talh and 
 Nebaa', occasionally Sidr; the fonner is a large tree of roundish 
 and scanty leafage, with a little dry berry for fruit, its branches 
 are \vide-spreading and thorny here and there ; the second is 
 more shrub-like in its growth, though its clustered stems often 
 attain a considerable height ; its leaf is very small, ovate, and 
 of a bright green; the last is a little but elegant acacia. These 
 same trees are, but more seldom, to be met with on the high 
 grounds also, especially the Talh. But the Ithel, a kind of 
 larch, abundant throughout Arabia, and the Ghada euphorbia, 
 prefer the sand-slopes and hollows. 
 
 All along this plateau, from distance to distance, and inter- 
 secting it at an acute angle, ran long and broad valleys of light 
 soil, half chalk, half sand. In these natural trenches water is
 
 Chai-. vj Lozvcr Xcjcd 143 
 
 always present, not indeed on the surface, but wlicrever wells 
 are sunk, which is generally in the neighbourhood of some 
 little conical hillock, that seems placed there merely to serve as 
 an indication where men may dig for the source of fertility. 
 
 Hard ly the wells rise the villages of Upper Kaseem; they 
 are, if I was rightly informed, about forty in number; their 
 respective number of inhabitants appears to vary from five 
 hundred to three thousand ; the entire population may be 
 reckoned at between twenty -five and thirty thousand souls, a 
 slender amount considering the extent of the province. We 
 passed eight villages on our way, and halted in four; one of 
 these was Kefa, said to be the largest in the district. Every 
 hamlet is surrounded by a proportional extent of palm-groves, 
 gardens, and fields, reaching not unfrequently far down the 
 valley, like a long green streak on a yellow carpet, along a series 
 of wells, which mark the direction of some underground water- 
 course. I was told that a new well opened to the east will often 
 diminish the supply of a westerly source, a fact which may 
 imply the general slope downwards of the continent in the latter 
 direction. 
 
 From my own observations I think that the watershed or 
 highest line of the whole belt of land which lies between the 
 Djowf north v/ard and the steppe whose breadth we now crossed 
 inclusively, should be sought for at about sixty miles due east 
 of Ha'yel, thus con-esponding in longitude with the most elevated 
 part of Djebel Toweyk, the "twisted mountain," whose steppes 
 form the great central plateau of Nejed Proper to the south. If 
 this be the case, the backbone or main ridge of Arabia would 
 bear from N.N.W. to S.S.E. between 45° and 46° longitude 
 Greenwich, and from 29° to 24° latitude north ; its greatest 
 altitude is behind Djelajil in the province of Sedeyr, whence it 
 gradually lowers till it is lost in the sandy desert of the south. 
 
 On each side of this ridge, and to the south also, Arabia 
 slopes down coastwards to the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and 
 Indian Ocean, though with some local interruptions arising 
 from the lateral chains of 'Aja', Solma, Toweyk, and Dowasir, 
 besides the occasional anomalies presented by the seashore line 
 and its craggy range, which rises to a great height in the 
 northern Hejaz, Djebel 'Aaseer, some poiiits of Yemen and 
 Hadramaut, and yet more in 'Oman.
 
 144 Journey from Hd yd to BcrcydaJi [Chap. v 
 
 We journeyed on, making every day about twelve or fourteen 
 hours' march, at a rate of about five miles per hour, or a little 
 more, — the ordinary pace of a riding camel. We had nothing 
 more to fear from Bedouins, and the few whom we might hence- 
 forth meet belonged to tribes of Telal's dominions, and were 
 subject to his steady rule. I may as well here add, that' towards 
 the end of this same year 1862, Telal himself headed a success- 
 ful campaign against the marauders of the Harb clan, the same 
 with whom we had met in the valley of Solma, and reduced 
 them to submission sufficient for ensuring his own territories 
 against further forays. 
 
 The moon was only a few nights after the full, and we had 
 the advantage of her light for early starting. A\'e would thus 
 make our track, sometimes across the high grounds and pasture, 
 sometimes traversing a sandy river-like valley, till day broke, 
 and the sun rushed up, and shone on our left till noon, while we 
 rode on, scattered along either side of the irregular streaks that 
 marked the way, or in groups of twos and threes, or all together, 
 while the men of Kaseem chatted and laughed, the merchants 
 conversed, the iNIeccans quarrelled, the Bedouins, who sympathise 
 little with the inhabitants of towns, nor overmuch with each other, 
 rode in general each alone and at some distance ; the negro ran 
 after his horses, which kept getting loose, and went a-grazing or 
 scampered out of reach ; and the women, wrapped up from head 
 to foot in their large indigo blue dresses, looked extremely like 
 inanimate bundles to be taken to market somewhere ; nobody 
 talked to them, and they of course talked to nobody. 
 
 Every morning we halted for coffee-making; firewood was in 
 plenty, and there was no particular hurry or fear of losing time. 
 But we were dispensed from any more serious cookery, since 
 henceforth our afternoon and night halts were always in the 
 villages, where we seldom failed of a hospitable welcome ; and 
 were that not forthcoming, we could at any rate purchase where- 
 withal to make our evening meal. 
 
 The view was extensive, but rather monotonous. No high 
 mountains, no rivers, no lakes, no streams ; but a constant 
 reiteration of the landscape features above described. Only we 
 sometimes could distinguish far off to the east a few faint blue 
 peaks, the extreme offsets of Djebel Toweyk, whither we were 
 now slowly approaching. North, west, and south, all was open
 
 Chap. V] LoiVCV Ncjcd I45 
 
 plain. But the breeze blew fresh and the sun shone bright, 
 birds twittered in the brushwood, and hzards and Djerboo'as ran 
 about hghtly chirping on all sides, or a covey of partridges (it 
 was September) whirred up at our approach, and a long file of 
 gazelles bounded away from before us, then stopped a minute 
 at gaze, and bounded off again. The camels were in good con- 
 dition, and most of the riders in excellent humour. 
 
 Our first evening halt after Feyd was at Kefa, where we re- 
 mained an entire day. It is a large scattered village, situated 
 in a sandy hollow, and not ill provided with water. Like many 
 other hamlets of this province, this is a thriving and increasing 
 place ; indeed, we found the inhabitants busy at digging out 
 and stone-binding a large new well ; they had just reached the 
 first indications of moisture at about twelve feet deep. The 
 stone here is calcareous, and so it is in general towards the 
 centre of the Peninsula ; Djebel Toweyk itself is chiefly of the 
 same formation, unlike the black rock and reddish granite of 
 Djebel Shomer. 
 
 Our next halting-place was Koseybah, a small hamlet, but 
 abounding in gardens and fruit. The little hill up whose eastern 
 side the houses are built, is in other parts so thickly covered 
 with Ithel and palm as to be almost picturesque. The wells are 
 many, and I doubt not that should Telal's rule continue long 
 undisturbed in these parts, Koseybah may in due time become 
 considerable. 
 
 The third evening passed at Kowarah. This large village, 
 ■which might almost be called a town, lies in a wooded and well- 
 watered hollow, where its groves form a beautiful backpiece to 
 the broken and thickety ground in front. Around, the plain is 
 excavated into cliffs from twenty to sixty feet high, and furrowed 
 by watercourses, or rank with thick brushwood and long herbage. 
 Here is the last southerly station of Telal's territory; here, 
 too, as mostly elsewhere, the chief is of the natives of the 
 soil, and order and security are the only tokens of central 
 government. 
 
 On the 14th of September we left Kowarah behind, journey- 
 ing on till near midday, when, after passing a icw low hills, we 
 came to a sudden dip in the land level, and the extent of 
 Southern Kaseem burst on our view. 
 
 Now, for the first time, we could in some measure appreciate 
 
 L
 
 146 yourncy from Hdycl to Bereydah [Chap. v 
 
 the strength of the Wahhabee in his mastery over such a land. 
 Before us to the utmost horizon stretched an immense plain, 
 studded with towns and villages, towers and groves, all steeped 
 in the dazzling noon, and announcing everpvhere life, opulence, 
 and activity. The average breadth of this populous district 
 is about sixty miles, its length twice as much, or more; it 
 lies full two hundred feet below the level of the uplands, which 
 liere break off like a wall. Fifty or more good-sized villages 
 and four or five large towns forai the commercial and agricultural 
 centres of the province, and its surface is moreover thick strewn 
 with smaller hamlets, isolated wells and gardens, and traversed 
 by a network of tracks in every direction. Here begin and 
 hence extend to Djebel Toweyk itself the series of high watch- 
 towers that afford the inhabitants a means, denied otherwise 
 by their level flats, of discerning from afar the approach of 
 foray or invasion, and thus preparing for resistance. For while 
 no part of Central Arabia has an older or a better established 
 title to civilization or wealth, no part also has been the starting 
 point and theatre of so many wars, or witnessed the gathering 
 of such numerous armies. 
 
 We halted for a moment on the verge of the uplands to en- 
 joy the magnificent prospect before us. Eelow lay the wide 
 plain ; at a few miles' distance we saw the thick palm-groves of 
 'Eyoon, and what little of its towers and citadel the dense 
 foliage permitted to the eye. Far off on our right, that is, to 
 the west, a large dark patch marked the tillage and planta- 
 tions which girdle the town of Rass; other villages and hamlets 
 too were thickly scattered over the landscape. All along the 
 ridge where we stood, and visible at various distances down the 
 level, rose the tall circular watch-towers of Kaseem. But 
 immediately before us stood a more remarkable monument, 
 one that fixed the attention and wonder even of our Arab 
 companions themselves, 
 
 For hardly had we descended the narrow path where it winds 
 from ledge to ledge down to the bottom, when we saw before 
 us several huge stones, like enormous boulders, placed endways 
 perpendicularly on the soil, while some of them yet upheld 
 similar masses laid transversely over their summit. They were 
 arranged in a curve, once forming part, it would appear, of a 
 large circle, and many other like fragments lay roiled on tlie
 
 Chap. V] Lozvcr Ncjcd 1 47 
 
 ground at a moderate distance ; the number of those still 
 upright was, to speak by memory, eight or nine. Two, at about 
 ten or twelve feet apart one from the other, and resembling 
 huge gate-po^ts, yet bore their horizontal lintel, a long block 
 laid across them ; a few were deprived of their upper traverse, 
 the rest supported each its head-piece in defiance of time and 
 of the more destructive efforts of man. So nicely balanced did 
 one of these cross-bars appear, that in hope it might prove a 
 rocking-stone, I guided my camel right under it, and then 
 stretching up my riding-stick at arm's-length could just manage 
 to touch and push it, but it did not stir. IMeanwhile the 
 respective heights of camel, rider, and stick taken together 
 would place the stone in question full fifteen feet from the 
 ground. 
 
 These blocks seem, by their quality, to have been hewn 
 from the neighbouring limestone cliff, and roughly shaped, but 
 present no further trace of art, no groove or cavity of sacrificial 
 import, much less anything intended for figure or ornament. 
 The people of the country attribute their erection to Darim, 
 and by his own hands, too, seeing that he was a giant ; perhaps, 
 also, for some magical ceremony, since he was a magician. 
 Pointing towards Rass, our companions affirmed that a second 
 and similar stone circle, also of gigantic dimensions, existed 
 there ; and, lastly, they mentioned a third towards the south- 
 west, that is, on the confines of Hejaz. 
 
 That the object of these strange constructions was in some 
 measure religious, seems to me hardly doubtful; and if the 
 learned conjectures that would discover a planetarysymbolism in 
 Stonehenge and Carnac have any real foundation, this Arabian 
 monument, erected in a land where the heavenly bodies are 
 known to have been once venerated by the inhabitants, may 
 make a like claim; in fact, there is little difference between 
 the stone-wonder of Kaseem and that of Wiltshire, except that 
 the one is in Arabia, the other, though the more perfect, in 
 England. 
 
 It was now the hour of highest noon. Our band halted in 
 the shade of these huge pillars to rest after the fatigue of a long 
 march, and tell mythic fables of Darim and his achievements, 
 v.hile Foleyli graciously invited the whole party, great and 
 small, to supper at his dwelling in the neighbouring town of 
 
 L 2
 
 148 joiinicy from Haycl to BereydaJi [Chap. v 
 
 'Eyoon. Needs not say that the invitation was gladly accepted ; 
 and our future host, with his two companions, set off at once 
 for the town, yet nearly two hours distant, to precede and 
 prepare for the rest of the company, whilst we moved a little 
 farther on, and took up temporary quarters and repose in 
 the shade of a fruit-laden palm-grove near at hand by the 
 side of a well, there to drink fresh water, and wait till the 
 heat of the day should pass and the time come for pursuing 
 our route to 'Eyoon. While we thus pause, and, by the gar- 
 dener's permission, pick up ripe dates where they lie strewn by 
 the water-channel's edge, a few words on the natural history 
 and general character of the country around may not be 
 ill-timed : they will serve for an introduction to a land no less 
 new to my readers, perhaps, than it was to ourselves. 
 
 The Arabic word "Kaseem" denotes a sandy but fruitful 
 ground. Such is, in fact, the leading idea of this province. 
 The soil, red or yellow, appears indeed at first sight of little 
 promise. Yet, unlike most things, it is better than it seems, 
 and wherever irrigation reaches it bears a copious and varied 
 vegetation. Fortunately, water is here to be met with every- 
 where, and at very little depth below the surface ; six feet or 
 thereabouts was the farthest measure that I witnessed in any 
 well of Kaseem from the curb-stone to the water-line, often 
 it was much less. Mine was an autumn experience, when 
 moisture is at its minimum in this climate, but in winter I was 
 told that the wells fill to overflowing, and give rise to small 
 lakes, some of which, though of course much shrunken in 
 dimensions, outlast the summer, and even find their place in 
 maps, though undeserving of the honour. The prevailing aspect 
 of the land is level, but capricious-seeming. Sand-hills and 
 slopes of fifty or sixty feet in height are not uncommon. These 
 slopes are for the most part clothed with little climbing copses 
 of Ithel and Ghada. 
 
 Here, as in most parts of Arabia, the staple article of culti- 
 vation is the date-palm. Of this tree there are, however, many 
 widely-differing species, and Kaseem can boast of containing the 
 best known anywhere, the Khalas of Ha.sa alone excepted. The 
 ripening season coincides with the latter half of August and the 
 first of September, and we had thus an ample opportunity for 
 testing the produce. Those who, like most Europeans at home,
 
 Chap. V] LoiOCV Ncjcd 1 49 
 
 only know the date from the dried specimens of that fruit shown 
 beneath a label in shop-windows, can hardly imagine how deli- 
 cious it is when eaten fresh and in Central Arabia. Nor is it 
 when newly-gathered heating, a defect inherent to the preserved 
 fruit every^vhere ; nor does its richness, however great, bring 
 satiety: in short, it is an article of food alike pleasant and 
 healthy. Its cheapness in its native land might astonish a 
 Londoner. Enough of the very best dates from the Bereydah 
 gardens to fill a large Arab handkerchief, about fifteen inches 
 each way, almost to bursting, cost Barakat and myself the 
 moderate sum of three farthings. We hung it up from the roof- 
 beam of our apartment to preserve the luscious fruit from the 
 ants, and it continued to drip molten sweetness into a sugary 
 pool on the floor below for three daj-s together, before we had 
 demolished the contents, though it figured at every dinner and 
 supper during that period. 
 
 Date-trees are in consequence the main source of landed 
 Arab wealth, and a small cluster of palms is often the entire 
 maintenance of a poor townsman or villager. The fruit partly 
 serves him and his household for aliment, in which it holds 
 about the same proportion that bread does in France or Ger- 
 many ; the rest, often in large quantities, is exported to Yemen 
 and Hejaz, in this respect less favoured by nature. To cut 
 down the date-trees of an enemy is a great achievement in time 
 of war, to plant with them a new piece of ground the first sign 
 of increasing prosperity. 
 
 Fruit trees of various kinds, generally resembling those of 
 Shomer, but more productive, are here also met with. Corn- 
 fields, maize, millet, vetches, and the like, surround the villages, 
 and afford a copious harvest, besides melons and pot-herbs. 
 But the extent of cultivation and tillage is limited by the 
 necessity of artificial irrigation. 
 
 Another produce of Kaseem, and it was like an old friend to 
 me after so many years of absence from India, is the cotton- 
 shrub, identical in species with that cultivated in Guzerat and 
 Cutch. The inhabitants are well acquainted with its use, but 
 the quantity grown is too slender to serve for foreign exporta- 
 tion. Under more propitious circumstances it might add much 
 to the wealth of the country, for the climate and soil concur 
 to give the plant sufficient vigour, and its crop is not less
 
 150 Journey from IJa yd to BcrcydaJi [Chap. v 
 
 copious liere than in India, nor did the quahty seem to me 
 anyhow inferior. 
 
 Here also, for the first time, I met with a narcotic plant very 
 common farther south, and gifted with curious qualities. Its 
 seeds, in which the deleterious principle seems chiefly to reside, 
 when pounded and administered in a small dose, produce effects 
 much like those ascribed to Sir Humphry Davy's laughing 
 gas ; the patient dances, sings, and performs a thousand extra- 
 vagances, till after an hour of great excitement to himself and 
 amusement to the bystanders, he falls asleep, and on awaking 
 has lost all memory of what he did or said while under the 
 influence of the drug. To put a pinch of this powder into the 
 coffee of some unsuspecting individual is a not uncommon 
 joke, nor did I hear that it was ever followed by serious 
 consequences, though an over-quantity might perhaps be dan- 
 gerous. I myself tried it on two individuals, but in proportions, 
 if not absolutely homoeopathic, still sufficiently minute to keep 
 on the safe side of risk, and witnessed its operation, laughable 
 enough, but very harmless. The plant that bears these berries 
 hardly attains in Kaseem the height of six inches above the 
 ground, but in 'Oman I have seen bushes of it three or four feet 
 in growth, and wide-spreading. The stems are woody, and of 
 a yellow tinge when barked ; the leaf of a dark-green colour and 
 pinnated, with about twenty leaflets on either side; the stalks 
 smooth and shining; the flowers are yellow, and grow in tufts, the 
 anthers numerous; the fruit is a capsule, stuffed with a greenish 
 padding, in which lie embedded two or three black seeds, in 
 size and shape much like French beans ; their taste sweetish, but 
 with a peculiar opiate flavour; the smell heavy and almost 
 sickly. While at Sohar in 'Oman, where this plant abounds, 
 I collected some specimens intended for botanical recognition 
 at home, but they with much else were lost in my subsequent 
 shipwreck. 
 
 Stramonium Datura, or thorn-api)le, is not uncommon, and its 
 ])roperties are well known, not for medicine, but for poison and 
 quackery. But I vainly looked for the Indian hemp or hasheesh 
 plant, nor did any one appear acquainted with it or its use, 
 whereat I much wondered. Coffee does not grow here; it is 
 imported from Yemen, sometimes by the direct road of VVadi 
 Nejran, more commonly through Mecca. Articles of Egyptian
 
 ciiAK. V] Loivcr Ncjcd 1 5 i 
 
 and of European manufacture are also brought hitlier from 
 Mecca and Djiddah; and the phosphorized amadou boxes of 
 Pollak, from Vienna, after passing through the sacred cities of 
 Arabia, are to be met with in the shops of Bereydah and 'Oney- 
 zah. An important branch of commerce was once carried on 
 with Damascus, but of late years and under Wahhabee rule it 
 has ceased to exist. The route northward from Kaseem to 
 Syria does not pass by Djebel Shomer, but follows a straighter 
 and easier line through Kheybar, and thence up the ordinary 
 pilgrim-way. 
 
 Much regarding the character of the inhabitants may be col- 
 lected from what I have already said ; in physical endowments 
 and stature they are somewhat inferior to the men of Shomer, 
 and in certain respects to the inhabitants of Tipper Nejed, 
 but they surpass either in commercial and industrial talents ; 
 they present, also, much of the gay and cheerful spirit of the 
 former, with not a little of the pertinacity and clannishness of 
 the latter. But to these qualities the inhabitants of Kaseem 
 add a dash of the cunning and restlessness of their Hejaz neigh- 
 bours, with whom they have a slight degree of outward con- 
 formity, besides a share, though barely perceptible at first sight, 
 of that selfish egotism which stamps the caste of Mecca and 
 Medinah, even more than that of Tennyson's " Vere de Vere." 
 But in spite of these unfavourable points, the Shomer type 
 predominates decidedly in Kaseem, and the population in 
 general offers good elements capable of being worked out 
 into better things than can be hoped for under the present 
 administration. 
 
 The sun was already declining when we quitted our palm- 
 grove for the path leading to the town of 'Eyoon, where in the 
 meantime Foleyh had been killing his lambs and cooking his 
 rice for our entertainment ; and considering that he had nearly 
 thirty famished guests to provide for, we could not in common 
 fairness but allow him a reasonable interval for preparation. 
 Moreover the number of our party was now augmented by four 
 beings of an entirely new order. These were travelling Dar- 
 weeshes, two natives of Cabul, a third from Bokhara, and the 
 fourth a Beloochee, who had taken the route through Central 
 Arabia on their return from Mecca to their own respective 
 countries in the East, and here their path fell in with and
 
 1 5 2 Journey from Ha yd to Bcrcydah fciur. v 
 
 awhile coincided with our own. One of them, the Beloochee, 
 was an elderly man, of fifty or sixty, to judge by his white 
 beard and wrinkled features, thin, tall, and hardly knowing a 
 word of Arabic ; his three companions were younger and stouter; 
 all however bore evident marks of the long hardships and great 
 fatigue of their protracted journey made entirely on foot, in such 
 a climate and over such roads. Those from Cabul and Bokhara 
 declared that before they could hope to regain their native 
 hearths their pilgrimage would have lasted nearly two years, nor 
 could it well take less after their manner of travelling. They 
 all wore the peculiar costume of their profession and country — 
 the high wool cap, the large upper robe, loose trowsers, and a 
 wrapper cast across the shoulders. These Darweeshes lived 
 on alms begged by the way, and had a very poor and a not 
 undevout appearance. 
 
 However, few of our band welcomed their amval, or were at 
 all anxious to admit them into their company. The Darweesh 
 in Inner Arabia is, in every respect, a fish out of water. The 
 \Vahhabees in general detest them, and they are scarcely better 
 looked upon by the rest of the Arab population, in that they 
 are in their way of life the embodiment of a religious system 
 commonly regarded with indifference, often with aversion. The 
 new comers were accordingly greeted by our companions v.ith 
 many sarcastic remarks and unfavourable comments ; till at 
 last Arab good-nature got the better, and the Darweeshes were 
 admitted to the participation of such advantages and assistance 
 as travellers on the road can mutually afford or receive. 
 
 We were soon under the outer walls of 'Eyoon, a good-sized 
 town containing at least ten thousand inhabitants according to 
 my rough computation. Its central site, at the very juncture of 
 the great northern and western lines of communication, ren- 
 ders it important, and for this reason it is carefully fortified, that 
 is, for the country, and furnished with watch-towers, much re- 
 sembling manufacturing chimneys in size and shape, besides a 
 massive and capacious citadel. My readers may anticipate 
 analogous, though proportionate, features in most other towns 
 and villages of this province. We halted close by the northern 
 portal, and here deposited our baggage, over which two of the 
 band remained to keep guard in our absence, while we accom- 
 panied Foleyh to his dwelling.
 
 Chap. V] LoiVCV Ncjcd 1 53 
 
 We passed a large tank, more than half full of standing water, 
 near the centre of the town, and skirted for some minutes the 
 wall of the citadel, which appears to be of ancient date. At last 
 we reached a side-door in the street, and hence were ushered 
 into a large and well-planted garden, lull of the loftiest palm- 
 trees that I have ever seen. Here a square arbour, capable of 
 containing forty men, had been erected under the shade of the 
 palms; it was on this occasion well spread with mats and car- 
 pets, upon which the guests arranged themselves according to 
 rank and condition. Meanwhile, Foleyh, who had already 
 exchanged the dust-soiled clothes of the journey for clean shirts 
 (it is the fashion here to multiply this important article of rai- 
 ment by putting on a second over the first and a third over the 
 .second), and a magnificent upper robe of scarlet cloth, looking 
 a very " pretty " man, stood at the entrance to introduce the 
 guests and to superintend the solemn distribution of coffee by 
 the youngsters of the family. In due time the supper itself 
 arrived, two monstrous piles of rice and mutton, with some 
 hashed vegetables, spices, and the rest, and dates for a side 
 dish. Never were platters more speedily lightened of their con- 
 tents, and loud praises were by all present bestowed on the cook 
 and on his master. The sun had set, and as we were to start 
 on our way during the night, it was impossible for us to remain 
 longer within the town, whose gates were strictly closed during 
 the hours of darkness. So we overwhelmed Foleyh with thanks 
 and good wishes, and then returned to our baggage, while 
 those who had been on guard in our absence now scampered 
 off to the scene of hospitality, to get what share of the meal the 
 jaws of their predecessors might not have devoured. It must 
 have been a very scanty portion. 
 
 Between the town walls and the sand-hills close by was a 
 sheltered spot, where we took about four hours of sleep, till 
 the waning moon rose. Then all were once more in movement, 
 camels gnarling, men loading, and the doctor and his apprentice 
 mounting their beasts, all for Bereydnh. But that town was 
 distant, and when day broke at last there was yet a long road 
 to traverse. This now lay amid mounds and valleys, thick 
 with the vegetation already described; and somewhat after sun- 
 rise we took a full hour to pass the gardens and fields of Ghat, 
 a straggling village, where a dozen wells supplied the valley
 
 154 Journey fiwn IJaycl to Bcrcyddi [Chav, v 
 
 with copious irrigation. On the adjoining hillocks — I may not 
 call them heights — was continued the series of watch-towers, 
 corresponding with others flirther ofif that belonged to villages 
 seen by glimpses in the landscape : I heard, but soon forgot, 
 their names. Inability to note down at once similar details was 
 a great annoyance to me; but the sight of a pencil and pocket- 
 book would have been just then particularly out of place, and 
 I was obliged to trust to memory, which on this, as on too many 
 other occasions, played me false. My notes, too, taken when 
 circumstances permitted, were lost in part in the shipwreck 
 off Barka ; others, jotted down on loose scraps of paper, dis- 
 appeared, I know not how, while I was in the dreary delirium 
 of typhoid fever at Aboo-Shahr and Basrah. Surely my reader 
 must be very hard to satisfy, if this catalogue of mishaps does 
 not suffice him by way of apology for the defectiveness of my 
 broken narrative. 
 
 We were now drawing on towards the scene of the great con- 
 flict which was ultimately to decide the destinies of 'Oneyzah 
 and Kaseem, and some apprehension of falling in with foraging 
 jjarties prevailed throughout our band. From Bedouins, indeed, 
 here and henceforth, travellers have nothing to apprehend; they 
 are few in number and feeble in force. But a detachment from 
 either of the hostile armies might make exercise of military 
 license to the detriment of our baggage or persons. We had just 
 left behind us the last plantations of Ghat, and all thoughts and 
 tongues were busy with fear and hope, when the negro horse- 
 dealer, Ghorra, thought the opportunity for a practical joke too 
 good to be neglected. Accordingly, after absenting himself 
 for a few minutes, he rode suddenly up to the travellers with a 
 terrified look, and informed them that he had just seen a large 
 squadron of lancers and musketeers making right for our road. 
 For several minutes the black liar enjoyed the confusion, alarm, 
 preparations, and bustle produced by his news. The Meccans 
 nearly fainted, and the women cried lamentably, l^^ut at last 
 some bolder spirits, who had ventured a reconnoitre in the 
 direction of the supposed enemy, returned with the consoling 
 intelligence that it was all an invention. Anger then took the 
 place of cowardice, and Ghorra hardly escaped rough usage 
 for his gratuitous alarm. 
 
 A march of ten to twelve hours had tired us, and the weather
 
 Chap. V] LoWCV Ncjcd 1 55 
 
 was oppressively close, no uncommon phenomenon in Kaseem, 
 where, what between low sandy ground antl a southerly latitude, 
 the climate is much more sultry than in Djebel Shomer, or the 
 mountains of Toweyk. So that we were very glad when the 
 ascent of a slight eminence discovered to our gaze the long- 
 desired town of Bereydah, whose oval fortifications rose to view 
 amid an open and cultivated plain. It was a view for Turner. 
 An enormous watch-tower, near a hundred feet in height, a 
 minaret of scarce inferior proportions, a mass of bastioned walls, 
 such as we had not yet witnessed in Arabia, green groves around 
 and thickets of Ithel, all under the dreamy glare of noon, offered 
 a striking spectacle, far surpassing whatever I had anticipated, 
 and announced populousness and weolth. We longed to enter 
 those gates and walk those streets. But we had yet a delay to 
 wear out. At about a league from the town our guide Mubarek 
 led us off the main road to the right, up and down several little 
 but steep sand-hills and hot declivities, till about two in the 
 afternoon, half roasted with the sun, we reached, never so weary, 
 his garden gate. 
 
 Here, in a snug country-house, much resembling in size and 
 construction many a peasant's dwelling in Southern Italy, lived 
 Mubarek, with his family, brothers, and other relatives. Around 
 was a pretty garden, with a central tank full of cool clear water 
 from the adjoining well, and bordered by cotton plants, maize, 
 and flowering shrubs, with date-trees at intervals ; close by the 
 tank stood an arbour of open trellis-work, but vine-roofed from 
 the sun ; just the place for dusty heat-wearied travellers to re- 
 pose in and enjoy the freshness of the neighbouring pool. Here 
 our host, without imitating the bad habit of the Druses in Le- 
 banon (who begin by asking their guest what he would like, 
 instead of anticipating his modesty), at once brought mats and 
 cushions of country fashion, and when we had a moment taken 
 breath, half reclining under the chequered shade, set before us 
 a dainty dish of fresh dates, the produce of his orchard. Before 
 long the members of the family who chanced to be at home, 
 old and young, appeared one after another to pay their wel- 
 come, the women excepted, in whom such forwardness would 
 be a breach of etiquette. For although the absolute seclusion, 
 which, it is well known, imprisons, physically and morally, the 
 fair sex in some Mahometan lands, is seldom if ever observed
 
 156 yonrncy from Haycl to Bereydah [Chai. v 
 
 in Arabia, where women bear a great part in active life and do- 
 mestic cares, keep shops, buy, sell, and sometimes even go to 
 war; yet there is not the easy and straightforward mixture of 
 society that distinguishes Europe ; and the female portion of 
 the household, though not absolutely in the dark, is yet under 
 a kind of shade. Thus women, young or old (I mean, of course, 
 elderly), never sit at table with the men of the family, rarely 
 join in their pleasure meetings, and above all may not m seem- 
 liness thrust themselves fonvard to welcome guests or strangers 
 and converse with them. However, if one remains long enough 
 to become in a manner part of the family, the ladies too end by 
 growing more sociable, will now and then join in chat, and take 
 interest in what is going on. Of course, in the dwellings of the 
 poor women and men all live together, and little separation is 
 or can be kept up; a narrow home going far to bring its tenants 
 on a level. But in richer families and chieftains' houses the 
 women are bound to occupy a separate quarter, whence, how- 
 ever, curiosity or business often draws them forth into the apart- 
 ments of the other sex. Nor is the covering veil, though gener- 
 ally worn, nearly so strict an obligation as in Syria or Egypt. 
 It is matter of custom, not of creed, and readily dispensed with 
 when occasion requires. Indeed, in some parts of Arabia, 
 'Oman for instance, and its provinces, it is barely in use. Nor 
 are Bedouin women apt to impose on their grimed and wizened 
 faces a concealment that might on the whole be for their ad- 
 vantage. Among the rigid Wahhabees alone the veil and the 
 harem acquire something like exactness, and there Arab liberty 
 consents to inflict on itself something of the ceremoniousness 
 of Islam. 
 
 Our afternoon and evening passed ver}' pleasantly with the 
 Mubareks, great and small, and a night's repose in the arbour — 
 for the climate at this time of the year did not require the closer 
 shelter of the house-roof— put us in condition to continue our 
 way to Bereydah. The suburb of " Doweyrah," "the small knot 
 of houses," where we now were, is situated about a league or 
 rather less from the town, but of the latter we could from hence 
 see nothing, so thick grew the Ithel on the intervening sand- 
 ridges. Our present intention was to make a very short stay at 
 Bereydah, and thence hasten on without delay to the interior
 
 Chap. V] LoXVCV Ncjcd 1 57 
 
 and reach the capital of Nejea, where a longer sojourn would 
 evidently be desirable. But man proposes and God disposes, 
 and we had to learn by experience that, after all imaginable 
 precautions and devices, the entrance of the Wahhabee strong- 
 hold was not so easy a matter, nor to be had for the first 
 asking.
 
 158 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Bereydah 
 
 I cannot like, dread sire, your royal cave ; 
 Because I see, by all the tracks about. 
 Full many a beast goes in, but none come out. 
 
 Pope 
 
 A Strange Sight on the Way to Bereydah — Indo-Persian Pilgrim Encamp- 
 ment — yeysuPs Conduct towards the Pilgrims — Aboo-Boteyn, his Extortions 
 and Flight — The Caravan at Bereydah — Mohaiina — His Charactci-, 
 Policy — His Extortions — Our 7iew Lodgings — Difficidty of Proceeding 
 further — Visit to Alohanna — His Castle — Its Architecture — Mohanna' s 
 KUid7vah — Nejed and IVahhdbees — Our Embarrassment — Meeting with 
 Aboo-' Eysa — His Family, past History, and Adventures — His Position 
 ttnder the Pi\id Government — His Charade)' — He offers to conduct us to 
 Ri'ad — A Day at Bereydah — Visit to the Persian Encampment — Market- 
 place — Central Square — Mosque — Want of Inscriptions — Salt — Cha- 
 racter of the Town and Population — The Houses — Conversation at 
 Bereydah — Walk /« the Gardens — Arab Hydraidic Machines — Military 
 Operations — The Nejdcan Camp — A Skirmish with the Moi ofOneyzah 
 — Part borne by the Bereydah Townsmen — Evening — Arab and Persian 
 Voices — Night and Morning — Villages of the Neighbourhood — Influence 
 of the Wahhdbee Government on Commerce, Agriculture, and Cattle 
 Breeding — Genei-al Reaction — Change effected by the Sa^ood Dynasty in 
 Cent?-al Arabia — Comparison between Wahhabees and Osmanlis — Visit 
 to the Suburbs of ''Oneyzah — Mohammed-'' Alee-esh-Shirazee — His Corre- 
 spondence with Feystd — His Motives for a fourney to Pi' ad — He agrees 
 with Aboo-'' Eysa — His History and Character — Habbdsh a?id the 
 Coffee-mortar — We leave Bereydah. 
 
 The morning was bright, yet cool, when we got free of the 
 maze of Ithel and sand-slopes, and entered the lanes that 
 traverse the garden circle round the town, in all quiet and 
 security. But our approach to Bereydah was destined to 
 furnish us an unexpected and undesired surprise, though 
 indeed less startling than that which discomposed our first
 
 Chai>. VI] Arabs and Persians 15^ 
 
 arrival at Ha'yel. We had just passed a well near the angle of 
 a garden wall, when we saw a man whose garb and appearance 
 at once bespoke him for a muleteer of the north, watering a 
 couple of mules at the pool hard by. Barakat and I stared 
 with astonishment, and could hardly believe our eyes. For 
 since the day we left the 'Ashja'yeeyah of Gaza for the south- 
 eastern desert, we had never met with a like dress nor with 
 these animals ; and how then came they here % But there was 
 no mistaking either the man or the beasts, and as the muleteer 
 raised his head to look at the passers-by, he also started at our 
 sight, and evidently recognized in us something that took him 
 unawares. But the riddle was soon solved. A few paces 
 farther on, our way opened out on the great plain that lies 
 immediately under the town walls to the north. This space 
 was now covered with tents and thronged with men of fceign 
 dress and bearing, mixed with Arabs of town and desert, women 
 and children, talking and quarrelling, buying and selling, going 
 and coming ; everywhere baskets full of dates and vegetables, 
 platters bearing eggs and butter, milk and whey, meat hung 
 on poles, bundles of firewood, &c. &c., stood ranged in rows, 
 horsemen and camel-men were riding about between groups 
 seated round fires or reclining against their baggage ; in the 
 midst of all this medley a gilt ball surmounted a large white 
 pavilion of a make that I had not seen since last I left India 
 some eleven years before, and numerous smaller tents of striped 
 cloth and certainly not of Arab fashion clustered around ; a 
 lively scene, especially of a clear morning, but requiring some 
 explanation from its exotic and non-Arab character. 
 
 These tents belonged to the great caravan of Persian pilgrims, 
 on their return from Medinah to Meshid 'Alee by the road of 
 Kaseem, and hence all this unusual concourse and bustle. Taj- 
 Djehan, the relict of 'Asaph Dowlah, a name familiar to Anglo- 
 Bengalee readers, was the principal personage in the band, and 
 hers was the gilt-topped tent. Several Indians of Lucknow and 
 Delhi, relatives or attendants, were in her train, and to her 
 litter appertained the mules and muleteer whose apparition had 
 so amazed us. The rest of the caravan was composed partly of 
 Persians proper, natives of Shiraz, Ispahan, and other Iranian 
 towns, and partly of a still larger number belonging to the 
 hybrid race that forms the Shiya'ee population of Meshid 'Alee,
 
 1 6o Bcrcydah [Chap. vi 
 
 Kerbelah, and Bagdad. All of" course were of the sect just 
 mentioned, though very diverse in national origin. Along with 
 them, and belonging to the first or genuine Persian category, 
 was a personage scarcely less important than the Begum her- 
 self, namely, Mohammed-' Alee-esh-Shirazee, native of Shiraz, 
 as his denomination implies, and representative of the Persian 
 government at Meshid 'Alee, actually commissioned by orders 
 from Teheran with the unenviable office of director or head- 
 man in this laborious and not over-safe pilgrimage. With him 
 and with his retinue we shall soon become very intimately 
 acquainted. The total of the caravan amounted to two hundred, 
 or rather more. 
 
 They had assembled at Ri'ad in Nejed, where they had 
 arrived, some from the northerly rendezvous of Meshid 'Alee, 
 and others from that of Aboo-Shahr (often corrupted on maps 
 into Bushire), whence they had crossed the Persian Gulf to the 
 port of 'Ojeyr, and thus passed on to Hof hoof and Ri'ad. Here 
 Feysul, after exacting the exorbitant sum which Wahhabee 
 orthodoxy claims from Shiya'ee heretics as the price of permis- 
 sion to visit the sacred city and the tomb of the Prophet, had 
 assigned them for guide and leader one 'Abd-el-'Azeez-Aboo- 
 Boteyn, a Nejdean of the Nejdeans, who was to conduct and 
 plunder them in the name of God and the true faith all the rest 
 of the way to Mecca and back again. 
 
 I mentioned in a former chapter the negotiations carried on 
 by Telal with the Persian government to obtain the passage of 
 this annual caravan through his own dominions, and I related 
 his partial success and liberal conduct towards the iQ.\v whose 
 good luck led them by the northern route through Ha'yel. But 
 the way by Central Nejed is more direct, and for that reason 
 preferable for the Persians, on condition of having tolerable 
 immunity from danger and pillage. Thus, in order to spare the 
 expenses and fatigues of a comparatively roundabout track, 
 though after all the difference between the two roads does not 
 exceed six or eight days, they had consented to compound for 
 the payment of a fixed sum to the Wahhabee autocrat, and to 
 rely on his honour for a .safe passage and needful assistance. 
 
 Fey.sul, overjoyed to draw this additional silver stream to his 
 mill, waived the motives of bigotry and national hatred which 
 had more than once led his predecessors to refuse the most
 
 Chap. VI] Avabs and Pcvsiaus l6l 
 
 advantageous offers when made by heretics. Indeed, "for a 
 consideration" he would probably have furnished the Devil 
 himself with passport, camel, and guide. Still he felt himself 
 bound in conscience to make the unbelievers pay roundly for 
 the negative good treatment which he thus consented to afford, 
 and took his measures accordingly. 
 
 Forty gold tomans were fixed as the claim of the Wahhabee 
 treasury on every Persian pilgrim for his passage through Ri'ad, 
 and forty more for a safe-conduct through the rest of the em- 
 pire ; eighty in all. On his side Feysul was to furnish from 
 among his own men a guide invested with absolute power in 
 whatever regarded the special arrangement of the march, and 
 we may without any breach of charity suppose that the king's 
 servant could not do less than imitate the good example of his 
 master in fleecing the heretics to the best of his ability. Every 
 local governor on the way would naturally enough take the hint, 
 and strive not to let the " enemies of God " (for this is the sole 
 title given by Wahhabees to all except themselves) go by with- 
 out spoiling them more or less. So that, all counted up, the 
 degal and necessary dues levied on every Persian Shiya'ee while 
 traversing Central Arabia and under Wahhabee guidance and 
 protection, amounted, I found, to about one hundred and fifty 
 gold tomans, equalling nearly sixty pounds sterling English, no 
 ight expenditure for a Persian, and no despicable gain to an 
 Arab. 
 
 But besides this, seeming casualties might occur, helping to 
 shear the wool still closer, nay, sometimes taking off the skin 
 ^^3ltogether. Such was the case with the hapless Persians at the 
 very time of our meeting. Their conductor, Aboo-Boteyn, had 
 taken from them whatever custom entitled him to by way of 
 advanced payment, and charged the disconsolate Taj-Djehan 
 more especially at the rate of her supposed wealth rather than 
 of any fixed precedent. But he had done more, and by dint of 
 threats and bullying of all descriptions, including blows admi- 
 nistered by his orders to the Persian commissioner, Mohammed 
 'Alee himself, and in his own tent, had managed to get count- 
 less extras out of those entrusted to his guidance, till he had 
 filled his saddle-bags with tomans, and loaded his camels with 
 plunder. But on his return along with his vcvywtii proteges from 
 Medinah, whither he had led them to complete their devotion 
 
 M
 
 1 62 Bereydah [Chap. vi 
 
 and his profit, he began to fear lest they should lodge a com- 
 plaint against him at Bereydah, which lay on their road, the 
 more so that Mohammed, Feysul's third son, was now there in 
 person, and that he should ultimately be forced to refund his 
 ill-gotten wealth, not, indeed, to its Shiya'ee owners, for of that 
 there was little danger under Wahhabee arbitration, but to the 
 Ri'ad treasury ; while he himself might come in for an awkward 
 impeachment for embezzling what in Feysul's eyes should be 
 for the common benefit of the "faithful." Probably his fears 
 were not wholly groundless ; but at the worst a few presents 
 conveyed in time to Mohanna, the governor of Bereydah, to 
 Mohammed, and to his royal father, would assuredly have 
 "made all well again." But to this sacrifice Aboo-Boteyn's 
 grasping avarice could not consent, and in compliance with its 
 dictates he resolved on the very worst course possible for him, 
 namely, that of anticipating investigation by flight. So when the 
 pilgrims arrived at 'Eyoon, the same village where we supped 
 with Foleyh two nights since, 'Aboo-Boteyn absconded, money 
 and all, and took refuge in the rebel town of 'Oneyzah, leaving 
 Taj-Djehan. Mohammed 'Alee, and the rest, to find their way 
 out of Arabia by themselves as best they might. 
 
 " For a consideration," the good folks of 'Eyoon guided the 
 distracted pilgrims to Bereydah. But misfortunes "come not 
 single spies ; " and the Persians had now to exemplify a 
 certain ill-omened proverb touching the frying-pan and the 
 fire. At Bereydah they had fallen into the clutches of a 
 genuine Wahhabee, and lay at the tender mercies of the most 
 wicked and heartless of all Nejdean governors, Mohanna-el- 
 'Anezee. 
 
 This was that same Mohanna whom 'Abd-Allah, the son of 
 Feysul, had some years before nominated vice-ruler of Bereydah 
 and Kaseem, after the massacre of the 'Aley'yan family. Mo- 
 hanna had in every respect come up to his master's desires, 
 and followed in his footsteps. Every imaginable means was 
 employed by this shrewd and bad man to break the spirit of 
 Kaseem, to exhaust its resources, and to extinguish the last 
 sparks of liberty. All the Wahhabee regulations against silk, 
 tobacco, ornaments, and so forth, were rigorously enforced, to 
 the ruin of commerce, while the richest merchants and busiest 
 traders were, by a system of which Hasa will soon furnish us
 
 Chap. VI] Avahs aiid Pcrsiiius 163 
 
 with a yet more striking example, taken away at a moment's 
 notice from their counters and warehouses, to hang a matchlock 
 on their unwilling shoulders, gird on a sword whose use they 
 had well-nigh forgotten, and mount on ever-recurring Wahhabee 
 expeditions against the enemies of God and the faith, that is, 
 most often against their own yet independent countrymen, till 
 all of them had lost their trade, and many their lives. Mean- 
 while Mohanna gratified his own personal rapacity, even more 
 than the spiteful feelings of his employer, by fines, exactions, 
 and mostly involuntary contributions, on every pretext and on 
 every occasion ; and confident that some little private peculation 
 might well be excused in so valuable a servant of government, 
 he accumulated to his own uses more wealth than Kaseem had 
 ever seen in the hands of one single individual, however abso- 
 lute. But justly careful not to put the good cause in danger of 
 losing his personal services, he never went himself on the expe- 
 ditions in which he jeopardized the unimportant hves of the 
 Kaseem " polytheists " — for so their conquerors still designate 
 them — and remained at home to brood over his money-bags 
 while others gathered the money for him on the scene of 
 danger. 
 
 At this man's orders were now Taj-Djehan and her fellow- 
 pilgrims. He had already before our arrival detained them a 
 good fortnight under the walls of Bereydah, while he put every 
 engine of extortion into play against them, and awaited from 
 Feysul some further hint as to the conduct he was to hold with 
 these '-enemies of God." 
 
 Passing a little on to the east, we left the crowded encamp- 
 ment on one side and turned to enter the city gates. Here, 
 and this is generally the case in the larger Arab towns of old 
 date, the fortifications surround houses alone, and the gardens 
 all he without, sometimes defended — at 'Oneyzah, for example — 
 by a second outer girdle of walls and towers, but sometimes, as 
 at Bereydah, devoid of any mural protection. The town itself 
 is composed exclusively of streets, houses, and market-places, 
 and bears in consequence a more regular appearance than the 
 recent and village-like arrangements of the Djowf and even of 
 Ha'yel. We passed a few streets, tolerably large but crooked, 
 and then made the camels kneel down in a little square or 
 public place, where I remained seated by them on the baggage, 
 
 M2
 
 164 Bsrcydah [Chm-. vi 
 
 switch in hand, hke an ordinary Arab traveller, and Barakat 
 with Mubarek went in search of lodgings. 
 
 Very long did the half-hour seem to me during which I had 
 thus to mount guard till my companions returned from their 
 quest ; the streets were full of people, and a disagreeable crowd 
 of the lower sort was every moment collecting round myself and 
 my camels, with all the incjuisitiveness of the idle and vulgar in 
 every land. Nor was it always easy for me, thus " beset and 
 sprited " with more fools than ever Imogen was, to keep up the 
 equanimity of temper and sedate reserve proper to well-bred 
 Arabs on such occasions. At last my companions came back 
 to say that they had found what they wanted ; a kick or two 
 brought the camels on their legs again, and we moved off to 
 our new quarters. 
 
 The house in question was hardly more than five minutes' 
 walk from the north gate, and at about an equal distance only 
 from the great market-place on the other side. Its position 
 was therefore good. It possessed two large rooms on the ground 
 storey, and three smaller, besides a spacious courtyard sur- 
 rounded by high walls. A winding stair of irregular steps 
 and badly lighted, like all in the Nejed, led up to an extent 
 of flat roof, girt round by a parapet six feet high, and divided 
 into two compartments by a cross-wall, thus affording a very 
 tolerable place for occupation morning and evening, at the 
 hours when the side-walls might yet project enough shade to 
 shelter those seated alongside of them, besides an excellent 
 sleeping-place for night. The entire building was old, of per- 
 liaps two hundred years or more, solid, and with some preten- 
 sions to symmetry in its parts ; the doors were of massive and 
 carved Ithel-wood, and a fireplace in one of the rooms below 
 evidently marked it out for a kitchen. Another tolerably 
 spacious apartment of oblong shape was a K'hawah or parlour; 
 the little rooms had been tenanted by the ladies of the mansion, 
 who now, with the rest of the family, moved off to take up their 
 abode next door. 
 
 The owner now arrived to greet us, keys in hand. Ahmed 
 was his name, a good-humoured man, but sly, and inclined to 
 drive a hard bargain with the strangers. However, my asso- 
 ciates, both quite as .shrewd as he, soon reduced his terms 
 within reasonable limits, and I think that a Londoner will
 
 Chap, vi] Ambs and Pcvsiaus 165 
 
 hardly consider eighteen-pence per month a very exorbitant 
 house rent, especially for the comfortable accommodations just 
 described. All extras of repair and arrangement, if necessary, 
 were to fall on the proprietor, who had also to find us m water, 
 though subsequently out of our own free generosity we rewarded 
 the sun-burnt nymph who brought it daily from the well for her 
 laborious services. 
 
 In this domicile then we arranged ourselves and chattels, and 
 after partaking in common a morning meal of friendship with 
 the owner of the house and Mubarek, the latter took his leave 
 and returned home to Doweyrah. 
 
 He parted from us with a promise of supplying us with beasts, 
 and taking us on to Ri'ad. But he had no real intention of 
 doing so, it was merely a discreet evasion to avoid the discour- 
 tesy of a positive "I will not," or of its equivalent " I cannot." 
 Such unwillingness to appear unwilling is among Arabs a fre- 
 quent source of innocent deceptions, if deceptions indeed they 
 can be termed, like the " not at home," or " slightly indisposed" 
 of our own land ; whoever has to do with Easterns should be 
 prepared for them, and take them good-naturedly. We were 
 now no novices in the country, and had already conjectured 
 that Mubarek was no more likely to keep his word than we to 
 take it. Accordingly we tried other individuals, and hardly 
 had we been installed in our rooms than we began to seek right 
 and left the means of leaving them. But no one offered him- 
 self or his camels, while we, for our part, could not distinctly 
 see whence this reluctance arose. At last we resolved to apply 
 to Mohanna himself, with whose character we were as yet but 
 imperfectly acquainted, for our cautious neighbours and com- 
 panions had not entrusted to our untried ears all the details 
 with which my readers are already conversant ; we only learned 
 them in process of time and through various channels. 
 
 With this intention we enquired what was the best time for 
 visiting the governor, and were informed that, unlike Coriolanus, 
 his reception hours were before breakfast, namely, about sunrise 
 or not much later. So, on the third morning after our arrival, 
 we betook ourselves to his palace, with the intention of engaging 
 him to the friendly office of finding us guides and companions 
 for our journey to the 'Aarecl. Mohanna lived in the old castle, 
 situated in the north east quarter of the town, and a little
 
 l66 BcrcydaJi [Chap. vi 
 
 witliin the walls ; it covers a large extent of space, to which its 
 height does not sufficiently correspond, and it looks in fact more 
 like a huge collection of outhouses than a palace, with little 
 symmetry' or order to show. Some portions of it are ancient, 
 that is, of four or five hundred years' date, at a rough estimate ; 
 for Arab architecture, unlike our own Norman or Gothic, does 
 not chronicle the progress of centuries in line and curve. Massive, 
 ungainly, and imposing from size alone, the main elements of 
 beauty and development, the arch, the capital, the moulding, the 
 frieze, the gable, are either totally absent, or exist only in their 
 most primitive and embryotic form, from which no successive 
 stages have shaped them into grace and perfection. The mate- 
 rials of the construction are almost the only witnesses to its 
 relative antic^uity. Stone at an early period, shaped or rough; 
 stone mixed with earth, as here, later ; earth alone in the 
 Wahhabee cycle; these are the main tokens to indicate the 
 century that reared the pile. To the first of these three 
 periods belong the castle of Djowf and the Marid tower; to the 
 second, many buildings of Kaseem, at Bereydah and 'Eyoon, for 
 example ; to the third, Perey'eeyah and Ri'acl. From the highest 
 anticjuity down to the Hejirah the first may be assigned ; from 
 the Hejirah to within two hundred years back the second. But 
 east and south of Nejed, new architectural elements, new styles, 
 new progress will appear, and claim special explanation in their 
 place. In the castle of Mohanna, now before us, part belongs 
 to more recent and variable date, but the whole has been put 
 together by chance rather than by design ; some walls of stone, 
 others of earth, part is plastered, part naked. The central 
 edifice is strong, and capable of standing an Arab siege, but not 
 above thirty-five feet in height, nor possessed of a tower ; the 
 great watch-chimney, to give it its most descriptive name, is 
 detached from the castle, and stands at some distance close by 
 the town wall. A high outer gate leads within the first en- 
 closure, a square court full of warehouses and lodgings for 
 camel-drivers and palace servants ; a small and strongly-built 
 doorway gives entrance to that section where the governor 
 dwells in person. 
 
 At the moment of our arrival Mohanna was out : he had gone 
 at daybreak to a meeting in the Persian camp, where his pre- 
 sent business was to extort a sum equal to nearly six hundred
 
 Chap. VI] Avixhs and Pcvsiaus 167 
 
 pounds of English money from Taj-Djehan, over and above a 
 thousand pounds already wrung out of her and her pilgrim 
 companions. This negotiation absorbed all his thoughts and 
 almost all his time ; for the war, he left it mainly to Feysul's 
 younger son, Mohammed, whose camp we have yet to visit. 
 However, after some waiting at the door with several other 
 expectant visitors, we saw the worthy Nejdean arrive, in deep 
 conversation with his satellites. Slightly acknowledging the 
 salutations of the bystanders he entered the K'hawah, and we 
 followed with the crowd. 
 
 After a brief question and answer, no further notice was ours 
 from Mohanna. He had other things to think of, and the sim- 
 plicity of our dress did not bespeak us persons of wealth and 
 consideration enough to serve for friends or booty. Coftee was 
 ser\-ed all round as usual, and immediately after the governor 
 rose to go and look after the " main chance," leaving us seated 
 with the other guests to discuss the nature of his occupations, 
 and the news of the day. At the moment we were rather 
 inclined to feel annoyed at receiving so little notice from one 
 to whom we looked for help, but it was in fact a providential 
 event in our favour. For had Mohanna brought his cunning 
 and rapacity to bear on us, which he certainly would have done 
 under ordinary circumstances, there would have been little 
 likelihood of our reaching Ri'ad. Meanwhile we had nothing 
 for it but to return home, whither some respectable townsmen 
 now accompanied us, and from the tone of their conversation 
 we soon learned to think that Mohanna had done us his best 
 favour by neglect. 
 
 However, the main difficulty remained unsolved, and all our 
 enquiries about companions for the Nejdean road proved utterly 
 fruitless. For three days more we questioned and cross-ques- 
 tioned, sought high and low, loitered in the streets and by the 
 gates, addressed ourselves to townsmen and Bedouins, but in 
 vain. At last we began to understand the true condition of 
 affairs, and what were the obstacles that choked our way. 
 
 The central provinces of Nejed, the genuine Wahhabee 
 countr}', is to the rest of Arabia a sort of lion's den, on which 
 few venture and yet fewer return. " Hada Nejed ; men da- 
 khelaha f'ma kharaj," " this is Nejed, he who enters it does 
 not come out again," said an elderly inhabitant of whom we had
 
 1 68 BcrcydaJl [Chap. VI 
 
 demanded information ; and such is really very often the case. 
 Its mountains, once the fastnesses of robbers and assassins, are 
 at the present day equally or even more formidable as tlie strong- 
 hold of fanatics who consider every one save themselves an in- 
 fidel or a heretic, and who regard the slaughter of an infidel or a 
 lieretic as a duty, at least a merit. In addition to this general 
 cause of anticipating a worse than cold reception in Nejed, wars 
 and bloodshed, aggression and tyranny, have heightened the 
 original antipathy of the surrounding population into special 
 and definite resentment for wrongs received, perhaps inflicted, 
 till Nejed has become fo" all but her born sons doubly danger- 
 ous, and doubly hateful. Hence, not to speak of mere foreigners, 
 Arabs themselves, of whatever race or persuasion, Mahometans 
 or otherwise, inhabitants of Shomer or townsmen of Mecca, 
 from Djowf to Yemen, are very little disposed to venture on the 
 plateaus of Toweyk or to thread Wad i Haneefah, without some 
 strong reason, and under particularly fiivourable or really urgent 
 circumstances. 
 
 But at this time some other superadded difficulties complicated 
 the question, and rendered our researches more and more sterile. 
 The war now raging, the siege and its accompanying ravages, 
 though nominallydirected against 'Oneyzah alone, were in reality 
 against the province at large, which had throughout either openly 
 or at least in feeling espoused the cause of the injured town. 
 Bereydah itself, in spite of the presence of Mohanna and his 
 numerous satellites, in spite of the Wahhabee force encamped 
 under its very w-alls, could hardly be kept from revolt. Every 
 heart and every tongue was enlisted against Feysul and in favour 
 of Zamil, rejoicing in his successes, sympathizing in his reverses. 
 All this was of course no secret to the Nejdean governor and 
 his associates, nor could they be ignorant of the deputations 
 in search of assistance sent now to Mecca and now to Djebel 
 Shomer, and that not only by Zamil and the garrison of 'Oney- 
 zah, but even by the inhabitants of Rass, of Henakeeyah, and 
 of Bereydah itself Hence the natives of Kaseem, who were 
 never in odour of sanctity among the Nejdean Wahhabees, now 
 positively, to borrow a scriptural phrase, " did stink among the 
 inhabitants of the land," as the worst of infidels and abettors 
 of infidels, and they for their part were less desirous than ever 
 of crossing the eastern frontier of their province.
 
 Chap. VI] Ambs and Pcvsiaus 169 
 
 There was more yet. By the best construction that could 
 be put on us ourselves and our doings, we were certainly 
 strangers, come from a land stigmatized by the Wahhabees as 
 a hotbed of idolatry and polytheism, subjects too of a hostile 
 and infidel government. To be held for spies of the Ottoman 
 was but a degree better here than to be considered spies of 
 Christian or European governments ; and though we might fairly 
 hope to steer clear of the latter imputation, we might readily 
 fall foul of the former. In a word, to introduce such unsavoury 
 individuals into the lands of the Saints was hardly less danger- 
 ous to our guidesmen than to ourselves; like the peacock who 
 in Mahometan tradition opened the wicket of Paradise to let 
 the Devil in, and received no inconsiderable share in the Devil's 
 own punishment. 
 
 To sum up, we were now in a thorough " fix," and saw no 
 means of getting free. Barred in on every side by causes 
 whose nature and strength we had been taught to appre- 
 ciate, we knew not whither to turn. Five days of bootless 
 search in town and camp had convinced us that in looking for 
 a guide eastwards we were, to use an Arab proverb, " hunting 
 for the egg of the 'Anka," or Eastern Phoenix. But we were no 
 less determined not to be beaten, and it was a great relief to 
 notice that after all our running about no one seemed to enter- 
 tain the least suspicion or ill-will regarding us, nor even paid 
 us that exclusive and minute attention which we had hitherto 
 attracted, much more than was comfortable, wherever we had 
 taken up our abode, for the w^ar preoccupied every mind. 
 
 At last a door opened, and, which is not seldom the case, 
 exactly where we least expected it, and in so doing furnished 
 us with the means of visiting not Nejed only, but even the more 
 distant regions farther east. This was, in fact, the turning- 
 point of our whole journey, and a seemingly casual meeting 
 facilitated while it modified and extended the remainder of our 
 course from Bereydah to Nejed, from Nejed to 'Oman, from 
 'Oman back to Bagdad. 
 
 It was the sixth day after our arrival, and the 22nd of Sep- 
 tember, when about noon I was sitting alone and rather melan- 
 choly in our K'hawah, and trying to beguile the time with 
 reading the incomparable Divan of Ebn-el-Farid, the favourite 
 companion of my travels. Barakat had at my request betaken
 
 I JO Bcrcydah [Ckap. vi 
 
 himself out of doors, less in hopes of success than to "go to 
 and fro in the earth and walk up and down in it ;" nor did I 
 now dare to expect that he would return any wiser than he had 
 set forth. When lo ! after a long two hours' absence, he came 
 in with cheerful face, index of good tidings. 
 
 Good, indeed, they were, none better. Their bearer said, that 
 after roaming awhile to no purport through the streets and 
 market-place, he had bethought him of a visit to the Persian 
 camp. There, while straying among the tents, "like a washer- 
 man's dog," a Hindoo would say, he noticed somewhat aloof 
 from the crowd a small group of pilgrims seated near their bag- 
 gage on the sand, while curls of smoke going up from amid 
 the circle indicated the presence of a fire, which at that time of 
 day could be for nothing else than coffee. Civilized though 
 Barakat undoubtedly was, he was yet by blood and heart an 
 Arab, and for an Arab to see coffee-making, and not to put 
 himself in the way of getting a share, would be an act of self- 
 restraint totally unheard of; so he approached the group, and 
 was of course invited to sit down and drink. The party con- 
 sisted of two wealthy Persians, accompanied by three or four of 
 that class of men, half servants, half companions, who often hook 
 on to travellers at Bagdad or its neighbourhood, besides a mu- 
 latto of Arabo-negrine origin, and his master, this last being the 
 leader of the band, and the giver of the aromatic entertainment. 
 
 Barakat's whole attention was at once engrossed by this per- 
 sonage. A remarkably handsome face, of a type evidently not 
 belonging to the Arab Peninsula, long hair curling down to the 
 shoulders, an over-dress of fine-spun silk, somewhat soiled by 
 travel, a coloured handkerchief of Syrian manufacture on the 
 head, a manner and look indicating an education much superior 
 to that ordinary in his class and occupation, a camel-driver's, 
 were peculiarities sufficient of themselves to attract notice, and 
 give rise to conjecture. But when these went along with a 
 welcome and a salute in the forms and tone of Damascus or 
 Aleppo, and a ready flow of that superabundant and over- 
 charged politeness for which the Syrian subjects of the Turkish 
 empire are renowned, Barakat could no longer doubt that he 
 had a fellow-countryman, and one, too, of some note, before 
 him. 
 
 Such was in fact the case. Aboo-'Eysa, to give him the name
 
 lhai'. VII -^ y<^bs and Persians 1 7 1 
 
 by which he was commonly known in these parts, though in his 
 own country he bears another denomination, was a native of 
 Aleppo, and son of a not unimportant individual in that fair 
 city. His education, and the circumstances of his early youth, 
 had rendered him equally conversant with townsmen and herds- 
 men, with citizens and Bedouins, with Arabs and Europeans. 
 By lineal descent he was a Bedouin, since his grandfather be- 
 longed to the Mejadimah, who are them.selves an offshoot of 
 the Benoo-Khalid ; but in habits, thoughts, and manners he 
 was a very son of Aleppo, where he had passed the greater 
 part of his boyhood and youth. When about twenty-five years 
 of age, he became involved, culpably or not, in the great con- 
 spiracy against the Turkish government which broke out in the 
 Aleppine insurrection of 1852. Like many others he was com- 
 pelled to anticipate consequences by a prompt flight and a long 
 sojourn far from the white walls of his native city. After a year 
 or more of rambling and adventure, Aboo-'Eysa ventured to re- 
 appear among his fellow-townsmen, but his goods and those of 
 his family had been plundered or confiscated, and he was now 
 a ruined man. His father, too, had died shortly after the in- 
 surrection. 
 
 Commerce offered him a means of repairing his losses, and 
 the liberality of a wealthy Israelite friend came in to his aid. 
 He commenced his mercantile career as a travelling commis- 
 sioner between Aleppo and Bagdad, besides some business on 
 his own score, and sometimes he extended his journeys and his 
 aftairs to Basrah. Master at last of a considerable sum, he 
 resolved to try his fortune in tlie Indian horse-trade of the 
 Persian Gulf This idea was not merely the result of the hope 
 of gain; it had its origin partly in a desire, not unnatural in a 
 Mejadimah, to visit the cradle of his race in Hasa, and partly 
 in a special passion for the horse, a " penchant " which often 
 remains through life when early years have been familiar with 
 the saddle. In pursuance of his scheme, Aboo-'Eysa now 
 shipped himself and his stock in hand at Basrah, and sailed to 
 Koweyt, whence on by land through the province of Hasa. 
 Here he collected a suitable number of horses for the Indian 
 mart, and with them embarked at Bahreyn, on a ship Bombay- 
 wards bound. 
 
 But his hopes of wealth and increase were blighted in the
 
 172 Bcrcydali IChap. vi 
 
 bud by casualties rarely absent from this kind of speculation. T 
 once heard that a prudent Norfolk man, invited to take part in a 
 similar line of business, replied with better sense than grammar, 
 "Horses eats, and horses dies, and I will have nothing to do 
 with things as eats and things as dies." Die Aboo-'Eysa's 
 horses certainly did of some epidemic disease that assailed the 
 animal cargo of the ship, and before he set foot on Apollo 
 (properly. Pulwar) Bunder, more than half his stud had gone to 
 feed the sharks of the Indian Sea. The survivors were landed 
 in sorry case and stabled in the Fort. But they had come at a 
 wrong season, "gram" was dear, and prices low, and the sale 
 concluded in a dead loss. Aboo-'Eysa returned to Bahreyn 
 without horses and almost without money, and feeling ashamed 
 or afraid to revisit Bagdad and Aleppo in such a plight, thought 
 it more advisable to remain in Hasa, on the principle of con- 
 tinental residence practised occasionally by gentlemen whose 
 bills are longer than their purses. 
 
 In Hasa he met with a cordial welcome and helpful friends. 
 Nor was this strange, considering his personal good qualities, 
 delicate tact, pleasant conversation, a good head except where 
 money was concerned, and a wami heart — I have seldom known 
 a warmer. Before many months passed at Hof hoof he had by 
 him wherewithal to make a considerable purchase in the fine 
 and highly-valued cloth mantles or Abee, which constitute the 
 staple manufacture of that town, and with this capital he tried 
 his commercial luck once more. But here again disappointment 
 awaited him. A cousin of his had tracked him to Ha.«a, and to 
 this relative Aboo-'Eysa entrusted his wares for sale at Basrah. 
 But when the faithless agent found himself in possession of a 
 large sum, the price of Aboo-'Eysa's goods, he conceived the 
 design of setting up on his own account, and sailed away with 
 the money, to spend his ill-gotten wealth in Kurrachee and 
 Bombay, whence he never returned. 
 
 Our unfortunate hero was a third time reduced to utter 
 want, and remained some time in great difficulties. At last he 
 managed to collect a small sura, and invested it in a sword 
 and a few Persian carpets, with which he set off for Ri'ad. 
 Arrived there, he bestowed his purchases in form of presents on 
 Mahboob, the prime minister of Feysul, and on Feysul himself 
 After this preliminary step, he begged of the king a patent.
 
 CnAi'. VI J A rabs and Persians i -^ 
 
 enabling him to occupy a subordinate post of guide in the 
 annual transport of Persian pilgrims across the Nejed. His re- 
 quest was granted, and he now entered on a new and a more 
 congenial kind of life. 
 
 ^V'hen we met him, he had followed this career for three 
 years. His politeness, easy manners, and strict probity soon 
 gained him a favourable reception among the pilgrims, ac- 
 customed to tlie greedy rapacity and uncourteous bearing of 
 Wahhabee guides. Thus qualified for his office, he had be- 
 fore long a large band of pilgrims at his back, and attained a 
 degree of wealth above whatever he possessed on his first ar- 
 rival at Hof hoof. Meanwhile his frequent journeys backwards 
 and forwards through the very heart of Arabia enabled him to 
 increase his already numerous acquaintance by that of the 
 central chiefs, townsmen, or Bedouins, to whom his lavish ge- 
 nerosity rendered him pecuharly acceptable. His coffee was 
 always on the fire, his tobacco-pouch invariably open, his supper 
 at the mercy of every neighbour. He seemed, in fact — and of 
 this I can speak after personal experience — in a hurry to throw 
 away on his friends whatever he had acquired, nor was that 
 Httle. 
 
 His ordinary residence, when not engaged on a journey or 
 conducting pilgrims, was at Hofhoof, the capital of Hasa ; an 
 abode which placed him at a convenient distance from his 
 Wahhabee employers, whose strait-laced exclusiveness he dis- 
 liked and ridiculed, while they on their part were liable to take 
 scandal at his tobacco-smoking, silk-wearing latitudinarianism, 
 if brought too often under their immediate notice. Having 
 completed his business with the caravan, henceforth their 
 paths had to separate, for while the Persians were bound for 
 the neighbourhood of Meshid 'Alee by the north-eastern road, 
 Aboo-'Eysa's goal lay at Hofhoof, where his wife, an Abyssi- 
 nian woman, and his son, awaited him at home. Hence he 
 had to follow the south-eastern path right across Nejed, and 
 exactly where we ourselves desired to penetrate it ; a circum- 
 stance which facilitated his becoming our guide, in case we 
 proposed it. 
 
 Other circumstances also coincided in predisposing him to 
 take us in his company. Hardly had he set his eyes on 
 Barakat than the recognition, so far as country went, was
 
 1 74 Bereydah IChap. vi 
 
 mutual, and Aboo-'Eysa, long accustomed to all classes and 
 descriptions of Syrians between Gaza and Aleppo, readily per- 
 ceived that his new acquaintance was something more and 
 better than what he gave himself out for. Accordingly he 
 received him with marked politeness, and carefully informed 
 himself of our whence and whither. Barakat, overjoyed to find 
 at last a kind of opening after difficulties that had appeared 
 to obstruct all further progress, made no delay in enquiring 
 whether he would undertake our guidance to Ri'ad. Aboo- 
 'Eysa replied that he was just on the point of separating from 
 his friends the Persians, whose departure would leave camels 
 enough and to spare at his disposition, and that so far there 
 was no hindrance to the proposal. As for the Wahhabees and 
 their unwillingness to admit strangers within their limits, he 
 stated himself to be well known to them, and that in his 
 company Ave should have nothing to fear from their suspicious 
 criticism. Barakat next requested to know the hire of his 
 beasts, and Aboo-'Eysa in return named so low a price, barely 
 half in fact that we had paid from IJa'yel to Kaseem, though 
 the distance before us was greater by a third, that no doubt 
 remained of his being no less desirous of our society than we 
 of his. He added that in two or three days at most he would 
 be ready to start. 
 
 Better news could not be imagined, and Barakat hastened 
 to impart it to me ; but before quitting his new acquaintance, 
 of his own authority he invited Aboo-'Eysa to supper with 
 us the same evening, hoping thus to render the engagement 
 surer, and to give room for increase of knowledge on both 
 sides. 
 
 We now made our preparations for the repast, and bought, a 
 rare occurrence with us, a good piece of meat, which Barakat 
 cooked in Syrian rather than in Arab fashion. Dates and 
 butter in a lordly dish were not wanting, and since the women 
 of Bereydah have learnt from the Persians the art of making 
 leavened bread, that luxury, too, adorned our board. Altoge- 
 ther one might call it a very excellent meal for Kaseem. Of 
 course the two Persians, Aboo-'Eysa's companions, had also 
 been asked, for to invite one of a band and leave out the rest 
 would be here considered the height of shabbiness ; our host 
 Ahmed obligingly furnished cooking utensils and dishes, and
 
 c:i.u'. VI] Arabs and Persians 1 75 
 
 was in recompense bidden to the party. Lastly, two respect- 
 able townsmen who had often honoured us with their visits were 
 summoned to complete the convivial circle. Our K'hawah was 
 large enough for all, and we were in a generous humour. 
 
 Towards evening Aboo-'Eysa arrived. He entered with the 
 easy and quiet air of a gentleman, and at once joined in con- 
 versation without the smallest embarrassment. I was much at 
 a loss to read his riddle ; his manner was not that either of a 
 townsman or of a Bedouin, of a Mahometan or of a Christian ; 
 it partook of all, yet belonged to none ; a manly face, but 
 marked with that half-feminine delicacy of expression Avhich, 
 for example's sake, may be noticed in the portraits of Nelson, 
 Rodney, and some other distinguished men of the eighteenth 
 century; intelligent speech, yet betraying considerable igno- 
 rance on many points of school education ; a negligent display 
 of dress and bearing; a dialect which at one moment reminded 
 me of Syria, at another of Nejed, and sometimes of the desert; 
 all contributed to puzzle me regarding the real origin and 
 character of our intended guide. My readers, previously in- 
 formed of what we only learnt afterwards and by degrees, can 
 more easily understand in the chequered history of Aboo- 
 'Eysa the causes and explanation of these complicated features. 
 Much, too, in the man was individual, and the result of natural 
 disposition no less than circumstances, indeed in spite of them. 
 Certainly a roving life is no good school for probity in dealings, 
 nor for delicate morality in private conduct. Yet Aboo-'Eysa 
 possessed both these qualities in a degree that drew on him the 
 admiration of many, the derision of some, and the notice of all. 
 No one had ever heard from his lips any of those coarse jests 
 and double entendj-cs so common even among the better sort of 
 Arabs in their freer hours, and his life was of a no less exemplary 
 correctness than his language. Not a suspicion of libertinism 
 had ever attached itself to him ; at home or on his journeys he 
 was and always had been a faithful and (though wealthy) a 
 monogamous husband. Equally known for unblemished honour 
 in money transactions, he had never contested or delayed the 
 payment of a debt, and his partners in business bore unani- 
 mous witoess to his scrupulous fidelity. This very truthfulness 
 of disposition led him indeed not seldom to place a too implicit 
 confidence in the agents to whom he entrusted his affairs or his
 
 6 BcrcydaJi [Chap, vi 
 
 money, nor did experience of the past seem in general much to 
 open his eyes in this respect for the future till it was too late, 
 nor the treachery of an old friend lead him to distrust a new, 
 thougli equally undeserving. An intimate acquaintance, pro- 
 longed through many and eventful months, gave us ample 
 opportunity for observing these peculiarities in Aboo-'Eysa's 
 conduct and character. Meanwhile I trust that my readers 
 will excuse this minute description of the outer and inner 
 man of one whose share in our journey was henceforth so 
 important. 
 
 We sat down to a very joyous supper, and the conversation 
 never flagged. Before dark, Aboo-'Eysa and the Persians took 
 leave, to return to their camels and baggage, while the towns- 
 men of Bereydah congratulated us on having secured so good 
 a guide and companion ; all knew him, and bore unexcep- 
 tionable witness to his integrity and ability, though all equally 
 professed themselves in the dark respecting his real origin, 
 or what had been his life and pursuits before his appearance in 
 Arabia. 
 
 Thus at rest on the main question of our journey, Barakat 
 and I had leisure to examine the town, and to take notice of 
 what lay within and without its walls. Perhaps my readers 
 will not think it loss of time to accompany us on a morn- 
 ing visit to the camp and market, to the village gardens and 
 wells ; such visits we often paid, not without interest and 
 pleasure. 
 
 Warm though Kaseem is, its mornings, at least at this time 
 of year (the latter part of September), were delightful. In a 
 pure and mistless sky the sun rises over the measureless plain, 
 while the early breeze is yet cool and invigorating, a privilege 
 enjoyed almost invariably in Arabia, but wanting too often in 
 Egypt on the west, and India on the east. At this hour we 
 would often thread the streets by which we had first entered 
 the town, and go out betimes to the Persian camp, where all 
 was already alive and stirring. Here are ranged on the sand, 
 baskets full of eggs and dates, flanked by piles of bread and 
 little round cakes of white butter, bundles of fire-wood are 
 heaped up close by, and pails of goat's or camel's miUc abound, 
 and amid all these sit rows of countrywomen, haggling with 
 tail Persians or with the dusky servants of Taj-Djehan, who in
 
 Chap. VI] Anxhs ttiid Pcrsicins I'jy 
 
 broken Arabic try to beat down the prices, and generally end 
 by paying only double of what they ought. The swaggering 
 broad-faced Bagdad camel- drivers, and the ill-looking sallow 
 youths of Meshid-'Alee, every mother's son a Hoseyn or an 
 'Alee, so narrow is Shi)'a'ee nomenclature, stand idle every- 
 where, talking downright ribaldry, insulting those whom they 
 dare, and cringing to their betters like slaves. Persian gentle- 
 men, too, with grand hooked noses, high caps, and quaintly -cut 
 dresses of gay patterns, saunter about discussing their grievances, 
 or quarrelling with each other, to pass the time. For, unlike 
 an Arab, a Persian shows at once whatever ill-humour he may 
 feel, and has no shame in giving it utterance before whomever 
 may be present, nor does he with the Arab consider patience 
 to be an essential point of politeness and dignity. Not a 
 fjw Bereydah townsmen are here, chatting or bartering, and 
 Bedouins switch in hand. If you ask any chance individual 
 among these latter what has brought him hither, you may be 
 sure beforehand that the word " camel," in one or other of its 
 forms of detail, will find place in the answer. Criers are 
 going up and down the camp with articles of Persian apparel, 
 cooking-pots, and ornaments of various description in their 
 hands, or carrying tliem off for higher bidding to the town. 
 For what between the extortions of Mohanna, and the daily 
 growing expenses of so long a sojourn at Bereydah, the Per- 
 sians were rapidly coming to an end of their long purses and 
 short wits, and had begun selling off whatever absolute neces- 
 sity could dispense with as superfluous, to obtain wherewithal 
 to buy a dish of milk or a bundle of firewood. Hence their 
 appearance was a ludicrous mixture of the gay and ragged, of 
 the insolence of wealth and the anxious cringe of want ; they 
 were, in short, gentlemen in very reduced circumstances, and 
 looked what they were. 
 
 Barakat and myself have made our morning household pur- 
 chases at the fair, and the sun being now an hour or more 
 above the horizon, we think it time to visit the market-place of 
 the town, which would hardly be open sooner. We re-enter the 
 city gate, and pass on our way by our house door, where we 
 leave our bundle of eatables, and regain the high street of 
 Bereydah. Before long we reach a high arch across the road ; 
 this gate divides the market from the rest of the quarter. We 
 
 N
 
 1/8 Bcrcydah [Chap. vi 
 
 enter: first of all we see a long range of butchers' shops on 
 either side, thick hung with flesh of sheep and camel, and very 
 dirtily kept. Were not the air pure and the climate healthy, 
 the plague would assuredly be endemic here; but in Arabia 
 no special harm seems to follow. We hasten on, and next pass 
 a series of cloth and linen warehouses, stocked partly with home 
 manufacture, but more imported ; Bagdad cloaks and head-gear 
 for instance, Syrian shawls and Egyptian slippers. Here mar- 
 kets follow the law general throughout the East, that all shops 
 or stores of the same description should be clustered together, 
 a system whose advantages on the whole outweigh its incon- 
 veniences, at least for small towns like these. In the large 
 cities and capitals of Europe, greater extent of locality requires 
 evidently a different method of arrangement ; it might be 
 awkward for the inhabitants of Hyde Park were no hatters to 
 be found nearer than the Tower. But what is Bereydah 
 compared even with a second-rate European city % However, 
 in a crowd, it yields to none : the streets at this time of the 
 day are thronged to choking, and to make matters worse a 
 huge splay-footed camel comes every now and then heaving 
 from side to side like a lubber-rowed boat, with a long beam on 
 his back menacing the heads of those in the way, or with two 
 enormous loads of fire-wood each as large as himself, sweeping 
 the road before him of men, women, and children, while the 
 driver, high-perched on the hump, regards such trifles with the 
 most supreme indiff'erence, so long as he brushes his path open. 
 Sometimes there is a whole string of these beasts, the head rope 
 of each tied to the crupper of his precursor, very uncomfortable 
 passengers when met with at a narrow turning. 
 
 Through such obstacles we have found or made our way, and 
 are now amid leather and shoemakers', shops, then among 
 copper and iron smiths, whose united clang might waken the 
 dead or kill the living, till at last we emerge on the central 
 town-scjuare, not a bad one either, nor very irregular, consider- 
 ing that it is in Kaseem. About half one side is taken up by 
 tlie great mosque, an edifice near two centuries old, judging by 
 its style and appearance, but it bears on no part of it either 
 date or inscription. This is, according to my experience, a 
 universal rule among the constructions of Central and Eastern 
 Arabia ; neither Cufic, nor Himyarite, nor Arabic writings ap-
 
 Chap. VI] A vabs a lid Persians 1 79 
 
 pear on lintel or column, a want which much disappointed me, 
 nor could I well understand whence this dearth of memorials, 
 especially when contrasted with the abundance of inscriptions 
 in Hauran and Safa, Palmyra and Babylon. Coloured writings 
 daubed on walls and over gates are indeed common, but such 
 inscriptions can, it is evident, be only of a few years' standing. 
 Nor does the dearth of stone-graving come from want of skill, 
 since architectural carving is frequent, though rude, in Nejed, 
 while throughout 'Oman this and other ornamental arts are 
 cultivated with no despicable success. 
 
 The minaret of this mosque is very lofty — a proof, among 
 many others, that its date reaches farther back than the first 
 Wahhabee domination, for the Nejdean sect does not approve 
 of high minarets, from the all-sufficient reason that they did 
 not exist in the time of Mahomet (true conservatives I), and 
 they accordingly content themselves with a little comer turret, 
 barely exceeding in height the rest of the roof. A crack run- 
 ning up one side of the tower bears witness to an earthquake 
 said to have occurred here about thirty years since, probably 
 the same of which we subsequently found traces in Hasa. The 
 arch, and consequently the vault, are here unkno^vn ; hence the 
 pillars that upbear the mosque roof are close to each other and 
 very numerous. They are of stone. 
 
 Another side of the square is formed by an open gallery, 
 reminding me of those at Bologna. In its shade groups of 
 citizens are seated discussing news or business. The central 
 space is occupied by camels and by bales of various goods, 
 among which the coffee of Yemen, henna, and saffron, bear a 
 large part. However, at the period of our arrival, commerce 
 was unusually languid, owing to the war, whose occupations 
 absorbed a considerable portion of the population itself, while 
 they also rendered the roads unsafe for traders and travellers. 
 
 From this square several diverging streets nan out, each 
 containing a market-place for this or that ware, and all ending 
 in portals dividing them from the ordinary habitations. The 
 vegetable and fruit market is very extensive, and kept almost 
 exclusively by women ; so are also the shops for grocery and 
 spices. Nor do the fair sex of Bereydah seem a whit inferior 
 to their rougher partners in knowledge of business and thrifty 
 diligence. " Close-handedness beseems a woman no less than 
 
 N 2
 
 I So B.rcydah [Chap. vr 
 
 generosity a man," says an Arab poet, unconsciously coinciding 
 with Lance of Verona in his comments on the catalogue of his 
 future spouse's " conditions." 
 
 Rocksalt of remarkable purity and whiteness from western 
 Kaseem is a common article of sale, and enormous flakes of it, 
 often beautifully crj-stallized, lay piled up at the shop doors. 
 Sometimes a Persian stood by, trying his skill at purchase 
 or exchange, but these pilgrims were in general shy of entering 
 the town, where, truly, they were not in the best repute. Be- 
 douins are far less frequent here than in the streets of IJa'yel; 
 indeed, henceforth they are only to be met with occasionally, 
 and, as it were, by exception. But in compensation, well- 
 dressed, grave-looking townsmen aboimd ; their yellow wands 
 of Sidr or lotus-wood in their hands, and their kerchiefs loosely 
 thrown over their heads, without the band of white or black 
 camel's hair so characteristic in the north. This Akkal or head- 
 band becomes rarer as we approach the centre of the Peninsula, 
 and in the east disappears altogether. 
 
 The whole town has an aspect of old but declining prosperity. 
 There are few new houses, but many falling into ruin. The 
 faces, too, of most we meet are serious, and their voices in an 
 undertone. Silk dresses are prohibited by the dominant faction, 
 and tobacco can only be smoked within doors, and by stealth. 
 Every now and then zealous Wahhabee missionaries from Ri'ad 
 pay a visit of reform and preaching to unwilling auditors, and 
 disobedience to the customs of the Nejdean sect is noticed 
 and punished, often severely. 
 
 If, invited by its owner, we enter one of the Iiouses, we find 
 the interior arrangement somewhat differing from that usual in 
 Djebel Shomer. The towns of Kaseem are close built, and 
 space within the walls becomes in i)roportion more valuable ; 
 hence the courtyards are smaller and the rooms narrow; a 
 second storey, too, is common here, whereas at Ha'yel it is a 
 rare exception. The abundance of wood in this province ren- 
 ders charcoal superfluous, and the small furnaces of Djowf and 
 Shomer have disappeared, to make room for firepla' es sunk in 
 the floor, with a raised stone rim and dog-irons, exactly like 
 those in use at home before coals and coal-smoke had necessi- 
 tated chimney-pieces and all the modern nicety of hearths and 
 stoves. Ghada and Markh wood is piled on the irons, and the
 
 Chai'. VI] Arabs and Persians iSi 
 
 coffee, here super-excellent, for the very best of Yemen comes 
 to Kaseem, is prepared on the blaze. 
 
 Enough of the town ; the streets are narrow, hot, and dusty; 
 the day, too, advances ; but the gardens are yet cool. So we 
 dash at a venture through a labyrinth of byways and crossways 
 till we find ourselves in the wide street that, like a boulevard in 
 France, nms immediately along but inside the walls. 
 
 Here is a side gate, but half ruined, with great folding doors 
 and no one to open them. The wall of one of the flanking 
 towers has, however, been broken in, and from hence we hope 
 to find an outlet on the gardens outside. We clamber in, 
 and, after mounting a heap of rubbish, once the foot of a 
 winding staircase, have before us a window looking right on 
 the gardens ; fortunately we are not the first to try this short 
 cut, and the truant boys of the town have sufficiently enlarged 
 the aperture and piled up stones on the ground outside to 
 render the passage tolerably easy; we follow the indication, and 
 in another minute stand in the open air without the walls. The 
 breeze is fresh, and will continue so till noon. Before us are 
 high palm-trees and dark shadows ; the ground is velvet green 
 with the autumn crop of maize and vetches, and intersected by 
 a labyrinth of watercourses, some dry, others flowing ; for the 
 wells are at work. 
 
 These wells are much the same throughout Arabia, their only 
 diversity is in size and depth, but their hydraulic machinery is 
 everywhere alike. Over the well's mouth is fixed a cross-beam, 
 supported high in air on pillars of wood or stone on either side, 
 and in this beam are from three to six small wheels, over which 
 pass the ropes of as many large leathern buckets, each con- 
 taining nearly twice the ordinary English measure. These 
 are let down into the depth, and then drawn up again by 
 camels or asses, who pace slowly backwards and forwards on an 
 inclined plane leading from the edge of the well itself to a pit 
 prolonged for some distance. When the buckets rise to the 
 verge they tilt over, and pour out their contents by a broad 
 channel into a reservoir hard by, from which part the water- 
 courses that irrigate the garden. The supply thus obtained is 
 necessarily discontinuous, and much inferior to what a little 
 more skill in mechanism affords in Egj'pt and Syria; while the 
 awkward shaping and not unfrequently the ragged condition of
 
 I §2 BcrcydaJi [Chap. vi 
 
 the buckets themselves, causes half the liquid to fall back into 
 the well before it reaches the brim. The creaking, singing noise 
 of the wheels, the rush of water as the buckets attain their 
 turning-point, the unceasing splash of their overflow dripping 
 back into the source, all are a message of life and moisture 
 very welcome in this dry and stilly region, and may be heard far 
 off amid the sand-hills, a first intimation to the sun-scorched 
 traveller of his approach to a cooler resting-place. 
 
 We stroll about in the shade, hide ourselves amid the high 
 maize to smoke a quiet pipe unobserved by prying Nejdean eyes, 
 and then walk on till at some distance we come under a high 
 ridge of sand. Curiosity leads us to climb it, though steep and 
 sliding. From its summit we look south-west in the direction 
 of 'Oneyzah, the whole country between is jotted over with 
 islets of cultivation amid the sands, and far off long lines of 
 denser shade indicate whereabouts 'Oneyzah itself is situated. 
 But noon draws on, and the heat increases; it were ill to 
 remain longer in the blaze of mid-day. So we retrace our steps 
 to the walls, and follow at a venture the town ditch till a gate 
 appears, by which we enter and find our way home again. 
 
 Our travelling arrangements with Aboo-'Eysa, which were 
 soon known to all, brought us also frequent visits from the 
 Persian camp. It was highly entertaining to hear these foreigners 
 satirize the land of the Arabs, and extol their own, whereof they 
 invariably tried to give a most prismatic idea. Some of these 
 gentlemen, for gentlemen they were in the scale of Eastern 
 society, knew Arabic fairly well, thanks to frequent residence 
 in Bagdad and its neighbourhood, and took pleasure in literary 
 and historical research. 
 
 The military operations, if T may honour them by that 
 name, against 'Oneyzah, afforded an ex-Indian officer another 
 subject of observation and study. In order to become better 
 acquainted with these proceedings, in which the town at large 
 hardly took part, I paid frequent visits to the Nejdean war 
 camp, then pitched to the south of the walls. Here stood an 
 irregular collection of little black tents, often mere rags and 
 tags, stretched out for shade on two or three poles, gipsy 
 fashion; but the space within and around bristled with spears 
 and swarmed with swarthy Nejdeans; their firelocks stood 
 arranged in pyramids, much like our own manner of piling arms,
 
 Chap. VI] Avabs aiid Pcvsiaus I S3 
 
 before and between the lines. Each clan, eacli province, was 
 encamped apart, and our own observation soon instructed us 
 to distinguish between the quarters of the men of Aflaj, those 
 of Sedeyr, and those of Woshem; amid the latter muskets pre- 
 dominated, amid the first swords and daggers, while the warriors 
 of Sedeyr were more often armed with spears than either class 
 of their comrades. When we passed by the Hnes, the saluta- 
 tions of the soldiers were short and sulky, and unaccompanied 
 by any friendly invitation ; we were not Nejdeans, ergo^ we were 
 infidels. Besides, the ill-humour of these poor fellows was aug- 
 mented, and partly excused, by a very biting cause,— hunger; 
 for they had brought with them but a poor stock of provisions, 
 and still less money for purchase, while on the other hand they 
 were not living here at free quarters, and the denizens of Be- 
 reydah were by no means inclined to do the handsome towards 
 them. The Nejdeans had reckoned on fattening straightv;ay 
 upon the dates and plunder of 'Oneyzah, but they had reckoned 
 without their host, and hitherto caught nothing but a Tartar ; 
 for the troops of Zamil kept the superiority in the open field, 
 and the relative position of besiegers and besieged was at this 
 moment almost reversed. 
 
 One day in the afternoon we heard the alarm-cry raised from 
 the lofty watch-tower of the city, and echoed far away in the 
 plain from other outposts; it was a band of horsemen from 
 'Oneyzah, who had ventured up to the very neighbourhood of 
 the town and were pillaging the suburbs. Mohanna came out 
 from his counting-house to bid the rest go where glory called ; 
 when lo ! in a moment streets and market-place were deserted, 
 and every townsman scampered off, not to the field of fame, but 
 to hide himself in his house and lock the outer door, all pre- 
 ferring an " alibi " to the disagreeable dilemma of open dis- 
 obedience if they refused to arm, or of complying with the 
 appeal, and so having to fight precisely those on whose success 
 their own dearest hopes were staked. However, Mohanna sent 
 his satellites round in time to get together about forty of these 
 reluctant warriors, who, once caught, put the best face on the 
 matter, took their spears and matchlocks, and set out with a 
 heroic determination not to fight the enemy. They were joined 
 by a much larger band of the Nejdean soldiers, who, headed 
 by their several chiefs, poured out from their tents with very
 
 I S4 BcrcydaJi [Chap. vi 
 
 different intentions; many of them bore, besides the weapons 
 already mentioned, the short dagger of Yemamah at their belts, 
 and swords, if not always sharp, heavy, and in resolute hands. 
 Barakat and I climbed a hillock without the fortifications, 
 whence we had a good view of the plain and skirmish. 
 
 The partisans of 'Oneyzah, about half the number of their 
 enemy, were all on horseback, and had scattered themselves 
 here and there among the houses and gardens in the suburbs, 
 doing no harm soever to the i)ersons of the villagers, but busy 
 in collecting what light booty they could lay hold of On the 
 approach of their assailants they gathered in front of the 
 plantations, and sent out some twenty of theirs to the pre- 
 liminaries of the fray. The Nejdeans on their side halted and 
 drew up their line. The tactics of an Arab battle are simple, 
 but not wholly devoid of skill. The cavalry come to the front, 
 and provoke the engagement ; while the camels and their riders, 
 who form the main body, remain behind in reserve. When the 
 action has once become serious, which is the case so soon as 
 blood has been shed on either side, the camels are made to kneel 
 down, each becoming a kind of fieldwork for two musketeers 
 under his cover, the cavalry open out, and firing begins in good 
 earnest, till flank attacks, or an excess of confidence on one 
 or other side, bring on a general assault ; some fight on foot, 
 some mounted, and the mele'e continues till either party gives 
 way. The Nejdeans distinguish themselves from the rest of 
 their Arab countr}'men by preferring slaughter to booty ; they 
 neither take nor ask for quarter, and so long as there are men 
 to kill, pay no attention to plunder. Hence, where Nejdeans 
 lead the battle hot work may be expected, and though six 
 or seven hundred killed on the field may seem a trifle to 
 Europeans accustomed to the thousands of Balaclava, or the 
 tens of thousands of Solferino, such a number for Arabs 
 is much, and, indeed, is supplied by Nejdean warfare alone. 
 Elsewhere two killed and three wounded is generally the out- 
 side, much like the battles of Italian municipalities in the 
 middle ages, nor totally dissimilar from some of the king and 
 commonwealth frays during the first years of our own great 
 civil broil in the seventeenth century. 
 
 The horsemen of Bereydah answer the challenge of the enemy 
 by galloping forward some one way, some another, but never
 
 Chap. VI] Avabs aiid Pcrsiciiis 185 
 
 straight to their opponents; while the Nejdeans, having for the 
 most only camels under them, are obliged to await the results. 
 Three or four of them are, however, on horseback, and these 
 naturally take the lead. A very pretty display of equestrian 
 skill follows, with a dropping fire of matchlocks ; but the men 
 of Kaseem, whether from 'Oneyzah or Bereydah, understand 
 each other, and have made up their mind beforehand that 
 neither bullet nor spear-point of theirs shall hurt their country- 
 men. So they wheel round and round like swallows over a 
 lake, till the Nejdeans lose patience, and advance their whole 
 line. Then the warriors of 'Oneyzah, seeing the business take 
 a serious turn, and that they are likely to be immediately out- 
 numbered, disappear one by one among the palm-groves in 
 their rear, keeping a good show to the last, but putting the 
 trees between themselves and their foe long before the old- 
 fashioned guns can send a ball within reach of them. Hereon 
 the fray ends, for want of an enemy, and the heroes of Bereydah 
 amuse themselves with a sham fight and much careering and 
 hallooing on their way back to the town, which they enter after 
 about four hours' absence, with " happily no lives lost," as the 
 next morning paper would have it, did morning papers here 
 exist. On their return the hidden townsmen suddenly re- 
 appear, and the streets are filled as usual. 
 
 Our evenings passed usually in very pleasant guise ; after 
 supper, invariably here and elsewhere throughout Arabia at 
 sunset, we would betake ourselves to the flat house-roof, along 
 with Aboo-'Eysa and other acquaintances from camp or tOAvn, 
 and there smoke and talk for hours, or listen to the call to night- 
 prayers from the Persian tents, sounding melodious and full 
 among the harsh voices of the Arabs. I know not whether any 
 of my readers labour under the agreeable delusion that Arabia 
 is a land of song; perhaps no country in the world has less 
 harmony to boast, unless, indeed, it be China ; but I have never 
 had the good fortune of hearing a Chinese performer, only they 
 do not look musical. However, I have heard Turks, Persians, 
 Indians of all sorts, and negroes sing, not to mention Syrians, 
 Armenians, Greeks, and the like ; and can bear witness to them 
 that one and all they far surpass the sons of Kahtan or Ismael 
 in this accomplishment, both for voice and ear, for instrumental 
 and for vocal music. Not that my friends the Arabs are of the
 
 1 86 BcrcydaJi [Chap. vi 
 
 same opinion ; on the contrary, they imagine themselves perfect 
 masters of song, and often deafen the too-courteous listener 
 with screeches meant for airs, and torture him with nasalities 
 sui)posed to be harmonious. The worst of all are the Bedouins ; 
 and the enthusiasm of even a French philo-Oriental traveller 
 would be hard tried by a nomade howling out at his ear " Aboo- 
 Zeyd," the favourite Bedouin chaunt, on a hot day. The to\vns- 
 men are little better, and in all cases the greatest favour to be 
 begged of an Arab vocalist is his silence. 
 
 On the other hand, the Persians have commonly good voices, 
 and a true feeling of harmony. Their music, if not equal to 
 the European standard, is at least pleasing, though, like most 
 Asiatic melodies, somewhat melancholy. Their neighbours of 
 Bagdad, indeed the inhabitants of the entire valley of the Tigris 
 from Basrah to Diar-Bekr, partake more or less of their ear and 
 voice, and a Bagdad singer will often make a large fortune in 
 distant towns. A dash of music is to be found in Syria also, 
 especially among the Damascenes, and next after them among 
 the denizens of the sea-coast at Seyda, 'Akka, and the rest. The 
 Turks are tolerably good songsters, but their airs are in general 
 livelier, and approach nearer to the European. 
 
 Many were the topics canvassed in our quiet circle while 
 seated under the "heaven over heaven" of an Arab night, and 
 hearkening to the shrill voices of the town, or the distant and 
 more harmonious call of the Persian Mu'eddin. Government 
 and religion, medicine and commerce, passed in review, plans 
 and schemes, some already realized, some destined to lasting 
 abortiveness, till the late hour sent our friends back to their 
 houses to sleep, and we remained to pass our night on the 
 cooler terrace. 
 
 The zodiacal light, always discernible in these transparent 
 skies, but now at its full equinoctial display, would linger cone- 
 like in the west for full three hours after sunset, perfectly dis- 
 tinct in colour, shape, and direction from the last horizontal 
 glimmer of daylight ; while its re-appearance in the east long 
 before morning could only be confounded by inexperience with 
 the early dawn. Shooting stars glided over the vault, yet not 
 more numerous I think than in Europe, did the clouds and 
 mists of our northern climate permit them to be equally visible 
 there. All night long, the watchmen on tlie towers cried and
 
 Chap. VI] Aviibs and Pcvsiaiis 187 
 
 answered at intervals, "Allahu Akbar," now tlie password of 
 their province, and the city slept dark below with its silent 
 groves and sands around. Remembrances of India and Syria, 
 of Europe and home, now seemed as if belonging to another 
 planet, or the indistinct unreality of a dream ; while Arabia and 
 the Kaseem stood out in the definite solidity of actual existence. 
 Now the semblances are reversed; yet at that time, when 
 thinking on the waste of intervening deserts and seas yet to 
 traverse, I hardly expected that it would again be so. In mano- 
 riam ! 
 
 Early in the morning the ringing of mortars and pestles in 
 the neighbouring dwellings, where each householder was engaged 
 in preparing his morning coffee, would awaken us to find Aboo- 
 'Eysa already risen and busily pounding away in the courtyard 
 below, where the flickering gleam of the wooJ-fire mingled with 
 the grey twilight of dawn. No Arab, however good his condi- 
 tion, thinks himself above coffee-making; indeed it is more 
 fashionable for a gentleman to prepare in person this beverage 
 than to leave the operation to an inferior or slave. 
 
 During our prolonged delay at Bereydah we occasionally left 
 the town for a day's visit to the neighbouring villages of 'Askha, 
 Mudneb, and others, the better to study rural life in Kaseem. 
 I have already sufficiently described a country dwelling in what 
 I related of our day's repose in the suburb of Doweyr under the 
 arbour and roof-tree of Mubarek, and thus I need not again 
 enter into details touching the houses of the peasantry, for they 
 are all very uniform and on the same pattern, differing only in 
 size. The villages themselves are clean and pleasant, not unlike 
 those of Jafnapatam and Ceylon ; and what between shade and 
 water, cool enough considering the southerly latitude. The 
 soil itself belongs in full right to its cultivators, not to the 
 government, as in Turkey : nor is it often in the hands of large 
 proprietors like the Zemindars of India and the wealthier far- 
 mers of England. On the other hand, the excessive Wahhabee 
 taxes, if they do not wholly check, at least discourage, the exten- 
 sion of agriculture. The tenth of the produce of the land in 
 dates, corn, maize, and the like, is taken by the government in 
 way of a regular duty, while extraordinary levies also, amounting 
 sometimes to one-third of the harvest value, are repeatedly im- 
 posed, above all on the occasion of a " Djihad " or " sacred
 
 I S3 Bcrcydah [Chap. vi 
 
 war," that is, of any war, for the Wahhabees are a sacred nation, 
 being the genuine " httle flock everywhere spoken against " of 
 Islam, and the real orthodox believers, and no mistake ; hence 
 all their wars are sacred too, so that none but heretics or infi- 
 dels, or those who would wish to be held for such and treated 
 accordingly, can refuse contribution to their pious campaigns. 
 
 Cattle, that is, camels and sheep, are often bred and pastured 
 here, but on a smaller scale than in Shomer, owing to the 
 greater predominance of cultivated over uncultivated land. Yet 
 they form considerable part of the country wealth, and suffice 
 not for home use only, but for export also ; though the sheep 
 are less esteemed by foreign purchasers than the mountain 
 breed of Toweyk. Horses too are reared and exported east 
 and north ; they resemble in every respect those of Djebel 
 Shomer, and do not pass for real "Nejdees." Cows and oxen, 
 none or next to none ; buffaloes, still less. The herdsmen 
 and shepherds are sometimes villagers and sometimes Bedouins; 
 but the former class has here outgrown in number and import- 
 ance the latter. 
 
 The duty levied on pasture cattle by the government is about 
 a twentieth of their value ; and so far the shepherd in Kaseem 
 is better off than the ploughman or gardener. But a special 
 town duty on meat makes the tax on beasts almost as heavy in 
 the long run as that exacted on the vegetable kingdom. Money 
 also is taxed, one in forty ; and since it might be difficult for 
 the duty-collector to get a sight of the purse itself, an estimate 
 is made on the average income of each merchant and trader, 
 and they have to pay accordingly. Moreover, members of the 
 commercial class, whether subjects or foreigners, must furnish an 
 import duty on their wares when brought within the frontiers ; 
 the rate is about four shillings a load, a heavy sum because 
 levied on goods of much more bulk in general than costliness. 
 Hence trading fares no better than agriculture or cattle breed- 
 ing. To all this government absorption, we must add the 
 occasional items of i)resents, bribes, local extortions, and not 
 unfrequently downright oppression ; after which I leave my 
 readers to judge whether the advantages of the highest dogmatic 
 purity are worth the price paid for them in the more tangible 
 goods of this lower world. The non-Wahhabee Arabs would, 
 I fear, answer in the negative. Lastly, the frecjuency of war,
 
 Chap. VI] Avubs aud Pcvsiaus 189 
 
 and the obligation of not only contributing to its sinews, but of 
 personally bearing art and part in it, hastens the decay of the 
 province. 
 
 With all this my readers must not suppose the Wahhabee 
 government to be an unmixed wrong, or that it offers no good 
 soever to counterbalance or to palliate its manifold disadvan- 
 tages. Bad though it certainly is, it was preceded, at least in 
 many places, by worse — by utter anarchy, by the feuds of local 
 chieftains, by civil wars among townsmen, and the unrestrained 
 insolence of the Bedouins. Robber and spoiler too the Nej- 
 dean ruler is, yet with this redeeming feature, that he reserves 
 all the robbing and spoiling to himself, and suffers no one else, 
 nomade or citizen, to open a private account on his own score. 
 Under Wahhabee rule the wayfarer who now traverses Kaseem, 
 Sedeyr, Woshem, and all the other eight provinces of the cen- 
 tral empire, will meet but few Bedouins, nor need ever fear 
 those few ; merchant and villager, townsman and stranger, are 
 alike freed from predatory inroad and roadside assault ; and so 
 far as these rovers are concerned, commerce and cultivation 
 may proceed uninterrupted and unimpaired. No local chief, 
 unless perchance he be one of the Nejdean proconsuls, can 
 trample on the rights of the subject, no village can plunder the 
 gardens or cut down the fruit-trees of its neighbouring hamlet. 
 The whole patent of oppression, general and individual, is re- 
 ser\'ed to the government, and to the government alone ; it is 
 a sacred monopoly, a New Forest on which no one may poach 
 with impunity. Hence, when the inhabitants of Ri'ad in my 
 presence felicitated the Persian Na'ib, Mohammed-' Alee, on his 
 safe arrival among them at the capital, and contrasted the 
 bygone perils of Nejdean travelling with the security of the 
 present day, the old Shirazee fox turned to me with a knowing 
 wink, and said, but in Hindoostanee, and in an undertone, 
 " Formerly there were fifty robbers here, now there is only 
 one; but that one is an equivalent for the fifty;" a remark 
 which recalled to my mind the " ubi solitudinem faciunt, 
 pacem appellant " of the Roman annalist. 
 
 While on one of our suburban excursions we took the direc- 
 tion of 'Oneyzah, but found it utterly impossible to arrive within 
 its walls ; so we contented ourselves with an outside and dis- 
 tant view of this large and populous town ; the number of its
 
 1 90 BcrcydaJi [Chap. vi 
 
 houses, and their size, judging by the overtopping summits that 
 marked out the dwelhng of Zamil and his family, far surpassed 
 anything in Bereydah. The outer fortifications are enormously 
 thick, and the girdle of palm-trees between them and the town 
 affords a considerable additional defence to the latter. For all 
 I could see, there is little stonework in the constructions, they 
 appear almost exclusively of unbaked bricks ; yet even so they 
 are formidable defences for Arabia. The whole country around 
 and whatever lay north-east towards Bereydah was more or less 
 ravaged by the war ; and we were blamed by our friends as 
 very rash in having ventured thus far ; in fact, it was a mere 
 chance that we did not fall in with skirmishers or plunderers ; 
 and in such a case the military discipline of Kaseem would 
 hardly have ensured our safety. 
 
 Two whole weeks had thus passed, a third began, and Aboo- 
 'Eysa was not yet ready to start, nor were the reasons which 
 he at first assigned for this delay wholly satisfactoiy. At last 
 the true cause of his dilatoriness came to light, and it was 
 of a character to be accepted without blame or necessity for 
 excuse. 
 
 Mohammed-' Alee-esh-Shirazee, the Persian representative at 
 Meshid 'Alee, and now entrusted with the headmanship of the 
 national pilgrimage, had written " in Arabic and Persian," to 
 Ri'ad, announcing the flight of Aboo-Bote)Ti, and the conduct 
 of Mohanna, and thereon proposing to pay in his own person a 
 visit to the capital, where he would state by word of mouth 
 grievances too many and too serious to be entrusted to pen and 
 ink. Feysul would most gladly have dispensed with the offered 
 interview, but he feared lest the Persian should take occasion of 
 a refusal to come to a total ruj)ture, the result of which must be 
 to deprive Nejed of its annual perquisites from the passage of 
 the pilgrims. Accordingly he sent word to Mohanna to provide 
 Mohammed-' Alee with an escort for his journey to Ri'ad, and 
 to make his arrangements with the other Persians after a man- 
 ner to ensure their safe return home. 
 
 During the interval of these letters to and fro, the governor 
 of Bereydah had wrung out of his Shiya'ee guests a sum amount- 
 ing on the most moderate calculation to i,6oo/. steriing, and 
 could hardly now expect further subsidies. He had thus no 
 great interest in detaining them any longer ; whereas to furnish
 
 CiiAi'. VI] Arabs and Persians 191 
 
 them with a guide was i)recisely a handle left in his power for 
 obtaining an additional gain, by a charge laid on the profits 
 attached to such a service. But he was not over-disposed to 
 gratify the Na'ib (for such was the official title of Mohammed- 
 'Alee, and by it we will hencefortli designate him for brevity's 
 sake) both with guides and beasts of burden, since these he 
 could hardly have supplied otherwise than gratis. So he ob- 
 served on that point of his instructions a prudent silence, and 
 resolved to oblige the Persian grandee to shift for himself 
 
 The Na'ib was now in somewhat the same predicament as 
 ours had been, seeking for companions and finding none ; for 
 even the guarantee of a royal invitation was insufficient to 
 remove all doubts touching what reception he might meet in 
 Ri'ad ; nor were the men of Kaseem ambitious of a visit to the 
 Wahhabee capital. At last he had recourse for counsel and 
 help to Aboo-'Eysa, with whom he had been on very good 
 terms throughout their previous journey. This latter was will- 
 ing enough to undertake the office of bear-leader, but he had 
 not then by him enough beasts of burden to suffice for the 
 occasion, and many days went by before he could procure a 
 sufficient number. 
 
 Meanwhile the Na'ib, as was natural, introduced himself to 
 us. He was a thorough Persian, and full sixty years old or even 
 more, but in full vigour of body, and, had he not been an habi- 
 tual opium-chewer, of mind too ; his beard and whiskers were 
 so carefully dyed with henna and black, that at a little distance 
 he might almost have passed for a man of forty. He spoke 
 Arabic badly, Turkish somewhat better, and Hindoostanee 
 remarkably well, for he had been many years agent of the Per- 
 sian government at Hyderabad in the Deccan; very witty and 
 enjoying a joke, verbal or practical, shrewd from long conver- 
 sance with affairs, though, like most Persians too, not difficult 
 to dupe ; talkative and gay, but occasionally yielding to violent 
 and most indecorous fits of passion ; a devout Shiya'ee and 
 adorer of 'Alee and the Mahdee, at the mention of whose name 
 I have seen him prostrate himself full length on the ground ; in 
 a word, he was a " character," and the circumstances of the 
 journey brought him out in every light and every point of view. 
 His attendants, 'Alee, Hasan, and the Hajj Hoseyn, a sort of 
 head-muleteer, had nothing to distinguish them except their
 
 1 92 BcrcydaJi [Chap. vi 
 
 coarseness, their noisy Shiya'ee fanaticism, and their unmea- 
 sured declamations against Arabs and Wahhabees, the whole 
 in the corrupt slang dialect of Bagdad and Meshid, presenting 
 a curious contrast with the absolute purity and minute correct- 
 ness of the language spoken around them. \\'e now became 
 fully acquainted with these men, our destined fellow-travellers 
 to Ri'ad, and our next-door neighbours there ; their visits 
 helped us to pass a time otherwise tedious from hope deferred, 
 
 September closed, and then finally Mohanna selected a guide 
 to lead Taj-Djehan and the associates of her pilgrimage to the 
 banks of Euphrates. The Persians duly paid the price of their 
 deliverance, and dej^arted on the north-western track, having 
 about twenty-five days' march before them, and slender pro- 
 visions. However, during my stay at Bagdad in the following 
 spring, I was happy to learn that they had all at last arrived in 
 safety. 
 
 Aboo-'Eysa too, after many delays inseparable from borrow- 
 ing, found the desired camels, and we now prepared ourselves 
 for the road. But before starting, an unlucky incident took 
 place, sufficient in itself to reveal the weak point of our over- 
 confiding guide. One evening that Aboo-'Eysa with his Persian 
 friemis were at supper in our house, Habbash, an ill-conditioned 
 mulatto servant whom he had taken in tow more from compas- 
 sion than anything else when leaving Medinah, profited by his 
 master's absence from camp to elope, carrying off with him in 
 his flight Aboo-'Eysa's best cloak, some money, and last, not 
 least, the large brass mortar for pounding coft'ee. Now the 
 mortar was a remarkably fine one, of excellent metal, and used 
 to give out a very melodious bell-like ring when at work, and 
 hence its owner was particularly fond of it, and seldom left it 
 idle. Nor was it easy, or even possible, to find such another 
 one at Bereydah ; and to make matters worse, the loss occurred 
 just when we had a ten days' journey before us, and stood more 
 in need of aromatic solace than ever ; nor had the Na'ib any 
 similar utensil among his baggage, being, like most of his 
 nation, not a coffee but a tea drinker. The loss of the aforesaid 
 mortar was accordingly " the most unkindest cut of all," and 
 Aboo-'Eysa swore that he would have it back at any price. So 
 he sent off two or three friends to hunt after the fugitive 
 Habbash and his boot)-, antl then went on the chase himself.
 
 Chap. VI] Arabs aud Pirsiaus 193 
 
 But after two days lost in vain research news came that the 
 thief had been seen on the Medinah road towards I^Ienakeeyah, 
 and so far advanced that no hope remained of catching either 
 him or the mortar. Fortunately I carried about with me a 
 small brazen implement wherein to pound "poisoned poisons" 
 for my patients ; this we now washed out carefully, and applied 
 it to more social uses during our way to the capital, where at 
 last Aboo-'Eysa found a supplement if not an equivalent for 
 his loss. 
 
 When all was ready for the long-expected departure, it was 
 definitely fixed for the 3rd of October, a Friday, I think, at 
 nigh'fall. Since our first interview Barakat and myself had not 
 again presented ourselves before Mohanna, except in chance 
 meetings, accompanied by distant salutations in the street or 
 market-place ; and we did not see any need for paying him a 
 special farewell call. Indeed, after learning who and what he 
 was, we did our best not to draw his grey eye on us, and 
 thereby escaped some additional trouble and surplus duties tu 
 pay, nor did any one mention us to him. At star-rise we bade 
 our host and householder Ahmed a final adieu, and left the 
 town with Aboo-'Eysa for our guide.
 
 194 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 From Bereydah to Ri'ad 
 
 The portion of this world which I at present 
 Have taken up to fill the present sermon, 
 
 Is one of which there's no description recent; 
 The reason why is easy to determine. 
 
 Byron 
 
 Two Routes from Bereydah to Rtad — We take the Longer — Camels and Dro- 
 medaries — Night Travelling — Rowedah — Country Hospitality — Uplands 
 — Route across the Ncfood — IVdsit — Its Inhabitants — Valley of Zulphah — - 
 Night at Zulphah — Gazelles — A Solibah Girl and the Naib — Djebcl 
 Tov)e}'k, its Extent, Character, Direction of its Streams, Climate — Village 
 of Ghat — Sedeyr Hospitality, Conversation, Tone of Society — The Akabah 
 — Plateau of Tovueyk — A Storm — Mejmad' — ' Abd-d-Mahsi7i and his 
 Castle — Tobacco — Route on the Plateau — A Running Streatn — Djcldjil 
 and Rozudah — Meteyr Bedoimis — Taiveym — The Town, its Character 
 and Inhabitants — Insects and Reptiles i?t Central Arabia — Hafr — Tho- 
 rneyr — An Adventure in the Village — Solibah Lad — A Garden — Route 
 by Thmeeyat-' Atdlah — ^adik — Wooded Country — Hares — Hoolah — Ho- 
 reymelah — Its Castle — Ibraheem Basha — From Horeymelah to Sedoos — 
 Frontier of ^ Aarcd — Uplands — Wadi Ilancefah — Ruins of ^ Eyd7iah — 
 Roivdah — Wadi Ilancefah continued — Malka — Rui)!s of Da-cfeeyah — 
 Garden of ^ Abd-er-Rahmdn — Road to RIad. 
 
 Our party assembled close under the walls by the eastern gate, 
 a little to the north of the watch-tower, and not far from the 
 tents of Mohammed, son of Feysul. The Na'ib now came up 
 with his three companions ; Barakat, Aboo-'Eysa, and myself 
 made three more ; Hoseyn-el-Basree, a gay young merchant 
 from the town whose name he bore, and the two Meccans, 
 who, weary of ill luck at Bereydah, had determined to try the 
 doubtful generosity of Feysul, completed the number of travel- 
 lers, ten in all. Besides, as the first stages of our march might 
 possibly expose us to a chance meeting with the predatory
 
 Chap. VII] Fvoiu Bcvcydak to R'l ad 195 
 
 bands of 'Oneyzah, Mohanna had, after much demur, furnished 
 the Na'ib with a body-guard of three or four matchlock-men, 
 who were to accompany us up to the frontiers of Kaseem. 
 
 Two roads lay before us. The shorter, and for that reason 
 the more frequented of the two, led south-east-by-east through 
 Woshem and Wadi Haneefah to Ri'ad. But this track passed 
 through a district often visited at the present moment by the 
 troops of 'Oneyzah and their allies, and hence our companions, 
 not over-courageous for the most, were afraid to follow it. 
 Another road, much more circuitous, but farther removed from 
 the scene of military operations, led north-east to Zulphah, and 
 thence entered the province of Sedeyr, which it traversed in a 
 south-easterly or southern direction, and thus reached the 
 'Aared. Our council of war resolved on the latter itinerary, 
 nor did we ourselves regret a roundabout which promised to 
 procure us the sight of much that we might scarcely have other- 
 wise an opportunity of visiting. Barakat and I were mounted 
 on two excellent dromedaries of Aboo-'Eysa's stud ; the Na'ib 
 was on a lovely grey she-camel, with a handsome saddle, crimson 
 and gold. The Meccans shared between them a long-backed 
 black beast ; the rest were also mounted on camels or dro- 
 medaries, since the road before us was impracticable for horses, 
 at any rate at this time of year. 
 
 It may be well to make my readers aware once for all of the 
 fact that the popular home idea of a dromedary having two 
 humps, and a camel one, or vice versa (for I have forgotten 
 which of the animals is supplied with a duplicate boss in co- 
 loured picture-books), is a simple mistake. The camel and the 
 dromedary in Arabia are the same identical genus and creature, 
 excepting that the dromedary is a high-bred camel, and the 
 camel a low-bred dromedary, exactly the same distinction which 
 exists between a race-horse and a hack; both are horses, but the 
 one of blood, the other not. The dromedary is the race-horse 
 of his species, thin, elegant (or comparatively so), fine-haired, 
 light of step, easy of pace, and much more enduring of thirst 
 than the woolly, thick-built, heavy-footed, ungainly, and jolting 
 camel. But both and each of them have only one hump, placed 
 immediately behind their shoulders, where it serves as a fixing- 
 point for the saddle or burden. For the two-humped beast, it 
 exists indeed, but it is neither an Arab dromedary nor camel ;
 
 196 From Bcrcydah [Chap. vii 
 
 it belongs to the Persian breed, called by the Arabs " Bakhtee" 
 or Bactrian. Perhaps there may be a specimen of it at the 
 Zoological Gardens, and thither who chooses may go and have 
 a look at it, only let him not profane the name of "dromedary" 
 by applying it to the clumsy, coarse-haired, upland Persian beast 
 before him. To see real live dromedaries, my readers must, I 
 fear, come to Arabia, for these animals are not often to be met 
 ■with elsewhere, not even in Syria; and whoever wishes to con- 
 template the species in all its beauty must prolong his journey 
 to 'Oman, the most distant corner of the Peninsula, and which 
 is for dromedaries what Nejed is for horses, Cachemire for 
 sheep, and Thibet, I believe, for bulldogs. 
 
 Night had fairly set in, but the moon, now in her second 
 quarter, shone bright, and promised us yet seven or eight hours 
 of her lamp. Canopus glittered in all his splendour to the 
 south, and Orion was to rise before long. Off we started at 
 ?. round pace, and trotted over the sand-hills that girdle in 
 Bereydah, now up, now down, and then on by moonshine 
 among bushes and grass, over hillock and plain, with at times 
 a mass of dark foliage in sight, to indicate where stood some 
 ^illage, but we halted at none. The night air soon cooled into 
 a chill ; our party was not at first a very cheerful one. The 
 Na ib had parted from Mohanna in a fit of extreme ill humour; 
 his attendants were sulky to keep in tune with their master; the 
 t.vo ^Meccans could not decide between them which should ride 
 tlieir single camel and which should walk, and by their frequent 
 changes of method reminded me of the farmer and his son 
 going wath their ass to market, only with less equability of 
 temper; and Aboo-'Eysa was making ineffectual attempts to 
 enliven the party, though he, too, had not wholly recovered 
 from the annoyance consequent on the disappearance of his 
 sen^ant and coffee-mortar. The Nejdeans kept aloof, look- 
 ing on us conjointly as a pack of reprobates, whom they 
 Avould more gladly plunder than escort. Lastly, Barakat and 
 myself were not without anxiety touching what might lie 
 before us at Ri'ad, so dism.al had been the tales recounted 
 to us in Kaseem about the Wahhabee capital, its rulers and 
 ]:eople. 
 
 But sad or merr)', we were now embarked, and on we went 
 in speed and silence. At last the moon lowered, reddened, and
 
 ci.AP. vii] to Riad 157 
 
 then obliquely sank, while Ave began to hope for the rest and 
 sleep that all stood much in need of. However, Aboo-Eysa, 
 who preferred encamping in the neighbourhood of habitations 
 to a desert bivouac, despised our expostulations, and made us 
 push on in spite of weariness, till about an hour before day- 
 break, and just at the period of night when the darkness is 
 darkest, we suddenly found ourselves on the edge of deep 
 water-channels and standing maize, while high walls loomed 
 through the obscurity beyond. It was Roweydah, a small vil- 
 lage, but well provided with imgation, and the gardens before 
 us were the private property of Mohanna, whe had planted and 
 arranged them during his presidency in the province. Here we 
 were to halt, and try what hospitality the inhabitants would 
 show. 
 
 Some one way, some another, for between darkness and 
 drowsiness we went at it like drunken men, after much shouting 
 and splashing we floundered through and out of the watery 
 labyrinth, and reached the high village gate. There we en- 
 tered, and discovered what looked like a castle on the one 
 side, with an open space on the other. In this latter we flung 
 ourselves down on the ground, without further questions, to 
 sleep, and I hope that Aboo-'Eysa looked after the baggage, 
 for we certainly did not. 
 
 Two hours of morning nap after a long night journey are 
 equal to six hours at any other time. The risen sun awoke us, 
 and we began to rub our eyes and reconnoitre our position. 
 We had been sleeping by the side of a small tank ; hard by 
 were low-built houses and court-walls ; on the other hand our 
 castle, which now turned out to be the chief's, or rather the 
 head fiirmer's abode, but spacious and lofty enough for a baron 
 of the feudal times. We washed hands, faces, and feet (for our 
 dress list, it is needless to say, did not include those pAiropean- 
 ized articles, stockings), and made straight for the K'hawah of 
 this princely dwelling, sure to find morning coffee in function. 
 The Na'ib seated himself in due state near the master of the 
 house, while we, entirely eclipsed by the grandeurs of a Persian 
 ambassador on his way to Feysul, modestly took our places 
 lower down. Many villagers came in to stare at the strangers, 
 and to partake of coffee on their account. The meeting ter- 
 minated by an invitation of all to breakfast in the garden
 
 19S From Bc7'cydah [Chap. vii 
 
 belonging to Mohanna, for the head man here was also country- 
 bailiff to the Bereydah governor. 
 
 A very- pretty garden it was — fig-trees and orange-trees, 
 pomegranates and peaches, with stone-rimmed watercourses 
 and tanks, and walks among the shubbery arranged with more 
 taste and symmetry than Arabs usually display in their horti- 
 cultural efforts. Carpets were spread under an overshadowing 
 group of palms, and while the more solid repast was preparing, 
 melons of all shapes and sizes were piled up before us for a 
 ■whet. The Na'ib produced a tea-urn with its complete appur- 
 tenances, not other than might have beseemed an English 
 drawing-room, besides a beautiful Persian pipe or Nargheelah, 
 silver-mounted and elegantly adorned. Its owner had now 
 recovered his good-humour, and his satellites with him. By 
 nature they were downright bears ; but just now the prospect 
 of a good breakfast had an admirable effect on their minds, 
 and they were agreeable to the best of their abilities. Aboo- 
 ' Eysa was far too accustomed to such characters, and to the 
 varying incidents of travelling, to be easily elated or depressed, 
 and kept an even good-nature in his face and air, though he 
 sometimes in private permitted himself very sarcastic remarks 
 on the bad breeding of the Persians. 
 
 But he had a side intrigue to carry on, which occasioned 
 many and long conversations between him and the Xa'ib, and 
 effectually obviated any serious chance of their falling out. 
 Aboo-Boteyn, Feysul's ci-devant pilgrim-agent, had been on 
 indifferent terms -vvith Aboo-'Eysa, and had even done him 
 positive injury. His elopement to 'Oneyzah now left his 
 office vacant ; it was a lucrati\'e one, and exactly suited to 
 our friend's ways, and to his long-standing familiarity with the 
 Shiya'ees. They too had experienced his toleration and honest 
 conduct, and held him in high esteem. The Na'ib for his part 
 hoped to obtain at Ri'aci full satisfaction for the past, and a 
 guarantee of better things for the future. But he was an utter 
 stranger at the Wahhabee court. A pact was therefore made 
 between him and Aboo-'Eysa ; the latter was to give him the 
 entre'es, to facilitate his access to Feysul (no easy matter), and 
 to dispose the ministers and every one else in his favour; wliile 
 the Na'ib was to exact of the Wahhabee autocrat, as a sine qtiii 
 non condition of good understanding hereafter, that Aboo-
 
 Chai.vii] to Ri'ad I99 
 
 'Eysa should henceforth be sole conductor and plenipotentiary 
 guide of the Persian pilgrims through Nejed. Such was the 
 plan, long discussed, and at last fully agreed on, and all 
 necessary stei)s in furtherance of its execution were accurately 
 calculated and determined. We shall see the result before 
 leaving Ri'ad. 
 
 The forenoon was far advanced before the sheep, the victim 
 of our banquet, had been killed, skinned, boiled, and served up 
 with rice, eggs, and other delicacies of the season. A hearty 
 meal followed, and after a short interval of repose we got our 
 baggage ready, thanked our host, and set out towards the 
 north-east. 
 
 Our road yet lay in Kaseem, whose highlands we rejoined 
 once more, and traversed till sunset. The view was very beauti- 
 ful from its extent and variety of ups and downs, in broad 
 grassy hills; little groups of trees stood in scattered detach- 
 ments around ; and had a river, that desideratum of Arabia, 
 been in sight, one might almost have fancied oneself in the 
 country bordering the Lower Rhine for some part of its course; 
 readers may suppose, too, that there was less verdure here than 
 in the European parallel ; my comparison bears only on the 
 general turn of the view. No river exists nearer Kaseem than 
 Shatt, some hundred leagues off ; and our eyes had been too 
 long accustomed to the deceptive pools of the mirage, to as- 
 sociate with them even a passing idea of aught save drought 
 and heat. 
 
 We journeyed on till dark, and then reached certain hillocks 
 of a different character from the hard ground lately under our 
 feet. Here began the Nefood, whose course from south-west 
 to north-east, and then north, parts between Kaseem, Woshem, 
 and Sedeyr. I have already said something of these sandy 
 inlets when describing that which we crossed three months ago 
 between Djowf and Shomer. The Nefood actually before us 
 was fortunately narrower than our old acquaintance, but in 
 other respects like it or worse. However, October is not July, 
 even in Arabia, and we had this time a better guide in our 
 company than the Bedouin Djedey'. 
 
 On the verge of the desert strip we now halted a little, to eat 
 a hasty supper, and to drink, the Arabs coffee and the Persians 
 tea. But journeying in these sands, under the heat of the day,
 
 200 From BcrcydaJi [Chap. vii 
 
 is alike killing to man and beast, and therefore Aboo-'Eysa had 
 resolved that we should cross the greater portion under favour 
 of the cooler hours of night. In pursuance of his idea, we were 
 again mounted and on our way before the slanting pyramid of 
 zodiacal light had faded in the west. 
 
 All night, a weary night, we waded up and down through 
 waves of sand, in which the camels often sank up to their 
 knees, and their riders were obliged to alight and help them 
 on. There was no symptom of a track, no landmark to direct 
 our way ; the stars alone were now our compass and guide ; 
 but Aboo-'Eysa had passed this Nefood more than once, and 
 knew the line of march by heart. When the first pale streak 
 of dawn appeared on our right shoulder, we were near the 
 summit of a sandy mountain, and the air blew keener than I 
 had yet felt it in Arabia. We halted, and gathered together 
 heaps of Ghada and other desert shrubs to light blazing fires, 
 by which some sat, some lay and slept, myself for one, till the 
 rising sunbeams tipped the yellow crests around, and we re- 
 sumed our way. 
 
 Now by full daylight appeared the true character of the 
 region which we were traversing ; its aspect resembled the 
 Nefood north of Djebel Shomer, but the undulations were 
 here higher and deeper, and the sand itself lighter and less 
 stable. In most spots neither shrub nor blade of grass could 
 fix its root, in others a scanty vegetation struggled through, 
 but no trace of man anywhere. The camels ploughed slowly 
 on ; the Persians, unaccustomed to such scenes, were down- 
 cast and silent \ all were tired, and no wonder. At last, a 
 little before noon, and just as the sun's heat was becoming 
 intolerable, we reached the verge of an immense crater-like 
 hollow, certainly three or four miles in circumference, where 
 the sand-billows receded on every side, and left in the midst a 
 pit seven or eight hundred feet in depth, at whose base we 
 could discern a white gleam of limestone rock, and a small 
 group of houses, trees, and gardens, thus capriciously isolated 
 in the very heart of the desert. 
 
 This was the litde village and oasis of Wasit, or " the inter- 
 mediary," so called because a central point between the three 
 ])rovinces of Kaseem, Sedeyr, and Woshem, yet b^-longing to 
 none of them. Nor is it often visited by wayfarers, as we
 
 Chap. VII] toRl'ad COI 
 
 learnt from the inhabitants, men simple and half savage, from 
 their little intercourse with the outer world, and unacquainted 
 even with the common forms of Islamitic prayer, though 
 dwelling in the midst of the Wahhabee dominions. They 
 enquired from us about the current news of 'Oneyzah and 
 other events of the day, much after the fashion that a Lincoln- 
 shire peasant might ask for the news of the Mexican war or 
 the Cochin-China expedition — things far distant, and only 
 known by indistinct report. Aboo-'Eysa said that in his wander- 
 ings he had met with other like islets of vegetation and human 
 life, but even more cut off from social intercourse, world- 
 forgetting, and world-forgotten. Lastly, there exist also oases 
 totally untenanted save by birds and gazelles, esj^ecially in the 
 southern waste. 
 
 A long winding descent brought us to the bottom of the 
 valley, where on our arrival men and boys came out to stare 
 at the Persians, and by exacting double prices for fruit and 
 camel's milk, proved themselves not altogether such fools as 
 they looked. For us, regarded as Arabs, we enjoyed their 
 hospitality — it was necessarily a limited one — gratis ; where- 
 upon the Na'ib grew jealous, and declaimed against the Arabs 
 as " infidels," for not treating with suitable generosity pilgrims 
 like themselves returning from the " house of God." 
 
 To get out of this pit was no easy matter ; facilis descensus, 
 &c., thought T ; no ascending path showed itself in the required 
 direction, and every one tried to push up his floundering beast 
 where the sand appeared at a manageable slope, and firm to the 
 footing. Camels and men fell and rolled back down the decli- 
 vity, till some of the party shed tears of vexation, and others, 
 more successful, laughed at the annoyance of their companions. 
 Aboo-'Eysa ran about from one to the other, attempting to 
 direct and keep them together, till finally, as Heaven willed, 
 we reached the upper rim to the north. 
 
 Before us lay what seemed a storm driven sea of fire in the 
 red light of afternoon, and through it we wound our way, till 
 about an hour before sunset we fell in with a sort of track or 
 furrow. Next opened out on our road a long long descent, 
 at whose extreme base we discerned the important and com- 
 mercial town of Zulphah. Beyond it rose the wall-Hke steeps 
 of Djebel Toweyk, so often heard of, and now seen close at
 
 202 From Bcrcydah [Chap. vii 
 
 hand. Needless to say how joyfully we welcomed the first 
 view of that strange ridge, the heart and central knot of 
 Arabia, beyond which whatever lay might almost be reckoned 
 as a return journey. 
 
 We had now, in fact, crossed the Nefood, and had at our 
 feet the great valley which constitutes the main line of com- 
 munication between Nejed and the north, reaching even to 
 the Tigris and Bagdad. The sun was setting when we reached 
 the lowest ebb of the sand ocean, and left its enormous waves 
 piled up ridge above ridge behind us ; Barakat and myself, 
 thanks to the excellent fibre of our dromedaries, were far in 
 front of our associates, and we willingly allowed the beasts to 
 turn aside from the track and feed on the copious pasturage of 
 Themam, a ragged sweet-smelling grass common throughout 
 Nejed, and often mentioned by the poets, while we gazed now 
 on the red range in our rear, now on the long valley stretching 
 upon our right and left, to north and south, with the broken 
 outlines of the walls of Zulphah a mile or more in front, and 
 now on the precipitous though low fortress ledge of Toweyk 
 which bordered the horizon. 
 
 Night was fast coming on when we entered the scattered 
 ])lantations of Zulphah. We traversed them awhile, amid en- 
 quiries from peasants returning home after their day's labour, 
 and barking dogs who objected to our intrusion on their pre- 
 cincts at so late an hour. In the town itself we were at once 
 surprised by meeting a much larger proportion of women 
 than of men. This was occasioned by the absence of a great 
 part of the male population in the war of 'Oneyzah. 
 
 We picked out our way to the palace of the governor, a 
 Nejdean by birth, and said to have collected large riches while 
 here in office. For the town is not only warlike but wealthy; 
 it is the meeting-point and depot of the north-bound com- 
 merce from Sedeyr, 'Aared, Woshem, and whatever adjoins them; 
 and its inhabitants are themselves no inconsiderable mer- 
 chants and very bold travellers, often to be seen at Zobeyr, 
 Koweyt, and Basrah. Their town is moreover the key of Nejed 
 on this side, and an important military position, barring the 
 entrance of the valley where it stands, and which communicates 
 directly with Wadi Haneefah, by which it leads to the capital 
 itself
 
 ciiAr. VII] to RPad 203 
 
 Arrived at the palace gate we were duly announced to the 
 governor, but his highness was not in the hospitable vein that 
 evening, and would not even allow us the shelter of the court- 
 yard, so we encamped in the open air at the foot of his outer 
 wall near the gateway. A band of Solibahs had pitched their 
 tents a little lower down; they had just come from a hunting 
 expedition somewhere to the north to sell their game in 
 Zulphah. 
 
 Meanwhile the town governor half repented him of his dis- 
 courtesy, and generously resolved to give us board, though not 
 lodging. In pursuance of this better thought he sent some 
 of his attendants to the Solibahs, and purchased from them a 
 fine deer; this was handed over to the Na'ib's servants, who 
 set about dressing it for supper. The Solibahs affirmed that 
 it belonged to a peculiar species that never drinks water, 
 and whose flesh is supposed to have a super-excellent flavour; 
 and certainly the specimen before us was excellent eating, be- 
 sides being served up with an extraordinary allowance of that 
 best of sauces, hunger. 
 
 Next morning the Na'ib was too tired to set out early, and 
 we all waited where we were for an hour or more after sunrise. 
 Barakat and myself strolled about among the Solibah tents, 
 where the full forms and comparatively fair complexions of 
 their tenants, their large eyes very unlike the narrow peepers 
 of most Bedouins, and a peculiar cast of features, helped to 
 confirm me in the belief of what report asserts touching the 
 northerly origin of these wanderers, probably Syrian. The 
 women were unveiled, and quite as fonvard as the men, or 
 forwarder. A very pretty girl of the tribe played off this morn- 
 ing a trick too characteristic for omission. Its victim was the 
 old Na'ib, who was now up and taking his draught of early tea. 
 The young lady, accompanied by two of her relatives, contrived 
 to come and go backwards and forwards before the Persian group, 
 till her glances had fairly wounded Mohammed-' Alee's heart. 
 He engaged her in a long and endearing conversation, and 
 ended by a proposal of marriage. The family with well-affected 
 joy gave a seeming assent, and accordingly when at last we 
 climbed our dromedaries to pursue our journey, behold the dark- 
 eyed gipsy-featured nymph with an elderly Solibah relation, per- 
 haps her father, both mounted on scraggy camels, alongside of
 
 204 From Bcrcydah [Ch.v/. vii 
 
 the Na'ib, who with looks of unutterable tenderness was making 
 the handsomest offers to his future bride. These she received 
 with becoming bashfulness, and for half an hour of the way 
 bantered her enamoured Strephon to her heart's content ; till 
 on our making a brief halt for breakfast at the verge of the 
 town-gardens, she pretended to recollect I know not what valu- 
 able left behind at the Solibah camp, and went back with her 
 kinsman to fetch it, after giving a woman's promise of a speedy 
 return. The deluded swain tamed in hope, and made us all 
 tarry in impatience for nearly two hours ; but neither bride nor 
 bridesman reappeared, and the Na'ib had to console himself 
 with the thought of the half-dozen spouses (I had it from him- 
 self) who awaited him on his return home to Meshid 'Alee, as 
 he slowly and sadly remounted his dromedary, and added 
 another chapter to the long collection of anecdotes which, like 
 most bad men, he loved to recount about the deceitfulness of 
 the fair sex. 
 
 We had now passed the whole length of the town, several 
 streets of which had been lately swept away by the winter 
 torrents that pour at times their short-lived fury down this 
 valley. Before us to the south-east stretched the long hollow; 
 on our right was the Nefood, on our left Djebel Toweyk and 
 the province of Sedeyr. The mountain air blew cool, and 
 this day's journey was a far pleasanter one than its prede- 
 cessor. We continued our march down the valley till the after- 
 noon, when we saw in front a remarkable promontory or 
 " Khosheym," literally, "a little nose," the generic name here 
 for all jutting crags, starting out abruptly from the mountain 
 level into the gully beneath, which here divides. We followed 
 neither branch, but turned aside into a narrow gorge running 
 up at a sharp angle to the north-east, and thus entered between 
 the heights of Djebel Toweyk itself. 
 
 This mountain essentially constitutes Nejed. It is a ^^'ide 
 and flat chain, or rather plateau, whose general form is that of 
 a huge crescent. If I may be permitted here to give my rough 
 guess regarding the elevation of the main plateau, a guess 
 grounded partly on the vegetation, climate, and similar local 
 features, partly on an approximate estimate of the ascent itself, 
 and of the subsequent descent on the other or sea side, I should 
 say that it varies from a height of one to two thousand feet
 
 Chap. VII] tO Rl ild 20$ 
 
 above the surrounding level of the Peninsula, and may thus 
 be about three thousand feet at most above the sea. Its 
 loftiest ledges occur in the Sedeyr district, where we shall pass 
 them before long; the centre and the south-westerly arm is 
 certainly lower. Djebel Toweyk is the nfiddle knot of Arabia, 
 its Caucasus, so to say; and is still, as it has often been in 
 former times, the turning point of the whole, or almost the 
 whole. Peninsula in a political and national bearing. To it 
 alone is the term " Nejed," strictly and topographically ap- 
 plied ; although the same denomination is sometimes, nay, often, 
 given by the Arabs themselves to all the inland provinces now 
 under Wahhabee rule; and hence Yemamah, Hareek, Aflaj, 
 Dowasir, and Kaseem have acquired the name of " Nejed," but 
 more in a governmental than in a geographical sense. 
 
 As for the name " Toweyk," it is a diminutive form of the 
 word "Towk," or "garland," "twist," and thus signifies "the 
 little garland," or " little twist." It is for the most of calca- 
 reous formation, though toward east and south peaks of granite 
 are sometimes intermixed with the limestone rock, or clustered 
 apart. The extreme verge is almost always abrupt, and takes a 
 bold rise of about five or six hundred feet sheer in chalky chffs 
 from the adjoining plain. Then succeeds a table-land, various 
 in extent, and nearly level throughout ; then another step of 
 three or four hundred feet, followed by a second and higher 
 table-land; and occasionally a third and yet loftier plateau 
 crowns the second ; but the summit is invariably flat, excepting 
 the few granite crests on the further side of Sedeyr and towards 
 Yemamah. These high grounds are for the most clothed on 
 their upper surface with fine and sufticient pasture, which lasts 
 throughout the year; but the greater the elevation the less is 
 the fertility and the drier the soil. Trees, solitary or in little 
 groups, are here common ; not indeed the well-known Ithel of 
 the plain, but the Sidr {or, according to the Nejdean dialect, 
 Sedeyr, whence the name of one great province), or the Markh, 
 with its wide-spreading oak-like branches, and the tangled 
 thorny Talh. Little water is to be found, at any rate in autumn, 
 though I saw some spots that appeared to have pools in spring ; 
 we met with one perennial source, and one only. 
 
 The entire plateau is intersected by a maze of valleys, some 
 broad, some narrow, some long and winding, some of little
 
 2o6 From BcrcydaJi [Chap, mi 
 
 length, but almost all bordered with steep and at times pre- 
 cipitous banks, and looking as though they had been artificially 
 cut out in the limestone mountain. In these countless hollows 
 is concentrated the fertility and the population of Nejed ; 
 gardens and houses,. cultivation and villages, hidden from view 
 among the depths while one journeys over the dry flats (I had 
 well-nigh called them " denes," for they often reminded me of 
 those near Great Yarmouth) above, till one comes suddenly on 
 the mass of emerald green beneath. One would think that two 
 different lands and climates had been somehow interwoven into 
 one, yet remained unblended. The soil of these valleys is light, 
 and mixed with marl, sand, and little pebbles washed down 
 from the heights, for every\vhere their abrupt edges are furrowed 
 by torrent tracks, that collecting above rush over in winter, and 
 often turn the greater part of the gully below into a violent 
 watercourse for two or three days, till the momentary supply 
 is spent, and then pools and plashes remain through the months 
 of spring, while the most of the water sinks underground, where 
 it forms an unfailing supply for the wells in summer, or breaks 
 out once more in living springs amid the low lands of Hasa 
 and Kateef, towards the sea-coast, and beyond the outskirts of 
 Djebel Toweyk itself However, none of these winter torrents 
 find their way unbroken to the sea ; some are at once reabsorbed, 
 while yet within the limits of the mountain labyrinth, whose 
 watershed, I should add, lies on the eastern, not on the western 
 side ; while a few, so the natives of the country told me, make 
 their way right through Toweyk to the Nefood on the west, or 
 to the Dahna on the east and south, and are there speedily lost 
 in the deep sands, where a Rhine or a Euphrates could hardly 
 avoid a similar fate. 
 
 However, though above-ground waters are rare and temporar)-, 
 the underground provision is constant and copious, and hence 
 the great fertility of these valleys. Nor is the Avater hard to 
 get at, for the depth of the wells throughout Nejed seldom ex- 
 ceeds twelve or fifteen feet from the upper rim to the water, 
 and often less, especially towards the southern half of 'Aared 
 and Yemamah. I had forgotten to say, in my topographical 
 description of Kaseem, that the water of that province has very 
 generally a saltish taste, just enough to be perceptible, but not 
 disagreeable, at least to those accustomed to drink from our
 
 chah, VII] to Riaci 207 
 
 own Norfolk "swipes." But here in Nejed water is hardly 
 ever brackish, but presents instead sensible traces of iron. 
 These phenomena find a ready explanation in the conditions of 
 the respective soils themselves. Rocksalt of the purest quality 
 is common in Kaseem, we have seen it a cheap and abundant 
 article of sale at Bereydah, and throughout the province the 
 earth has a saline flavour when placed on the tongue. On the 
 other hand, in Nejed, and particularly towards the eastern 
 shelves of the plateau, iron ore occurs in quantities sufficient 
 to attract even Arab notice, and near Soley' I saw a whole range 
 of decidedly ferrugineous hills, and was told of more. Hence, 
 the chalybeate acquirements of the water when it filters through 
 its underground passages. 
 
 The climate of the northern part of Djebel Toweyk, whether 
 plateau or valley, coincident with the province of Sedeyr, is 
 perhaps one of the healthiest in the world ; an exception might 
 be made in favour of Djebel Shomer alone. The above-named 
 districts resemble each other closely in dryness of atmosphere, 
 and the inhabitants of Sedeyr, like those of Shomer, are 
 remarkable for their ruddy complexion and well developed 
 stature. But when we approach the centre of the mountain 
 crescent, where its whole level lowers, while the more southerly 
 latitude brings it nearer to the prevailing influences of the 
 tropical zone, the air becomes damper and more relaxing, and 
 a less salubrious climate pictures itself in the sallower faces and 
 slender make of its denizens. 
 
 I had said that just before the bifurcation of the valley, our 
 conductor led us aside by a sharp turn to the north-east, where 
 we entered a gorge of Djebel Toweyk, and found ourselves thus 
 within the limits of the province of Sedeyr. We had not long 
 followed the narrow pass, when trees and verdure clustering up 
 against its left side, indicated our approach to human habitation. 
 Here nestled the village of Ghat, a name common to many 
 localities in Central Arabia, and sometimes varied into Ghoweyt, 
 Ghoutah, Ghoweytah, and so forth ; all words implying " a hol- 
 low," with an idea of fertility annexed; just the same topogra- 
 phical peculiarity which obtains sometimes in our own country 
 the familiar denomination of " punch-bowl." It was now that 
 latter part of the afternoon which Arabs call 'Asr, M^hen we 
 entered the welcome shade, and made straight for the chiefs
 
 2o3 From BcrcydaJi [Chap, vii 
 
 house. Like the rest of the village it was situated on the 
 margin of the valley, close under the white cliff, and so placed 
 the better to escape the injuries of torrents pouring down the 
 mid hollow in the rainy season. The traces of water were 
 indeed too evident throughout the valley, and some houses 
 built too low down had been already ruined. The wells were so 
 copiously supplied, even at this the very driest season of the 
 year, that their overflow sufficed to fill a large reservoir from 
 which ran on all sides rivulets which might almost have been 
 taken for natural, overshadowed by the fig-tree, the pomegranate, 
 and the palm. The houses, like the gardens, were prettily 
 placed in shelving rows one above the other against the moun- 
 tain rise. Before the chief's own residence was an open space, 
 and close by a true Wahhabee mosque, large and unadorned, a 
 mere meeting-house, unprofaned by the post-Mahomet inven- 
 tions of minarets and carpets. Here we were in Nejed; and if 
 I did not exactly sympathise with the feelings of Touchstone 
 on his arrival in Arden, I could not but feel that his remarks 
 then and there had a certain truth ; " but travellers must be 
 content." 
 
 However, the inhabitants of Nejed at large, and especially 
 those of SedejT, have one good quality, very consolatory for 
 those who leave home to visit their land — I mean hospitality 
 to their guests. For this they are famed in Arabia and out 
 of Arabia, in prose and verse, and they really deserve their 
 reputation. The chief of Ghat was a native of the province, 
 young, cheerful, and exquisitely polite. We were all invited in, 
 our camels were looked after, and we ourselves soon seated in 
 the large and lofty K'hawah, where chequered sunbeams aslant 
 through the trellised windows illuminated the handsome group 
 seated in the upper and more honourable part of the hall. 
 There, by the host and his family, all in clean shirts and black 
 cloaks, with new coloured head-dresses and silver-hilted swords, 
 sat the Na'ib making a very good figure in his Persian dress 
 and large turban, while Aboo-'Eysa, who, to keep him com- 
 pany, had exchanged the soiled garments of the road for better 
 apparel, took his place close to the ambassador; the attendants 
 of the Na'ib ranged themselves on one side, and Barakat and 
 I on the other. Many were the "Y'ahla" and "Marhaba's" 
 ("welcome, honoured guests," &c.) and many too the Allah-
 
 Chap. VI I] tO Rliuj 209 
 
 seasoned phrases indispensable in Wahhabee conversation. Of 
 course no smoking was allowed ; even the Na'ib could not 
 venture on his Nargheelah. Abdo-'Eysa had taken a farewell 
 whiff at his " cutty-pipe," before entering the village, and had 
 advised me to do the same, remarking that "these dogs will 
 hold us for infidels if we do it in their presence," and now 
 looked as innocent of tobacco as an English damsek Coffee 
 Avas however plentiful, and very good. The conversation here 
 and henceforth up to Ri'ad, whether in towns or villages, among 
 high or low, ran mainly on two inexhaustible topics : the one, 
 the excellencies and virtues of Feysul, with his certain triumph 
 over the infidels of 'Oneyzah ; the other the wickedness and 
 depravity of Zamil and his party, and their certain defeat and 
 ruin. Then came "Allahu yensor el-Muslimeen," "may God 
 give the victory to the Muslims ;" " Allahu yensor Feysul," 
 "may God give the victory to Feysul;" " W'elladee yusellimu 
 Feysul," " by Him who protects Feysul ;" "Allahii yesallit el- 
 Muslimeen 'ala'l 'keftar," " may God give over the infidels to 
 the power of the Mushms ;" and so on, till we began to say with 
 Aboo-'Eysa, " Kuffaroona b'il-Muslimeen," "they put us to our 
 wits' end with their Muslims ;" and wished as heartily for their 
 defeat as they did for that of their opponents. Of Feysul no 
 one dared speak except in a subdued tone of reverence appli- 
 cable to a demigod at the very moment of apotheosis; of one 
 whom to obey was the sure countersign of goodness, and to 
 oppose, the most unpardonable impiety. 
 
 These men in their hearts hold Egypt, Persia, Bagdad, Damas- 
 cus, and, to sum up, all the world withoutside of Nejed, to be 
 little better than dens of thieves and lairs of heresy and infi- 
 delity. Yet scarcely will they have heard, in answer to the first 
 customary demands of introduction, that their guest is from any 
 one of the above-named places, than they will begin a eulogy of 
 town, country, and people, as though they had been the objects 
 of their lifelong admiration, and extol the learning, piety, and 
 good fame of those whom they most disagree with, and against 
 whom they are ready to draw the sword of Islam at a moment's 
 notice ; and this they will do in so perfectly quiet, easy, and 
 natural a way, that it is difficult not to believe their words the 
 faithful echo of their innermost thoughts ; nor need their guest, 
 if gifted with ordinary prudence, fear any hint of disapproval 
 
 P
 
 210 From Bcrcydah [Chap. vii 
 
 touching his own personal ways and deeds. " Eddyf ma 'iikam 
 melik," " the guest while in the house is its lord," is a trite saying 
 with Nejdeans, and expresses to the life the deference with 
 which they treat whoever has once been received under their 
 roof. Nor when the stranger walks the streets will anyone 
 stare at him, much less stop to gaze ; nor will even the boys 
 gather and laugh at him, nor will any whisper or aside remark 
 be heard as he passes by. Perhaps foreigners do not come off 
 so smoothly everywhere else. I ought to add that our own 
 half-Syrian dress was hardly less outlandish and "furrener- 
 looking" in Nejed than the long robe of a Lithuanian Jew or 
 the furs of a Cossack in the streets of Norwich or Derby. The 
 Persians appeared even more exotic. But Nejdean civility was 
 above all such considerations. My readers must however recall 
 to mind that Sedeyr surpasses in this respect the other provinces 
 of Toweyk. Besides, I speak only of what passes between hosts 
 and guests reciprocally received and acknowledged for such; 
 with casual strangers and unauthenticated foreigners much less 
 courtesy is used, occasionally none. 
 
 The hospitality of Sedeyr is elegant and copious. After 
 coffee and small talk in the K'hawah, we mounted to the upper 
 storey, where we found a large room with an open verandah 
 prepared for our more express reception, and fruits, melons and 
 peaches to wit, piled up in large dishes, to employ our leisure 
 moments till supper should be ready. Here we were supposed 
 to make ourselves perfectly at home, and might even light the 
 " pipe of peace," the scandal of publicity not being considered 
 to affect these apartments thus set apart exclusively for our use. 
 Our host and his kinsmen came in and out, always ready for 
 talk or seiTice, and we began from their conversation to collect 
 much valuable information about the actual state and govern- 
 ment of Nejed proper. 
 
 Here Mohanna's men left us and returned home. No per- 
 sonal danger was to be apprehended on the road by travellers 
 like ourselves " fi wejh Feysul," " in the countenance of Feysul," 
 or "under" it, to make the Arab phrase English; and besides, 
 we were sure of being lienccforth accompanied from village to 
 village, and from town to town, by the inliabitants of the 
 country itself; not indeed for security, but for honour. I need 
 hardly say that the honour was mainly intended for the Na ib
 
 Chap. VII] toRVad 211 
 
 and Aboo-'Eysa; for us, throughout this stage of our itinerary, 
 we attracted comparatively Httle attention, and this was indeed 
 to be desired, though we had no lack of courteous and friendly 
 treatment everywhere. 
 
 Next morning early, when we mounted each his camel or 
 dromedary, we found the chief, with some youths of his kin, 
 already on horseback to escort us on our way. We followed for 
 about half an hour the ascending course of the gorge, under the 
 shade of forest trees — the plane was one, somewhat to my sur- 
 prise — intermingled with palms, between whose foliage white 
 glimpses of the overhanging cliff glittered to the morning light, 
 till we arrived at the " 'Akabah," or ascent. 
 
 Here we were at the cul-de-sac, or abrupt termination of the 
 mountain cleft, and in front a narrow twisting path, like an 
 uncoiled ribbon of white satin, reaching up several hundred 
 feet to the table-land above, amid rocks and masses of lime 
 and marl mingled with sandstone. A little water just oozing 
 out at the base, like " Sibyl's well," showed the line taken by 
 the stream after rain. Here ensued a contest of politeness, the 
 chief insisting on accompanying us farther, and Aboo-'Eysa 
 (for the Persians remained like mutes) on his returning home. 
 After many pretty speeches on either side, our quondam host 
 wished us all in general, and then every one in particular, good 
 speed, and went back, while a few of his relatives continued for 
 our escort. 
 
 Soon we attained the great plateau, of which I have a few 
 pages since given an anticipated description. And here for the 
 first time since our passage of the Ghour, in the well-known 
 desert between Gaza and Ma'an, we met with a clouded sky and 
 a disturbed atmosphere. But my readers will recall to mind 
 that it was now the yth of October, and not be surprised at an 
 autumn storm. The sky, hitherto perfectly clear, was suddenly, 
 indeed almost instantaneously, overcast, and a furious gust of 
 wind rushed down, while clouds of dust darkened the air, till 
 we could hardly see our way. Next followed a few drops of 
 rain, but the wind was too high to allow of a good shower, and 
 in about half an hour the whole had blown over; however, the 
 breeze which succeeded was delightfully cool, and worthy of the 
 Apennines. 
 
 About noon we halted in a brushwood covered plain, to light
 
 212 From BcvL-ydaJi (Cilm vii 
 
 fire and prepare coffee. After which we pursued our easterly 
 way, still a little to the north, now and then meeting with 
 travellers or peasants ; but a F-uropean would find these roads 
 very lonely in comparison with those of his own country. All 
 the more did I admire the perfect submission and strict police 
 enforced by the central government, so that even a casual rob- 
 bery is very rare in the provinces, and highwaymen are totally 
 out of the question. At last, near the same hour of afternoon 
 that had brought us the day before to Ghat, we came in sight of 
 Mejmaa', formerly capital of the province, and still a place of 
 considerable importance, with a population, to judge by appear- 
 ances and hearsay, of between ten and twelve thousand souls. 
 
 The governor, 'Abd-el-Mahsin es' Sedeyree, gave us a splendid 
 reception. His palace, once centre of Sedeyr, is large an(l lofty, 
 and he had prepared our lodgings in an upper storey, the bal- 
 conies of which commanded a noble view of the mountain 
 steppes north and east, with the gardens and groves below in 
 green masses at our feet. Here we rested that evening, not 
 unlike yesterday's, except in the superior quality of the enter- 
 tainment. Mohammed-' Alee wrote his journal b)' the gleam of 
 a Persian lamp; he was in the habit of noting down minutely 
 all incidents day by day, and had compiled a very amusing 
 work for light reading, and enough, were it translated and pub- 
 lished, to throw mine, I fear, into the shade. It was composed 
 in Persian, but the Na'ib sometimes favoured me with a recital, 
 while he rendered it, for my ignorance, into bad Arabic or good 
 Hindoostanee. 
 
 Here the Na'ib's stock of tobacco began to run short, and he 
 knew not whence to get a fresh supply, in a land where that 
 plant is only known by the name of "el Mukzhee," or "the 
 shameful," or by a still worse and wholly untranslatable denomi- 
 nation, which would imply it to be the immediate production 
 of the Evil One, but after a fashion that the fiery dryness of 
 his Satanic complexion might seem to render hardly credible. 
 Nevertheless, such is the belief of the Wahhabees, who steadily 
 assert that the first tobacco-sprouts arose from this very singular 
 and diabolical irrigation, whence a name not to be mentioned to 
 ears polite. Who then could dream, I do not say of employing, 
 but of trafficking in, or even of possessing, so infamous an 
 article % However, throughout the world, and by conscf^uence
 
 Chap. VIIJ tO Rl ad 213 
 
 in Nejed too, no law but is violated, and no customs regulation 
 but suffers from contraband. In this hope, founded on the 
 weakness of human nature, IJoseyn, the servant of the Na'ib, 
 went a hunting, money in hand, amid the warehouses of Mejmaa', 
 and excited immense disgust by his public enquiries after the 
 " shameful ; " but his first efforts met with no success. At last 
 he applied to Aboo-'Eysa, whose experience of the land had 
 taught him facts and manoeuvres beyond the attainment of a 
 raw thick witted Bagdadee. Our friend had often been in pre- 
 cisely the same predicament wherein the Na'ib now lay, but 
 knew much better where and how to distinguish between the 
 real and the apparent, and under what veils private practice 
 might contravene public observance. In fact, the number of 
 smokers in Nejed is nowise small, and includes many a name 
 of high birth and strict outside profession. Furnished with the 
 requisite sum, Aboo-'Eysa set out on a quieter but a more 
 effectual search, and soon reappeared with a bag containing two 
 good pounds avoirdupois of the Satanic leaf, which he handed 
 over to the Na'ib, after deducting a well-earned perquisite in 
 kind, shared between him and ourselves. 
 
 We were up early next morning, for the night air was brisk, 
 and a few hours of sleep had sufficed us. The whole level of 
 the depression where Mejmaa' stands almost equals that of the 
 surface of the first plateau, and to this now succeeded a second 
 of yet greater height, forming part of the midrib of Toweyk. 
 We took the high ground as the shorter route, instead of 
 keeping to the lower steppe, and went on with a wide land- 
 scape on either side, but not in front, where at some distance 
 to the east a third and loftier lecge arose to shut out the distant 
 view. 
 
 After sunrise we came on a phenomenon of a nature, I be- 
 lieve, without a second or a parallel in Central Arabia, yet withal 
 most welcome, namely, a tolerably large source of nmning 
 water, forming a wide and deepish stream, with grassy banks, 
 and frogs croaking in the herbage. We opened our eyes in 
 amazement ; it was the first of the kind that we had beheld 
 since leaving the valley of Djowf But though a living, it is a 
 short-lived rivulet, reaching only four or five hours' distance to 
 Djelajil, where it is lost amid the plantations of the suburbs. 
 
 After passing between the towns of Djelajil and Rowdah,
 
 214 From Bcrcydah [Chap. vii 
 
 names to be translated "bells " and "garden," at last we en- 
 tered in between the heights of the uppermost plateau ; they 
 rose here and there like huge flat-topped towers or wide plat- 
 forms on either side, leaving, however, large openings betwixt, 
 and pasture plains of great extent While crossing one of these, 
 we met a numerous band of the Meteyr Bedouins, once masters 
 and tyrants of North-eastern Nejed, now, like their brother 
 nomades, humble subjects of Wahhabee rule. They are com- 
 ]xirati\-ely rich in herds and flocks, and range over a wide 
 extent of territory ; indeed we shall a few chapters later meet 
 with a colony of them on the other side of the Persian Gulf. 
 This was the only considerable body of Bedouins that we saw 
 from Ha'yel to Ri'ad, nor did I witness any other throughout 
 Nejed, Hasa, and 'Oman. 
 
 We had not long traversed the Meteyr encampment, when we 
 came in view of the walls of Toweym, a large town, containing 
 between twelve and fifteen thousand inhabitants, according to 
 the computation here in use, and which I follow for want of 
 better. It is less advantageously situated for irrigation than 
 Ivlejmaa', and decidedly colder in climate, being high perched 
 at the level, not of the first, but of the second plateau, and 
 surrounded by irregular piles of the third and loftiest range, 
 though at some little distance. The governor {I forget his 
 name) showed himself by no means sociable. Aboo-'Eysa and 
 myself rode for some time up and down the narrow streets of 
 the town, looking for a subordinate to announce our arrival to 
 his excellency, and finding none; and when at last the message 
 Avas delivered, hospitality was slow in forthcoming ; the palace 
 door remained shut, and the governor was evidently loth to 
 introduce us into the interior; whether he feared our seeing its 
 nakedness or its plenty I cannot tell. Ultimately he distri- 
 buted us for lodging amid the dwellings of his attendants : the 
 Na'ib and his suite were in one of those subordinate K'hawahs, 
 ourselves in another, the Meccans in a third ; Aboo-'Eysa went 
 and came between. Our vicarious host was a coarse, good- 
 humoured man of arms, and treated us well. But the lane 
 where his house stood was close and narrow, and the air op- 
 pressive; so, after taking coff'ee and eating a itw dates of the 
 long-shaped yellow variety almost peculiar to Nejed, Barakat 
 and I sauntered out to see the town.
 
 Chap. VII] 
 
 to R Pad 21 
 
 The houses are here built compactly, of two storeys in 
 general, sometimes three ; the lower rooms are often fifteen or 
 sixteen feet high, and the upper ten or twelve; while the 
 roof itself is frequently surrounded by a bhnd wall of six feet 
 or more, till the whole attains a fair altitude, and is not alto- 
 gether unimposing. Little or no attempt is, however, made at 
 domestic ornament, and hardly any symmetry is observed be- 
 tween house and house except what mere chance circumstances 
 may have determined. The streets are narrow and tortuous — 
 mere lanes the most; and a committee for city ventilation would 
 do no harm. I need not say that in this unrainy climate the 
 roads are very seldom paved, nor indeed need to be, save in 
 some limited instances. 
 
 The market-place of Toweym is unusually large, a very 
 respectable square, and by an an-angement of rare occurrence 
 situated close to the inner side of the town walls, not in the 
 centre of the city. Here are several shops and warehouses, and 
 a large mosque; but the want of minarets and cupolas deprives 
 religious constructions in Nejed of the outward advantages of 
 appearance they possess elsewhere; the Mesjid (literally, "pro- 
 stration place") of Toweym resembled a large railway station 
 more than anything else, but differed from such in having no 
 refreshment room, unless, indeed, the side-building destined for 
 cold-water ablution might merit that title. The town gates are 
 strong for the country, guarded by day and shut by night; the 
 walls in tolerably good repair, and surrounded with a deep 
 outer trench, but no water. 
 
 As sunset approached, we went out of the town to look at 
 the fields and groves ; the soil hereabouts is good, but water is 
 scarce ; however, the dates are excellent. While we sat on a 
 little hillock commanding the road, we had plenty of opportu- 
 nity for conversation with the numerous passers-by, in and out 
 of the town, for villages are thickly clustered on all sides ; it 
 is, by Arabian standard, a populous land. At nightfall we 
 returned home to our supper, sent from the governor's palace ; 
 it was neither very good nor very bad; the bread was leavened, 
 as we found it henceforth to the Persian Gulf — a great improve- 
 ment on the unleavened cakes of Shomer and Kaseem, though 
 in lyaseem too the passage of the Persian pilgrims tends to 
 set up a new and better custom. Lastly, a quiet pipe on the
 
 2i6 From Bcrcydah [Chap. vn 
 
 roof under the bright stars, and then to rest, but in doors, for 
 it was too cold for open air sleeping. It is a great blessing in 
 Arabia that neither gnats nor mosquitoes, nor a certain salta- 
 tory insect very common in Southern Europe and in S}Tia 
 ("letters four do form its name") are here known. The 
 absence also of flies, great and small, horse and house, is as- 
 tonishing ; I know of no other country in the world so totally 
 devoid of that most familiar and often importunate little crea- 
 ture. Would one could say the same of another familiar beast, 
 which signifies love, at least in ^^^elsh heraldry ! Snakes in 
 Nejed are no less rare than in Ireland or Malta. In an elegant 
 romance pubHshed by M. Lamartine under the title of the 
 "Journal of Fath- Allah Sey'yir," companion of the ill-fated 
 Lascaris, a work already alluded to, these reptiles are spoken of 
 as very common in Central Arabia; nay, appalling to think of, 
 M. Lamartine's hero discovers a whole thicket full of their 
 sloughs, of all colours and sizes — a sort of serpent's cloak- 
 room, I suppose. Happy the travellers who possess so rich and 
 so inventive an imagination ! a few boa- constrictors make no 
 bad variety, at least in a narrative. But I was not favoured 
 with any such visions, "nol vidi, nb credo che sia." 
 
 Early next day we took leave of our unsociable host, who, 
 however, did us the honour of stepping down to his palace gate 
 and seeing us off in person. At a short distance from Toweym 
 we passed another large village with battlemented walls, and 
 on the opposite side of the read a square castle, looking very 
 mediaeval ; this was Hafr. A couple of hours farther on we 
 reached Thomeyr, a straggling townlet, more abounding in 
 broken walls than houses ; close by was a tall white rock 
 crowned by the picturesque remains of an old outwork or fort, 
 overlooking the place. Here our party halted for breakfast in 
 the shadow of the ruins. Barakat and myself determined to 
 try our fortune in the village itself; no guards appeared at its 
 open gate, we entered unchallenged, and roamed through silent 
 lanes and heaps of rubbish, vainly seeking news of milk and 
 dates in this city of the dead. At last we met a meagre towns- 
 man, in look and apparel the apothecary of Romeo; and of him, 
 not without misgivings of heart, we enquired where aught eat- 
 able could be had for love or money. He apologized, though 
 there was scarce need of that, for not having any such article
 
 Chap. VII] tO RPild 21 "J 
 
 at his disposal; "but," added he, " in such and such a house 
 there will certainly be something good," and thitherwards he 
 preceded us in our search. We found indeed a large dwelling, 
 but the door was shut; we knocked to no purpose; nobody at 
 home. Our man now set us a bolder example, and we all 
 together scrambled through a breach in the mud wall, and found 
 ourselves amid empty rooms and a desolate courtyard. "Every- 
 body is out in the fields, women only excepted," said our guide, 
 and we separated no better off than before. Despairing of the 
 village commissariat, we climbed a turret on the outer walls, 
 and looked round. Now we saw at some distance a beautiful 
 palm-grove, where we concluded that dates could not be want- 
 ing, and off we set for it across the stubble-fields. But on 
 arriving we found our paradise surrounded by high walls, and 
 no gate discoverable. While thus we stood without, like Milton's 
 fiend at Eden, but unable, like him, " by one high bound to over- 
 leap all bound," up came a handsome Solibah lad, all in rags, 
 half walking, half dancing, in the devil-may-care way of his tribe. 
 " Can you tell us which is the way in ?" was our first question, 
 pointing to the garden before us; and, "Shall I sing you a song?" 
 was his first answer. " We don't want your songs, but dates : 
 how are we to get at them % " we replied. " Or shall I perform 
 you a dance?" answered the grinning young scoundrel, and forth- 
 with began an Arabian polka-step, laughing all the while at our 
 undisguised impatience. At last he condescended to show us 
 the way, but no other than what befitted an orchard-robbing 
 boy, like himself, for it lay a httle farther off, right over the wall, 
 which he scaled with practised ingenuity, and helped us to fol- 
 low. So we did, though perhaps with honester intentions, and, 
 once within, stood amid trees, shade, and water. The " tender 
 juvenile " then set up a shout, and soon a man appeared, "old 
 Adam's likeness set to dress this garden," save that he was not 
 old but young, as Adam might himself have been while yet in 
 Eden. We were somewhat afraid of a surly reception, too well 
 merited by our very equivocal introduction; but the gardener 
 was better tempered than many of his caste, and after saluting 
 us very politely, offered his services at our disposal. On learning 
 that we were from Damascus, he grew positively friendly, led 
 us through an umbrageous alley to a little lodge or watch-hut 
 in the enclosure, and there presented us to a cousin of his, wb.o
 
 2i8 From Bcrcydah tchap. vii 
 
 also said he had been to "Sham," or Damascus. But *-Sham" 
 has in Nejed as loose an application as Nejed has in Sham, and 
 we found ere long that our new acquaintance had never really 
 overpassed the limits of Arabia; he had only gone some way on 
 the northern pilgrim road towards Tabook and its neighbour- 
 hood ; however, this was enough to make him a lion in his 
 village, and he was a great authority about Damascus, though 
 he had stopped short at a full fortnight's distance from its gates. 
 We made friends, and a very tolerable extemporary breakfast 
 of curds and dates, with clear cold water, such as our hearts 
 desired, was set before us. The young Solibah had gone fruit- 
 hunting on his own account. We then proposed to purchase a 
 stock of dates for our onward way, whereon the gardener con- 
 ducted us to an outhouse where heaps of three or four kinds 
 of this fruit, red and yellow, round or long, lay piled up, and 
 bade us choose. At his recommendation we filled a large cloth 
 which we had brought with us for the purpose with excellent 
 ruddy dates, and gave in return a small piece of money, wel- 
 come here as elsewhere. We then took leave and returned, 
 but this time through the garden gate, to the stubble-fields, 
 and passing under the broken walls of the village, reached our 
 companions, who had become anxious at our absence. 
 
 Leaving ThomejT, we climbed the highest shelf of Central 
 Toweyk, and traversed its bare upper ledge or table-land ; the 
 view all around was splendid, and forced the admiration of the 
 Na'ib himself, though little disposed to praise a-nything in Nejed. 
 Only to the east lofty mountain-lines limited the prospect; south, 
 west, and north, plateau and plain lay below in a bird's-eye land- 
 scape of immense extent. This district comprises, to the best of 
 my observation, the most elevated point of Inner Arabia, which 
 I should place at about fifteen or twenty miles south-east of Tho- 
 me)T. The pass through which our road lay is called "Thenee- 
 yat-'Atalah," that is, " the barren," though often simply known 
 by the autonomastic designation of " Eth-Theneeyah," or '•'■the 
 pass '' par excellence^ because the highest in the land. The easterly 
 mountain is "Djebel 'Atalah" itself, berhymed in Arab song. 
 
 Our path, a very stony one, led for three or four hours along 
 the ridge; nor was it till late in the afternoon that we began to 
 descend a very steep and slippery track, amid marl and grey- 
 stone intermixed, till step by step we reached the lower level,
 
 Chap. VII] tO RV ad 2\C) 
 
 the same on which we had travelled the day before. All were 
 heartily tired; the camels after so prolonged a march laboured 
 heavily in their tread, and the Na'ib gave vent to his ill-temper 
 by a furious quarrel with his men ; the occasion was a pome- 
 granate which he had eaten alone without offering them a 
 share: June irce d lacrymcs. I mention this for a sample of many 
 similar squalls that ruffled the placidity of the Shiya'ee band. 
 But it is only justice to say that Moliammed-'Alee's better 
 mood soon returned, and he was then heartily ashamed of his 
 own past indecorum. 
 
 Amid such alternations within and without, we were in all 
 cases obliged to push smartly on if we wished to reach in time 
 Sadik, our destined night's halt. And at last we caught a 
 glimpse of it amid uneven ground, just after threading a pretty 
 knot of small hills, where couching gazelles started up on our 
 approach and ran away; but evening was now far advanced, nor 
 did we come under the walls till dark. A clean sandy space, 
 hard by a well, and sheltered around by lofty palm-trees, 
 afforded us a halting place. Here all alighted, while Aboo-'Eysa 
 alone entered the town to give its governor notice of our arrival. 
 He very courteously invited us, great and small, to his residence, 
 despite the lateness of the hour. But the Na'ib, dead tired, 
 refused to rise from his carpets where he had flung him down ; 
 the sand was soft, and the night air not over cold. Accordingly 
 the governor sent us out where we were a supply of meat, 
 curds, honey, melons, and bread, enough for a good supper, to 
 which the Arabs added coffee and the Persians tea. Somewhere 
 about midnight we made a hearty meal by the light of our 
 fires, and bivouacked beside them. 
 
 Aboo-'Eysa knew, though he would not say, that next day's 
 march was almost equal in length to the preceding one. In 
 spite of all remonstrances from the jaded travellers, he put us 
 by dawn in movement, and we left Sadik without having seen 
 the inside of its walls. We had not gone far on our way when 
 the chiefs own brother, in a handsome red dress, and accom- 
 panied by some swordsmen of his train, rode after us to beg us 
 to retrace our steps and honour his abode by partaking therein 
 of an early dinner. But want of leisure rendered this impos- 
 sible ; so we thanked him for his offer, and he returned, after 
 smoking a furtive pipe with Barakat and myself.
 
 220 From Bcrcydah 'Chap vn 
 
 The road now wound between shrubs and bushes, where 
 hares and partridges abounded; the Na'ib had slung to his 
 saddle a good double-barrelled English fowling-piece, brought 
 from India; but though he talked much and big about his gun 
 and his sporting achievements, we could nohow persuade him 
 to make use of it on this or any other occasion, whence my 
 readers will, I fear, draw the same inference that we did, namely, 
 that he was no great shot. A hare now crossed our path, and 
 gave rise to a fierce dispute between the Sonnees and Shiya'ees 
 of our party, touching the lawfulness of eating hare's flesh. 
 The Sonnees, at least those of the Hanbalee sect, to which all 
 iSiejdeans belong, whether Wahhabees or not, hold swine's flesh 
 alone to be forbidden them ; but the Shiya'ees have a prohibitory 
 list of almost orquite as many articles as the Jews themselves, and 
 among these puss is included. The controversy ran high, and 
 nothing was wanting to bring it to a matter-of-fact issue except 
 the essential article of a certain well-known receipt, " first catch 
 your hare ;" but the Na'ib's backwardness in fulfilling that, left 
 matters at the degree of theory only, much to Barakat's regret 
 and mine, a feeling wherein our Nejdean companions heartily 
 sympathized. 
 
 Issuing from the Arcadian labyrinth of rock and shrubbery, 
 we came before noon on an open plain, and had on our right 
 hand the town of Hoolah, a large and busy locality; the size 
 and outline of its towered walls reminded me of Conway Castle, 
 but the construction differs, being here almost wholly of sun- 
 dried bricks, with little stone, and that unhewn. This town, 
 men say, is one of the most flourishing in Sedeyr; perhaps its 
 comparative proximity to Shakra and the Woshem road con- 
 tributes to its prosperity. The inhabitants are not only active 
 traders but diligent agriculturists, and the country around is 
 planted and tilled to a notable distance. 
 
 We left behind us many other villages and hamlets of less 
 note, near and far, till after a few hours of very pretty road 
 over the undulations of the plateau, now mounting, now de- 
 scending its whitened ledges, we reached at sunset the town of 
 Horeymelah, where we were to pass the evening. 
 
 This town, the birthplace of the well-known Mohammed- 
 ebn-'Abd-el-Wahhab, founder and name-giver of the sect now 
 dominant throughout nearly half Arabia, forms the northerly
 
 Chap. VIT] 
 
 to RVad 22 1 
 
 wicket-gate or key to the central stronghold of Nejed, guarded 
 in like fashion by Shakra to the west, Kharfah to the south, 
 and the defile of Wadi Soley' to the east; four localities that 
 occupy the corresponding entrances to the famous valley once 
 "Wadi Moseylemah, now by name Wadi Haneefah, in whose 
 deep labyrinth lies the capital, and the very heart of Nejed. 
 Horeymelah is situated almost on the boundary line between 
 'Aared and Sedeyr, but belongs to the latter. It blocks up 
 the funnel-like end of the gorge through which we had been 
 travelling half the day, with just enough open space around for 
 the customary plantation-halo of a Nejdean town; the outer 
 fortifications are, as beseems the position, remarkably strong, 
 and the population about ten thousand in number. What 
 most surprised me on our first entrance here, was the view 
 of a large castle, placed on a rising ground within the town 
 itself, and announcing in its symmetrical construction a degree 
 of architectural and defensive science unusual in these coun- 
 tries. My wonder was however lessened on learning that this 
 fortress was the work of Ibraheem Bacha, erected during the 
 Egyptian occupation of Nejed subsequent to the fall of 
 Derey'eeyah. Young though Ibraheem then was, his fertile 
 mind had already conceived the system which in after years 
 covered S^xia and the north with monuments of his prodigious 
 energy, and of his consummate, skill in every^vhere selecting 
 for his strategic constructions precisely the points best at once 
 for securing subjection and barring invasion. The castle of 
 Horeymelah was the first of Ibraheem's strong posts that I saw 
 in Nejed, but we met with more farther on ; and I was told 
 that other like works of his yet exist in Woshem and on the 
 skirts of Kaseem, but my line of route did not permit me to 
 visit them. 
 
 Betah, a native of the town and a zealous Wahhabee, heart 
 and soul devoted to the interests of the Sa'ood family, was 
 governor here. He was of good parentage; and not deficient 
 in the kind of education peculiar to his country and sect ; he 
 received us very courteously, and introduced us without delay 
 into his spacious abode within the castle. But the evening was 
 warm, almost close, and after a itvf minutes of ceremony 
 in the K'hawah, we unanimously voted for the open air. 
 Carpets were accordingly spread and cushions an^anged on the
 
 222 From Bcrcydah [Chap, vii 
 
 large flat roof above the second storey, and thitlier we mounted 
 by a flight of stone steps, ill-hghted, and particularly fit to break 
 the necks of those who should venture on them at night time. 
 On one side of the roof a third storey rose higher still, and the 
 parapet against which we reclined our wear)^ backs overhung 
 the central market-place of the town. 
 
 Our evening party lasted on far into the starry night ; the 
 Persian Na'ib and his satellites retired to rest, while Aboo-'Eysa 
 and ourselves remained to listen to the fire-eating discourses of 
 Betali, and lead him on from tale to tale. Like most Nejdeans, 
 he added innate eloquence of diction to grammatical purity of 
 language ; and Barakat was here, as often elsewhere during our 
 journey, compelled to admit that neither at Zalileh nor at 
 Damascus is the spoken dialect, even amongst the best educated 
 and the most pretentious, worthy the name of Arabic if com- 
 pared to the diction of Nejed. 
 
 Next morning we resumed our route, accompanied by Betah"s 
 men, who were charged to escort us to the frontiers of the pro- 
 vince. These were not distant, and long before noon we entered 
 on a white and marly plain, an expansion of the gorge up 
 which we had come, and saw before us the little towoi of Sedoos, 
 the northern limit of 'Aared, and scene of several skirmishes 
 during the Egyptian war. We here left the lower grounds, 
 with their broad but circuitous route, to follow a straight cut 
 across the mountain, whose ledge we climbed (so steep that 
 the camels had much ado to master it), and reached a table- 
 land of considerable elevation, yet well provided with grass and 
 trees. The horizon was still bounded on the east by Toweyk 
 itself; south and west it was comparatively open. Our day's 
 march was long, and we pushed on briskly and silently, till 
 in the late afternoon we halted under a pretty grove, lighted 
 our fires, and partook of what food ordinary Arab travellers 
 have leisure or means to prepare. When we moved off once 
 more evening was at hand, but before sunset we attained 
 the extreme southerly verge of the heights, and skirted them 
 for half an hour on a narrow path, having the depths of 
 Wadi Haneefah immediately below. Then came a long and 
 difficult descent into the valley, where, at the precipice foot, 
 an overhanging rock sheltered a large deep pool of clear water, 
 of which we all gladly drank, for the day had been hot, and
 
 Chap. VII] tO R'l ad 2^3 
 
 since leaving Sedoos we had not met with either well or 
 fountain. 
 
 Now we threaded the valley in a south-westerly direction. 
 The first shades of nightfall were closing in, when we found 
 ourselves among the vestiges of 'Eyanah. For half a league or 
 more the ground was intersected by broken walls, and heaps 
 once towers and palaces, amid headless palm-trees, ranges of 
 ithel marking where gardens had been, dry wells, and cisterns 
 choked with dust. Not a living soul appeared as we wound 
 through lines of rubbish that indicated where streets had been, 
 and passed the lone market-gate, yet standing, and open on 
 emptiness. It is a curious fact that Ibraheem Basha, struck by 
 the advantageous position of the town, and perhaps not un- 
 willing to establish a permanent counterpoise to the influence 
 of Derey'eeyah by the revival of old animosities, endeavoured 
 in his day to rebuild and repeople this locality, cleared out the 
 old wells and sunk new ones, brought artisans and mechanicians 
 to the work; but all in vain, and he was obliged to abandon 
 the now waterless and hopeless site to abiding desolation. 
 
 Wadi Haneefah is hereabouts a good league in breadth, and 
 full of trees and brushwood, while its precipitous sides are 
 cavemed out into countless recesses for the wolf and hyaena ; 
 deer abound also, and we saw the latter, besides hearing the 
 growl of the ruder animals. To avoid the windings of the main 
 valley, we left it shortly after getting clear of 'Eyanah, and pro- 
 ceeded on a small cross-branch leading due south, not without 
 some danger of losing our way in the darkness, till ultimately 
 the whole caravan, Persians, Arabs, and the one European also, 
 fairly tired out with floundering amid sands, rocks, thorns, and 
 ithel, insisted on a halt. Aboo-'Eysa, the most indefatigable of 
 guides, and scarcely inclined to make allowance in others for a 
 weariness which he never appeared himself to feel, was com- 
 pelled, though after much expostulation, to consent to our just 
 request. We lighted fires, a practical hint to all our neighbours 
 of claw and tooth not to approach too near, and lay down to sleep. 
 
 The relentless Aboo-'Eysa availed himself of a simulated 
 mistake between the rising moon and the dawn of morning to 
 rouse us from rest two or three hours before day. Once up, we 
 consented to continue our march, and soon regained the Wadi 
 Haneefah close by the little village of Rowdah. Here in the
 
 2 24 From Dcrcydali fCnAP. vii 
 
 lirst century of Islam was laid the scene of the great battle 
 between Khalid-ebn-Waleed, the "Sword of the Faith," and 
 Moseylemah the false prophet of Nejed, and here the death of 
 the latter ensured the triumph of Mahometanism throughout 
 Arabia. 
 
 In the early grey of morning we passed close under the 
 plantations of Rowdah down the valley, now dry and still, once 
 overflowed with the best blood of Arabia, and through the 
 narrow and high-walled pass which gives entrance to the great 
 strongholds of the land. The sun rose and lighted up to our 
 view wild precipices on either side, with a tangled mass of 
 broken rock and brushwood below, while coveys of partridges 
 started up at our feet, and deer scampered away by the gorges 
 to right or left, or a cloud of dust announced the approach of 
 peasant bands or horsemen going to and fro, and gardens or 
 hamlets gleamed through side-openings or stood niched in the 
 bulging passes of the Wadi itself, till before noon we arrived at 
 the little hamlet of Malka, or "the junction." 
 
 Its name is derived from its position. Here the valley divides 
 in form of a Y, sending off two branches — one southerly to 
 Derey'eeyah, the other south-east-by-east through the centre of 
 the province, and communicating with the actual capital, Ri'ad. 
 At the point of bipartition stands what would in India be called 
 a bungalow, and in Syria a khan — namely, a sort of open house 
 for the accommodation and rest of travellers ; close by is a large 
 well, and a garden, the property of the heir-apparent 'Abd- 
 AUah. The broad foliage of fig-trees and citrons overhangs the 
 road, and invites to repose. We rested the hours of noon, 
 ])artly in the guesthouse and partly in the garden, while the 
 Na'ib availed himself of the seasonable leisure to dye with 
 fresh henna his beard and moustache, whose whitening under- 
 growth threatened to belie the artificial youth of their tips. He 
 flattered himself with the prospect of a speedy audience from 
 the Wahhabee monarch, and was fain to muster all the advan- 
 tages of personal appearance by way of a supplement to diplo- 
 matic importance. Delusive hopes ! vain endeavours ! but 
 meanwhile let him blacken his grey hairs and give sixty the 
 semblance of thirty-five ; it certainly improves his looks. 
 
 Aboo-'Eysa had meditated bringing us on that very evening 
 to Ri'ad. But eight good leagues remained from IMalka to the
 
 Chap. VII] tO Rl ad 225 
 
 capital; and when the Na'ib had terminated his cosmetic opera- 
 tions, the easterly-turning shadows left us no hope of attaining 
 Ri'ad before nightfall. However, we resumed our march, and 
 took the arm of the valley leading to Derey'eeyah ; but before 
 .reaching it we once more quitted the Wadi, and followed a 
 shorter path by the highlands to the left. Our way was next 
 crossed by a long range of towers, built by Ibraheem Basha 
 as outposts for the defence of this important position. Within 
 their line stood the lonely walls of a large square barrack j the 
 towers were what we sometimes call Martello— short, large, 
 and round. The level rays of the setting sun now streamed 
 across the plain, and we came on the ruins of Derey'eeyah,. 
 filling up the whole breadth of the valley beneath. The palace 
 walls, of unbaked brick. Hke the rest, rose close under the left 
 or northern edge, but unroofed and tenantless ; a little lower 
 down a wide extent of fragments showed where the immense 
 mosque had been, and hard by, the market-place ; a tower on 
 an isolated height was, I suppose, the original dwelling-place 
 of the Sa'ood family while yet mere local chieftains, before 
 growing greatness transferred them to their imperial palace. 
 The outer fortifications remained almost uninjured for much of 
 their extent, with turrets and bastions reddening in the western 
 light; in other places the Egyptian artillery or the process of 
 years had levelled them with the earch ; within the town many 
 houses were yet standing, but uninhabited; and the lines of 
 the streets from gate to gate were distinct as in a ground-plan. 
 From the great size of the town (for it is full half a mile in 
 length, and not much less in breadth), and from the close 
 packing of the houses, I should estimate its capacity at above 
 forty thousand indwellers. The gardens lie without, and still 
 " hving waved where man had ceased to live," in full beauty 
 and luxuriance, a deep green ring around the grey ruins. For 
 although the Nejdeans, holding it for an ill omen to rebuild 
 and reinhabit a town so fatally overthrown, have transplanted 
 the seat of government, and with it the bulk of city population, 
 to Ri'ad, they have not deemed it equally necessary to abandon 
 the rich plantations and well-watered fields belonging to the old 
 capital ; and thus a small colony of gardeners, in scattered huts 
 and village dwellings close under the walls, protract the blighted 
 existence of I)erey"ee\ah. 
 
 Q
 
 226 From BereydaJi to Riaci [Chat. vii 
 
 While from our commanding elevation we gazed thoughtfully 
 on this scene, so full of remembrances, the sun set, and darkness 
 grew on. We naturally proposed a halt ; but Aboo-'Eysa turned 
 a deaf ear, and allirmed that a garden belonging to 'Abd-er- 
 Rahman, already mentioned as grandson of the first Wahhabee, 
 was but a little farther before us, and better adapted to our 
 night's rest than the ruins. In truth, three hours of brisk 
 travelling yet intervened between Derey'eeyah and the place in 
 question ; but our guide was unwilling to enter Derey'eeyah in 
 company of Persians and Syrians, Shiya'ees and Christians ; and 
 this he afterwards confessed to me. For whether from one of 
 those curious local influences which outlast even the change of 
 races, and give one abiding colour to the successive tenants of 
 the same spot, or whether it be occasioned by the constant view 
 of their fallen greatness and the triumph of their enemies, the 
 scanty population of Perey'eeyah comprises some of the bitterest 
 and most bigoted fanatics that even 'Aared can offer. Accord- 
 ingly we moved on, still keeping to the heights, and late at 
 night descended a little hollow, where amid an extensive garden 
 stood the country villa of 'Abd-er- Rahman. 
 
 We did not attempt to enter the house; indeed, at such an 
 hour no one was stirring to receive us. But a shed in the 
 garden close by sufficed for travellers who were all too weary to 
 desire aught but sleep ; and this we soon found in spite of dogs 
 and jackals, numerous here and throughout Nejed. 
 
 From this locality to the capital was about four miles' distance. 
 Our party divided next morning : the Na'ib and his associates 
 remaining behind, while Barakat and myself, with Aboo-'Eysa, 
 set off straight for the town, where our guide was to give notice 
 at the palace of the approach of the Persian dignitary, that the 
 honours due to his reception might meet him half-way. At our 
 request the Meccans stayed also in the rear; we did not desire 
 the equivocal effect of their company on a first appearance. 
 
 For about an hour we proceeded southward, through barren 
 and undulating ground, unable to see over the country to any 
 distance. At last we attained a rising eminence, and crossing 
 it, came at once in full view of Ri'ad, the main object of our 
 long journey — the capital of Nejed and half Arabia, its very 
 heart of hearts.
 
 * 
 
 PLAN OP HIAD.
 
 227 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 Ri'ad 
 
 As when a scout 
 Through dark and secret ways with peril gone 
 All night, at last by break of cheerful dawn 
 Obtains the brow of some high-climbing hill, 
 Which to his eye discovers unawares 
 The goodly prospect of some foreign land 
 First seen, or some renowned metropolis. 
 
 Alilton 
 
 A View of Ri'ad and its Neighbourhood — A Meeting — Cemetery — Entrance of 
 the TaiLm — Market-place — Halt at the Palace — '' Abd-el-'' Azeez, his Ofice 
 and Character — Interior of the Palace — Its Architecture, Size, and Ar- 
 rangements — The Ifhdwah — Dinner — The Reception of the Naib — His 
 Disgust — Our Lodgings in the Palace of DJeloo^'cvee — Effect of our Arrival 
 on Feysul — His Retreat out of Town — Ri''ad Spies — ''Abd-el-Ifameed the 
 Peshawuree — His History, Character, and Coiiversation — ''Abbood the 
 Medde^yee — Cholera in Nejed — Institiction of the *^ Zelators^' — Their 
 System — Potvei — Its Results at Ri\id, in Nejed, and in the Provinces — 
 Present Position of the Zelators — Reaction — 'Abbood and his Conversation 
 — Offer made by 'Abd-el-'Azeez — Our Refusal — Interview of Aboo- Eysa 
 with Feysul — Our Difficulties — Bribing the Government — Our New 
 Dwellitig near the Nd'ib — Coffee — Its Qualities and Trade — Our Life at 
 RVad — A Visit to the Marketplace — Mixed Populations — Sketches — Eotir 
 Divisions of the Totvn — Great Square and Djiimid' — Walls of the Town 
 — Gardens — Climate — Sheep, Cattle, Game — The Negro Population, why 
 numerous here — Negro Emancipatioft — The Khodeyreeyah — Their Social 
 Position — Population of Nejed — Benoo-Remeem — Their Peculiar Character 
 — Decline of Comincrce — Agriculture — Warlike Impulse — Reflections — 
 Language of Nejed — The Two great Arab Dialects — Their Origin and 
 Differe7ice — Remarks. 
 
 Before us stretched a wild open valley, and in its foreground, 
 immediately below the pebbly slope on whose summit we 
 stood, lay the capital, large and square, crowned by high 
 towers and strong walls of defence, a mass of roofs and ter- 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 RVad [CiiAi. v:ii 
 
 races, where overtopping all frowned the huge but hregular 
 pile of Feysul's royal castle, and hard by it rose the scarce 
 less conspicuous palace, built and inhabited by his eldest son, 
 'Abd-Allah. Other edifices too of remarkable appearance broke 
 here and there through the maze of grey roof-tops, but their 
 object and indwellers were yet to learn. All around for full 
 three miles over the surrounding plain, but more especially to 
 the west and south, waved a sea of palm-trees above green 
 fields and well-watered gardens ; while the singing droning 
 sound of the water-wheels reached us even where we had 
 halted, at a quarter of a mile or more from the nearest town- 
 walls. On the opposite side southwards, the valley opened 
 out into the great and even more fertile plains of Yemamah, 
 thickly dotted with groves and villages, among which the large 
 town of Manfoohah, hardly inferior in size to Ri'ad itself, might 
 be clearly distinguished. Farther in the background ranged 
 the blue hills, the ragged sierra of Yemamah, compared some 
 thirteen hundred years since, by 'Amroo-ebn-Kelthoom the 
 Shomerite, to drawn swords in battle array; and behind them 
 was concealed the immeasurable Desert of the South, or Dahna. 
 On the west the valley closes in and nan-ows in its upward 
 windings towards Derey'eeyah, while to the south-west the low 
 mounds of Aflaj are the division between it and Wadi Dowasir. 
 Due east in the distance a long blue line marks the farthest 
 heights of Toweyk, and shuts out from view the low ground of 
 IJasa and the shores of the Persian Gulf. In all the countries 
 which I have visited, and they are many, seldom has it been 
 mine to survey a landscape equal to this in beauty and in 
 historical meaning, rich and full alike to eye and mind. 
 But should any of my readers have ever approached Damascus 
 from the side of the Anti-Lebanon, and surveyed the Ghootah 
 from the heights above Mazzeh, they may thence form an 
 approximate idea of the valley of Ri'ad when viewed from the 
 north. Only this is wider and more varied, and the circle of 
 vision here embraces vaster plains and bolder mountains ; while 
 the mixture of tropical aridity and luxuriant verdure, of crowded 
 population and desert tracks, is one that Arabia alone can 
 present, and in comparison with which Syria seems tame, and 
 Italy monotonous. 
 
 A light morning mist, the first we had witnessed for many
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 229 
 
 days, hung over the town, and bespoke the copious moisture of 
 its gardens. But the hot sun soon dissipated the thin and 
 transient veil; whilst the sensible increase of heat indicated 
 a region not only more southerly in latitude than that hitherto 
 traversed, but also exposed to the burning winds of the neigh- 
 bouring desert, tliat lies beyond the inner verge of Yemamah, 
 like one vast furnace, up to the very shores of the Indian Ocean. 
 Barakat and myself stopped our dromedaries a few minutes 
 on the height, to study and enjoy this noble prospect, and to 
 forget the anxiety inseparable from a first approach to the 
 lion's own den. Aboo-'Eysa too, though not unacquainted with 
 the scene, willingly paused with us to point out and name the 
 main features of the view, and show us where lay the onward 
 road to his home in Hasa. AVe then descended the slope and 
 skirted the walls of the first outlying plantations which gird 
 the town. Here more than one whom we met saluted our 
 guide in the friendly tone of an old acquaintance ; but above 
 all, a lad whom Aboo-'Eysa had picked up some years before ; 
 a destitute orphan of this vicinity, whose education and means 
 of livelihood he had, with a generosity less remarkable in Arabia 
 than it might be elsewhere, provided for, till the youth was 
 able to work out for himself his own way in the world. He 
 now happened to be filling a water-skin from a well near the 
 roadside at the moment of our arrival. The boy ran up to kiss 
 Aboo-'Eysa's hand, and to prove, by the evident sincerity of his 
 delight at seeing him again, that gi'atitude is no less an Arab 
 than a European virtue, whatever the ignorance or the prejudices 
 of some foreigners may have afliirmed to the contrary. With a 
 little knot of companions walking by our side, and laughing 
 and talking their fill, we entered on a byway leading between 
 the royal stables on one hand, and a spacious garden belonging 
 to 'Abd-el-Lateef, Kadee of the town, on the other. After a 
 while we came out on the great cemetery, which spreads along 
 the north-eastern wall, and contains the population of many 
 past years — low tombs, without stone or memorial, inscription 
 or date. Among these lie Turkee, father of the present 
 monarch, and close beside him his slaughtered rivals, Mesharee 
 and Ebn Theney'yan, with many others of note in their day, 
 now undistinguished from the meanest and poorest of their 
 fellow-countrymen.
 
 230 RVad [Chap, vni 
 
 This burial-ground is intersected by several tracks, leading to 
 the different town-gates ; we ourselves now followed a path 
 ending at the north-eastern portal, a wide and high entrance, with 
 thick square towers on either side ; several guardsmen armed 
 with swords were seated in the passage. Aboo-'Eysa answered 
 their challenge, and led us within the town. Here we found 
 ourselves at first in a broad street, going straight to the palace; 
 on each side were large houses, generally two storeys high, wells 
 for ablution, mosques of various dimensions, and a few fruit- 
 trees planted here and there in the courtyards. After ad- 
 vancing two hundred yards or rather more, we had on our right 
 hand the palace of 'Abd-AUah, a recent and almost symme- 
 trical construction, square in form, with goodly carved gates, 
 and three storeys of windows one above the other. We con- 
 templated and were contemplated by groups of negroes and 
 servants, seated near the doors, or on the benches outside, in 
 the cool of the morning shade. A little farther on, to the left, 
 we passed the palace of Djeloo'wee, brother of Feysul, and at 
 this time absent on business in the direction of Kela'at-Bisha'. 
 At last we reached a great open square : its right side, the 
 northern, consists of shops and warehouses ; while the left is 
 entirely absorbed by the huge abode of Nejdean royalt}'; in 
 front of us, and consequently to the west, a long covered pas- 
 sage, upborne high on a clumsy colonnade, crossed the breadth 
 of the square, and reached from the palace to the great mosque, 
 which it thus joins directly with the interior of the castle, and 
 affords old Feysul a private and unseen passage at will from his 
 own apartments to his official post at the Friday prayers, without 
 exposing him on his way to vulgar curiosity, or perhaps to the 
 dangers of treachery. For the fate of his father and of his 
 great-uncle, his predecessors on the throne, and each of them 
 pierced by the dagger of an assassin during public worship, has 
 rendered Feysul very timid on this score, though not at prayer- 
 time only. Behind this colonnade, other shops and ware- 
 houses make up the end of the square, or more properly par- 
 allelogram ; its total length is about two hundred paces, by 
 rather more than half the same width. In the midst of this 
 space, and under the far-reaching shadow of the castle walls, are 
 seated some fifty or sixty women, each with a stock of bread, 
 dates, milk, vegetables, or firewood before her for sale; around
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital flf Ncjcd 231 
 
 are crowds of loiterers, camels, dromedaries, sacks piled up, and 
 all the wonted accompaniments of an Arab market. 
 
 But we did not now stop to gaze, nor indeed did we pay 
 much attention to all this; our first introduction to the monarch 
 and the critical position before us took up all our thoughts. 
 So we paced on alongside of the long blind wall running out 
 from the central keep, and looking more like the outside of 
 a fortress than of a peaceful residence, till we came near 
 a low and narrow gate, the only entry to the palace. Deep 
 sunk between the bastions, with massive folding-doors iron- 
 bound, though thrown open at this hour of the day, and giving 
 entrance into a dark passage, one might easily have taken it 
 for the vestibule of a prison; while the number of guards, some 
 black, some white, but all sword-girt, who almost choked the 
 way, did not seem very inviting to those without, especially to 
 foreigners. Long earth-seats lined the adjoining walls, and 
 afforded a convenient waiting-place for visitors; and here we 
 took up our rest at a htde distance from the palace gate ; 
 but Aboo-'Eysa entered at once to announce our arrival, and 
 the approach of the Na'ib. 
 
 The morning was not far advanced, it might be eight o'clock 
 or Httle later. The passers-by were many, for the adjoining 
 market was open, and every one coming and going on his daily 
 business. However no one approached to question us, though 
 several stared ; we were somewhat surprised at this unwonted 
 absence of familiarity, not yet fully knowing its cause. After 
 a good half-hour's waiting the ice was broken. 
 
 The first who drew near and saluted us was a tall meagre 
 figure, of a sallow complexion, and an intelligent but slightly 
 ill-natured and underhand cast of features. He was very well 
 dressed, though of course without a vestige of unlawful silk in 
 his apparel, and a certain air of conscious importance tempered 
 the affability of his politeness. This was 'Abd-el-'Azeez, whom, 
 for want of a better title, I shall call the minister of foreign 
 affairs, such being the approximate translation of his official style, 
 '"Wezeer-el-Kharijeeyah." His office extends to whatever does 
 not immediately regard the internal administration, whether 
 political, fiscal, or military. Thus it is his to regulate the 
 reception of ambassadors from foreign courts, or the expedition 
 of such from Ri'ad itself; to his department belongs the convey-
 
 232 Riad [Chap. VIII 
 
 ance of government letters, messages, and all the detail of lesser 
 affairs regarding allies or neighbours, especially where the 
 Bedouin tribes of Nejed are concerned ; in his keeping are the 
 muster-rolls of the towns and provinces ; and lastly, he exercises 
 an executive superintendence over export and import duties — a 
 profitable charge, particularly when in the hands of one not 
 over-famed for strictness of conscience or contempt of gain. 
 His personal quaUties are those which distinguish the majority 
 of old Ri'ad families, and are indeed common enough through- 
 out 'Aared. A reserved and equable exterior, a smooth tongue, 
 a courteous though grave manner, and beneath this, hatred, 
 envy, rapacity, and licentiousness enough to make his intimacy 
 dangerous, his enmity mortal, and his friendship suspected. 
 This is the peculiar stamp of the 'Aared race, the pith and 
 heart of the Wahhabee government ; we have already seen a 
 sample of it in Mohanna at Bereydah ; but here it is a province 
 of Mohannas. In general the base-work and ground-colour 
 of their character is envy and hatred ; rapacity and hcentious- 
 ness, though seldom wholly wanting, are accessory embellish- 
 ments ; pride is universal, vanity rare. Add to this, great 
 courage, endurance, persistence of purpose, an inflexible will 
 united to a most flexible cunning, passions that can bide their 
 time, and audacity long postponed till the moment to strike 
 once, and once only ; and it will be easily understood why the 
 empire of these men is alike widely spread and widely hated, 
 submitted to and loathed, now firm in quiet pressure, and now 
 varied by broad blood-streaks and desolating terror. 
 
 Accompanied by some attendants from the palace, 'Abd-el- 
 'Azeez came stately up, and seated himself by our side. He 
 next began the customary interrogations of whence and what, 
 with much smiling courtesy and show of welcome. After 
 hearing our replies, the same of course as those given else- 
 where, he invited us to enter the precincts, and partake of his 
 Majesty's coffee and hospitality, while he promised us more im- 
 mediate communications from the king himself in the course of 
 the day. Accordingly we followed him within the gate, and 
 passing its long and obscure continuation came into a sort of 
 interior lane, or open corridor. On one side were the apart- 
 ments occupied by the sovereign, his private audience-room, his 
 oratory, so to call it, or special Musalla, "place of prayer," and
 
 CiiAi'. viii] TJic Capital of Ni'jcd 233 
 
 behind these the chambers of his numerous harem, and of his 
 unmarried daughter, an old maid of tifty at least, who acts as 
 her father's secretary in important correspondence, and with 
 whom, for this very reason, Feysul has never been willing to 
 part, in spite of her many and pressing suitors. This quarter 
 of the palace is spacious and lofty, three storeys in height, and 
 between fifty and sixty feet from the ground to the roof-para- 
 pet. In these very rooms Mesharee, the temporary usurper, 
 was killed by 'Abd-Allah, the father of our old acquaintance 
 Telal. In front of this mass of building, but on the inner side 
 and on the right of the passage just mentioned, is a square 
 unroofed court, surrounded with seats, and here Feysul some- 
 times gives a half-public audience. From this court a private 
 door, well guarded and narrow like the first, leads to the apart- 
 ments described, which form, so to speak, a separate palace 
 within the palace. They own, however, a second point of 
 communication with the rest of the building, by means of a 
 covered way, thrown out from the second storey across the 
 passage where we now stood; a third is given by the long gallery 
 that leads above its columns to the mosque at about a hundred 
 yards' distance; on all other sides whatever intercourse from 
 without is carefully excluded. I ought here to add that all the 
 windows are strongly cross-barred, and the doors solid and pro- 
 vided with stout locks and bolts, while on the outside a glacis 
 encircles the lower part of the walls, and adds to their thickness, 
 besides giving them the appearance of regular fortification. 
 Lastly, the ground-storey has no windows, large or small, 
 opening on the exterior. 
 
 On the other side of the passage the first door we meet Avith 
 is that of the K'hawah. To this apartment entrance is given 
 by a vestibule wherein visitors deposit their shoes or swords, or 
 both if they have both ; the K'hawah itself is sufficiently large, 
 about forty feet in length and of nearly equal width, but low 
 and ill-lighted. Farther on is another door, conducting to the 
 prison. I visited two of its chambers or cells ; they would hardly 
 have attracted the censure even of a Howard — large, air)', and 
 provided with whatever might be requisite for the comfort of 
 their indwellers. The Habs-ed-Dem, literally " Prison of Blood," 
 that is, that for state criminals of the first order, is underneath, 
 below ground, and probably affords worse lodgings; but I did
 
 234 RVad [Chap. viii 
 
 not think it prudent to ask admittance. Just beyond this prison, 
 and opposite to the courtyard on the other side already men- 
 tioned, a long flight of stairs leads up through the open air to 
 the second storey; here is a guest's dining-room, capable of 
 admitting forty at a time, and pleasantly cool. Immediately 
 behind it is said to exist in the very thickness of the wall a 
 small closet, communicating with the secret passage to the 
 harem; and in this unworthy niche popular scandal ensconces 
 Feysul, who may thus himself unseen overhear through the thin 
 ])artition whatever escapes his unsuspecting guests in a moment 
 of convivial freedom, and record it for his o\vn ends: — "rats 
 behind the arras" ! Beyond are rooms inhabited by ser/ants 
 and attendants. 
 
 Farther on the passage enters the main body of the palace, 
 passing under the second storey, and at once branches off on 
 either side. Right hand it leads to the gi'eat kitchen, next to the 
 indoors Musalla, or oratory for the inhabitants of the palace, 
 Feysul and his harem alone excepted ; and beyond terminates 
 in a second and spaciou.s courtyard, on one side of which is the 
 arsenal and powder-magazine, and on the other workshops of 
 various descriptions, a watchmaker's among the rest, all for the 
 king's immediate service. Hard by the kitchen are the rooms 
 of 'Abd-el-Hameed, native of Balkh, a dubious character, sup- 
 posed to be deeply engaged in religious study, and really busied 
 in very different pursuits ; but of him more anon. On this same 
 side inhabits our friend 'Abd-el-'Azeez, the foreign minister; but 
 I never entered his saloon, contenting myself with identifying 
 the door and locality for information's sake. 
 
 The left branch passage leads to the large and handsome 
 apartments tenanted by Mahboob, prime minister of the empire. 
 Exactly opposite lives the Metow'waa', or chaplain of the palace, 
 and next door to him another learned Nejdean, both plunged 
 in studies on antecedent re])robation, and the polytheism of all 
 sects, their own excepted. Farther on are the extensive quarters 
 of Djowhar, the state-treasurer (his name, which being inter- 
 preted means "Jewel," is at least appropriate), and opposite to 
 these is a long suite of rooms where lives one Nasir, a sort of 
 court chamberlain, but which arc also at the disposal of Sa'ood, 
 second son of Feysul, wlien he visits his father at Ri'acl. Last, 
 but uot least, Aboo-Shems, head artilleryman of the army, in-
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 235 
 
 habits this same section of the palace. Besides these notables, 
 a crowd of full sixty or seventy attendants, mostly negroes, are 
 lodged within the precincts ; while all and each, from the highest 
 to the lowest, have their separate apartments for numerous 
 wives ; and, again, every single household is entirely distinct 
 from the rest : hence my readers may imagine how vast and how 
 ill-assorted this mass of building must be. Lastly, there exists 
 on the left a long courtyard or area, corresponding to that 
 already mentioned on the right ; and here too is situated the 
 Bab-es-Sirr, or secret gate, constructed to serve in the even- 
 tualities of a siege, of treason, or other desperate emergencies. 
 The entire hive of habitations is surrounded by high walls and 
 hollow round towers for defence; two-thirds of the circuit have 
 the additional safeguard of a deep trench, but without water. 
 
 If my readers have seen, as most of them undoubtedly will, 
 the Paris Tuileries, they may hereby know that the whole extent 
 of Feysul's palace equals about two-thirds of that construction, 
 and is little inferior to it in height ; if indeed we except the 
 angular pyramidal roofs or extinguishers peculiar to the French 
 edifice. But in ornament the Parisian pile has the better of it, 
 for there is small pretension to architectural embellishment in 
 this Wahhabee Louvre. Without, within, every other consi- 
 deration has been sacrificed to strength and security; and the 
 outer view of Newgate, at any rate, bears a very strong resem- 
 blance to the general effect of Feysul's palace. However, this 
 latter is at any rate well furnished and fitted up, especially in 
 the sections allotted to the royal family themselves, to Mahboob 
 and to Djowhar ; the upstairs rooms too are fairly lighted ; not 
 so the ground-storey, which would be all the better for gas, could 
 it but be introduced here. 
 
 I should have said that the quarter set apart for royalty, that 
 is, Feysul and his many queens, is itself a quadrangle with an 
 inner court, but into this I was never permitted to enter; these 
 are family apartments on which no prying eye may look. The 
 divan for special receptions, the only room hereabouts into 
 which a stranger can be introduced, is large and comfortable, 
 being about fifty feet long, twenty or more in breadth, and 
 high in proportion. 
 
 In the first court, and in that on the left where resides 
 the valorous Aboo-Shems, several rusty specimens of artillery
 
 236 RVad [Chap. VIII 
 
 Strike awe into Arab souls. I counted above twenty field- 
 pieces, half-a-dozen of them still available for service ; there 
 were, I was told, others, which I did not see. At Hasa 
 and Katcef there exist about thirty more ; so that Feysul's 
 batter)^-list may sum up sixty or so of these warlike engines ; a 
 fourth of them in all, according to my personal inspection, are 
 fit for use; and the rest "as good, for aught his kingship 
 knows," but they are " honeycombed." 
 
 Such is the palace, as I afterwards came to know it in 
 detail, and such its contents. For the present we stopped 
 short at our visit to the K'hawah. The head coffee-maker 
 was a good-natured fellow, and, strange to say, not a negro, 
 nor even a man of 'Aared, but from the IJareek ; several guests 
 were seated around, and conversation followed, but every one 
 was manifestly under restraint. The fact is, that in this town, 
 and yet more of course in the palace, no one ambitious of 
 sleeping in a whole skin can give his tongue free play; and 
 all have in consequence the manner of boys when the school- 
 master is at home. However, the coifee was excellent; in that 
 point Ri'ad and its K'hawahs are unrivalled, and we remained 
 awhile in aromatic enjoyment, awaiting further orders from 
 'Abd-el-'Azeez, or some other of the court. 
 
 But the coincident arrival of the Na'ib and his train was too 
 serious a preoccupation to admit of much thought being yet 
 given to us ; and when noon came we were still sitting almost 
 disregarded in the K'hawah, while our baggage and camels 
 waited patiently in the sun outside. At last a negro slave came 
 up, and invited us in the king's name to dinner within the 
 guest-room upstairs, and there accordingly we ate our rice and 
 mutton with a garnish of dates, and on rising from table were 
 reminded by our dusky Ganymede to pray God for a long 
 reign to Feysul our host. 
 
 Aboo-'Rysa meanwhile, in company with the outriders sent 
 from the palace, had gone to meet the Na'ib and introduce 
 him to the lodgings prepared for his reception. Very much 
 was the Persian astounded to find none of the royal family 
 among those who thus came, no one even of high name or 
 office ; but yet more was his surprise when, instead of imme- 
 diate admittance to Feysul's presence and eager embrace, he 
 was quietly led aside to the very guest-room whither we had
 
 Chai'. VIII] TJie Capital of Ncjcd 237 
 
 been conducted, and a dinner not. a whit more sumptuous than 
 ours was set before him, after which he was very coolly told 
 that he might pray for Feysul and retire to his quarters, while 
 the king settled the day and hour whereon he would vouchsafe 
 him the honour of an audience. 
 
 I never saw any one so unutterably disgusted as our Persian 
 on this occasion. In broken Arabic, and loud enough to be 
 heard by half the palace, he vented his spleen against Arabs, 
 Bedouins, Wahhabees, Nejed, town, country, and all. The 
 men of 'Aared, who heard and half understood, looked very 
 grave, but were much too polite to say anything. Perhaps 
 Feysul too was there, invisible in his recess, to overhear the 
 conversation. Aboo-'Eysa well knew that antipathy was in 
 this case mutual, and that if the Na'ib thought the Wahhabees 
 and their king mere barbarians, unworthy, in European phrase, 
 to black his shoes, they, in their turn, looked on him as a 
 despicable foreigner and an infidel, thus fairly equalizing the 
 balance of reciprocal aversion. Hence he could not but feel 
 the position to be very uncomfortable, and tried to console the 
 indignant Shirazee with excuses and explanations of the " se 
 non vero, ben trovato " kind. All this in our presence, for the 
 Iranian band arrived just at the conclusion of our meal. I had 
 much ado not to laugh at both parties, thinking " six of one 
 and," &c., but tried my utmost to look grave, in consideration 
 of the Nej deans around, and took my cue from Aboo-'Eysa. 
 Meanwhile we suggested to this latter, in an undertone, that 
 for us too lodging for man and beast would be very desirable, 
 and that if we had dined our dromedaries had not. Our guide 
 was well acquainted with the ins and outs of the palace, and 
 in less than no time had found out 'Abd-el-'Azeez, and arranged 
 matters with him in our behalf Nay, the minister of foreign 
 affairs condescended to come in person, and, sweetly smiling, 
 informed us that our temporary habitation was ready, and that 
 Aboo-'Eysa would conduct us thither withc^it delay. We then 
 begged to know, if possible, the king's good will and pleasure 
 regarding our stay and our business in the town. For on our 
 first introduction we had duly stated, in the most correct Wah- 
 habee phraseology, that we had come to Ri'ad " desiring the 
 favour of God, and secondly of Feysul ; and that we begged 
 of God, and secondly of Fey.«;ul, permission to exercise in the
 
 238 Ri'ad [Chap. VIII 
 
 town our medical profession, under the protection of God, and 
 in the next place of Feysul." For Dogberry's advice to " set 
 God first, for God defend but God should go before such 
 villains," is here observed to the letter ; whatever is desired, 
 purported, or asked, the Deity must take the lead. Nor this 
 only, but even the subsequent mention of the creature must 
 nowise be coupled with that of the Creator by the ordinary con- 
 junction " w'," that is, " and," since that would imply equality 
 between the two — flat blasphemy in word or thought. Hence 
 the disjunctive "thumma," or " next after," "at a distance," must 
 take the place of "w'," under penalty of prosecution under the 
 statute. " Unlucky the man who visits Nejed without being 
 previously well versed in the niceties of grammar," said Bara- 
 kat ; " under these schoolmasters a mistake might cost the 
 scholar his head." But of this more anon : to return to our 
 subject, 'Abd-el-'Azeez, a true politician, answered our second 
 interrogation with a vague assurance of good will and unmean- 
 ing patronage. Meantime the Na'ib and his train marched off 
 in high dudgeon to their quarters, and Aboo-'Eysa gave our 
 dromedaries a kick, made them rise, and drove them before us 
 to our new abode. 
 
 This was in a section of Djeloo'wee's palace, now vacant, as 
 before stated, through the absence of the prince on a half- 
 military, half-fiscal expedition. A spacious K'hawah, with two 
 adjoining rooms and an upstairs chamber, had been set apart 
 for our use. We put up the dromedaries in the courtyard, and 
 installed ourselves in the K'hawah. 
 
 But it is time to "shift the scene, to represent" what measures 
 were being taken behind the stage in the palace itself on our 
 account, and what effect this morning's incidents had produced 
 on Feysul and his court. We were not long in learning the 
 particulars, equally ludicrous and characteristic of the land and 
 of its rulers, and well calculated to assign the full measure of 
 their weakness, no Jess than other circumstances had given us 
 that of their strength. The facts were as follow : — 
 
 When Feysul received intelligence of this bevy of strangers 
 at his door, the Persian " charge d'affaires " with all his griev- 
 ances, the Meccans with their impudent mendicity, and the 
 Syrians with their medical pretensions, he fairly lost his ba- 
 lance of mind, and went next to mad. Old and blind, super-
 
 Chap. VIII] Tkc Capital of Ncjcd 239 
 
 stitious and timid, bigoted and tyrannical, whatever construc- 
 tion the utmost conjecture could put on this motley band 
 thus rushing almost unannounced into his very capital, nay, 
 encamped at the doors of his own palace, served only to augment 
 his alarm, suspicion, and disgust. The sacred centre of Nej- 
 dean orthodoxy profaned in one and the same moment by 
 the threefold abomination of Persians, Meccans, and Syrians, 
 Shiya'ees, Sonnees, and Christians, heretics, polytheists, and 
 infidels, was surely enough to call down fire from heaven, or 
 awake an earthquake from beneath. An invasion of cholera was 
 the very least that could be next anticipated. There was, how- 
 ever, worse yet : the begging Meccans might indeed be easily 
 got rid of, and a scanty gift would, it was to be hoped, purchase 
 the relief of the capital from the pollution of their presence. 
 But the Na'ib, with Teheran and the Shah of Persia at his back, 
 was a very different affair ; and Feysul knew too well that the 
 complaints now about to be laid before him were over-true, 
 and that for all vexations inflicted by Aboo-Boteyn or Mohanna, 
 he himself, their master, was really and ultimately responsible. 
 Besides, it was precisely by the Persian dagger of a Persian 
 assassin that his ancestor 'Abd-el-'Azeez-ebn-Sa'ood had fallen ; 
 and who could tell whether the Na'ib, or at any rate one of his 
 attendants, might not have a similar weapon ready for the Chief 
 of the Orthodox % For the two Syrians, worse still. They must 
 be Christians, possibly assassins, certainly magicians. The 
 least to be apprehended from them was a spell, an evil eye, 
 perhaps a poisonous incantation. To sum up, one and all were 
 spies ; of that at least there could be no doubt. 
 
 Whether Mahboob, 'Abd-el-'Azeez, and the court in general, 
 seriously partook in the terrors of Feysul, I know not, nor much 
 think it. However, they had the prudence to sing in their 
 master's tune, and all pronounced the danger real and imminent. 
 What measures then might yet avail to avert it % or how dispose 
 of so many enemies at once % The unanimous conclusion was 
 that, prudence being the best part of valour, his most sacred 
 Majesty should, without delay, escape from the capital, and 
 from the ill-omened vicinity of so many infidels and sorcerers, 
 spies and assassins, and conceal his royal person in some secure 
 retreat, while due measures should in his absence be taken to 
 sound the intentions and watch the proceedings of these most
 
 240 RVad [Chap. VIII 
 
 suspicious strangers, and to anticipate or prevent their perfi- 
 dious designs. 
 
 Accordingly, hardly had the Na'ib retired to his appointed 
 dwelling and we to ours, while the Meccans had been stowed 
 away in another nook, but not far off, when Feysul, accompa- 
 nied by Mahboob, 'Abd-el-'Azeez, and a iQ.\M others, passed in 
 great secrecy through the Babes-Sirr, left the castle, traversed 
 the town as quietly as possible, and buried himself in the re- 
 cesses of a secluded garden belonging to 'Abd-er-Raliman the 
 Wahhabee. Guards were placed all round the orchard, and 
 hope revived that, what between the remoteness of the spot, the 
 blessings of the pure orthodoxy of its possessor, the thickness 
 of the foliage, and the swords of the negroes, Feysul might yet 
 elude the contaminations of polytheism and the perils of assas- 
 sination, spells, and evil eyes. Meanwhile a respite was thus 
 assured, and leisure gained for better detecting the mystery of 
 iniquity, and baffling it of its aim. 
 
 No time was, however, to be lost, and the great engine of 
 Wahhabee government, its spy system, than which no Tiberius 
 ever organized a better, was set in play. Meanwhile the un- 
 conscious conspirators and magicians were innocently engaged 
 in arranging their baggage, and w^ere indulging themselves in 
 the narcotic vapours which they had been unable hitherto from 
 sheer politeness to enjoy ; but not till after carefully closing 
 doors and windows, lest the odour of the " shameful " should 
 diffuse itself through the hallowed breezes of the street. Sud- 
 den a modest knock sounds at the door. Quick, pipes are laid 
 aside ; Barakat goes to the vestibule to enquire who may be 
 outside, and gives the tobacco-smoke time to evaporate by a 
 iTxinute's delay, before he opens the entrance. 
 
 In glided a figure that we were little prepared to see in 
 Ri'ad. Clad in the dress proper to Afifghanistan, with an elegant 
 white turban, and the unmistakable features of the north-west 
 Punjab frontiers, 'Abd-el-Hameed, the seeming student of the 
 palace> stood before us. A better spy, or one more likely to 
 throw us off our guard, could not have been hit upon. For in 
 addition to his being a stranger like ourselves, and therefore 
 well calculated to attract our sympathy and open our hearts, 
 lie was possessed of all that grace of manner and apparent 
 candour which his countrymen can so skilfully assume when
 
 Chai'. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 241 
 
 required, and of which some of my readers may not improbably 
 have made experience in tlie East. Master in the school of 
 dissimulation, so much so that he had even taken in the Wah- 
 habees themselves, who believed him anything but what he 
 really was, he might trust to succeed even with us, in spite of 
 our spells and divining art. 
 
 This man was by his own account son of the governor of 
 Balkh, and an orthodox Sonnee of the Haneefee class. Having 
 set out from his native land on a pilgrimage to Mecca, with 
 riches, attendants, and what not, the very king's son of the 
 fairy-tale, he had, so he said, suffered a disastrous shipwreck 
 on some unknown rock in the Persian Gulf; and, harder still, 
 pirates had robbed him of whatever the greedy deep had S])ared. 
 Servantless, moneyless, companionless, he had arrived on the 
 Wahhabee frontiers, where the fame of Fey.sul's generosity had 
 attracted him to Ri'ad, in hope of receiving necessary aid where- 
 withal to complete his pilgrimage and return to his anxious 
 parents. But once in that earthly paradise of piety and learn- 
 ing, he had opened his eyes to the pure light and unadulterated 
 faith of the Wahhabee, and henceforth resolved to renounce 
 home and all its pleasures, and to pass his remaining days 
 in the study and practice of genuine Islam, amid congenial 
 souls, far from tobacco and polytheism. 
 
 Provided by Feysul's liberality with a suitable equipment of 
 books and wives, he edified palace and town by his devout 
 prayers and composed exterior ; his time was divided between 
 the mosque and the harem, his mouth always full of the praises 
 of God and Feysul, his con\ersation invariably of piety or 
 women. No doubt could be entertained touching the sincerity 
 of his conversion, and the sacrifice made by the fervent prose- 
 lyte of ancestral halls and rule was everywhere extolled and 
 appreciated. It may seem almost cruel to tarnish such pure 
 gold, or to detract from so justly earned a reputation. But we 
 are now far away from Ri'ad, and it will do 'Abd-el-Hameed no 
 wrong if another and a truer version of his history is published 
 in England. Native not of Balkh but of Peshawu-r, not a Son- 
 nee but a Shiya'ee of the Shiya'ees, no governor's son but of 
 plebeian extraction and worse than plebeian morals, he had 
 in a market squabble stabbed a man, and anticipated justice 
 by flight. Wandering about in an exile from which prudence
 
 242 Ri'ad [Chap. VIII 
 
 could not permit him for some years to return, he had fixed on 
 Ri'ad as a convenient retreat till the storm at home should have 
 blown over, and practised on Nejdean gullibility by assuming 
 the disguise which now he bore. But a true Shiya'ee at heart, 
 he never failed to couple every uttered blessing on the Caliphs, 
 the Sahhabah, and their living copies around him, with an 
 inward curse on them all, and amused himself with the cre- 
 dulity of men whom he held in his heart for very fools and 
 infidels. Besides, board and lodging, good clothes, and plenty 
 of wives were excellent things, and with such solaces his period 
 of banishment passed by agreeably enough, while waiting till 
 circumstances should permit him a safe return to his own land. 
 
 All this we learned subsequently through the Na'ib, who, 
 himself a native of a cognate country, and in his earlier years 
 a frequent traveller in the upper valley of the Indus, proved, 
 diamond cutting diamond, too sharp for our Peshawuree, and 
 entertained me with a Hindoostanee version of the whole affair. 
 Once on this cue, I set my own wits to work, and drew out of 
 'Abd-el-Hameed (though this name, too, was a mere alias, but 
 I have forgotten his authentic denomination) sufficient con- 
 firmation of whatever the Shirazee had told. 
 
 Our Peshawuree or Balkhee sat down, and after a few indif- 
 ferent remarks began to consult me about some ailment of his 
 outer man. But this not being the exact object of his visit, 
 he soon got off the tack, and commenced cross-questioning 
 and throwing out hints like angling-hooks, in hopes to fish up 
 truth from the bottom of the well. Meanwhile the two Meccans 
 had dropped in, and were in their turn submitted to the same 
 interrogatory system, but were not detained long, since the 
 main puq:)ort of their business, namely, begging, was soon under- 
 stood. So 'Abd-el-FJameed returned to the charge with usj 
 tried me with Hindoostanee, Persian, and even a few words of 
 broken English, but all in vain, and ended by inwardly con- 
 cluding that the matter was far from satisfactory. Then he 
 rose in a rather abrujjt manner, and left us to give his report 
 to those who had sent him. 
 
 That this report was highly unfavourable I afterwards learnt. 
 Not that he sincerely imagined our coming to have any dan- 
 gerous import for the person of Feysul, or that we were in 
 truth professors of the black art. But he was afraid of rivals
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Nejed 243 
 
 in the good graces and favours of the palace, and felt like a 
 tradesman who sees an opposition shop opening across the 
 way ; hence he prudently desired to see us as far off as pos- 
 sible, and to this effect spared neither suggestion nor calumny. 
 
 Not long had the Peshawuree quitted us, when another and 
 a very different but even more dangerous agent presented 
 himself at our door, with an air bespeaking authority, varnished 
 over by studied meekness, and a downcast eye ever prying to 
 observe unobserved. It was a " Meddey'yee," or " Zelator," 
 one of the secret council and intimate organization of the Ri'ad 
 government. 
 
 But considering that my readers are perhaps not sufficiently 
 acquainted with these functionaries, it will be best here to give 
 a slight digression regarding the first origin, the character, and 
 the progress of the "Meddey'yee" institution, and of those who 
 compose it. This will throw more light than anything yet said 
 on the Wahhabee organization, of which the Meddey'yees are, 
 in fact, the mainspring and directors. 
 
 Their institution, at least in its present form, is by no means 
 of ancient date ; it belongs to the present reign, and is due to 
 recent events. In the year 1854 or 1855, for precise accuracy 
 of chronology in these countries is utterly hopeless, the world- 
 wide visitation of the cholera, after travelling over the more 
 important and thickly-peopled lands and kingdoms of the East, 
 bethought itself of Central Arabia, hitherto, it might seem, for- 
 gotten or neglected by that scourge in the midst of more urgent 
 occupations. Crossing the desert from the west, it fell on 
 Nejed like a thunderbolt, and began its usual ravages, with a 
 success totally unchecked, my readers may well imagine, by 
 any preventive or curative measures. The upper mountain 
 district of Sedeyr alone escaped ; the lower provinces of Yema- 
 mah, Hareek, Woshem, and Dowasir suffered fearfully, and the 
 'Aared itself was one of the most severely treated. The capital, 
 lying in a damp valley, and close-built, was depopulated ; a 
 third of its inhabitants are said to have perished within a few 
 weeks ; among the victims were some members of the royal 
 family, and many others of aristocratic descent. 
 
 Now, so it was, that for some years previous, relaxation in 
 religious and sectarian peculiarities had been introducing itself 
 into Ri'ad j prosperity, and yet more the preceding Egyptian
 
 244 RVad [Chap. vm 
 
 occuiation, followed by frequent intercourse with the men and 
 government of Cairo, an intercourse continued during the entire 
 reign of 'Abbas Ba?ha, nor wholly interrupted under that of 
 Sa'eed, had combined to encourage this deplorable falling- 
 away. Usages which, when known only through the medium 
 of polemical treatises and controversial diatribe, excited just 
 horror, now seemed less abominable on practical acquaintance 
 and closer view, so contagious is bad example. The "shameful" 
 had sent up its vapours in the K'hawahs of the capital, and 
 heads had been seen profaned by the iniquity of silk and gold 
 thread. No reasonable mind could hesitate whence the origin 
 of the cholera ; the crime was notorious, the punishment mere 
 justice. Of course the best, indeed the only, remedy for the 
 epidemic was a speedy reform, and an efficacious return to the 
 purity and intolerance of better days. 
 
 Feysul now convoked an assembly of all the principal men 
 in the town. When met, he addressed them in a speech with 
 W'hich I shall not tire the patience of my readers, though my 
 own had to bear with its rehearsal. It consisted mainly of 
 those arbitrary and unadvised interpretations of the ways of 
 Providence to man, unfortunately common everyivhere, and 
 justifiable nowhere. The upshot was, that they had all done 
 wrong, very wTong ; that great scandals had been given or per- 
 mitted; that the fine gold had become unquestionably dim, and 
 the silver alloyed with dross, and that their only hope lay in 
 strict search and trial of their ways, Avith suitable repentance 
 and reform. But for himself, added the monarch, he was now 
 old and infirm, nor able unaided and alone to carry into effect 
 measures proportioned to the gravit)^ of the occasion. Accord- 
 ingly he discharged the obligation of his own conscience on 
 theirs, and rendered tliem thus responsible for the longer dura- 
 tion of the cholera, or whatever else might take place, should 
 his timely warning be neglected. 
 
 The elders of the town retired, held long consultation, and 
 returning, proposed the following scheme, which received the 
 kingly ratification. From among the most exemplary and 
 zealous of the inhabitants twenty-two were to be selected, and 
 entitled " Meddey'yeeyah," "men of zeal,"' or "Zelators," such 
 being the nearest word in literal translation, and this I shall 
 henceforth employ, to spare Arab cacophony. Candidates of
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 245 
 
 the requisite number were soon found and mustered. On these 
 twenty-two Feysul conferred absolute power for the extirpation 
 of whatever was contrary to Wahhabee doctrine and practice, 
 and to good morals in general, irom the capital firstly, and then 
 from the entire empire. No Roman censors in their most palmy 
 days had a higher range of authority, or were less fettered b}' all 
 ordinary restrictions. Not only were these Zelators to denounce 
 offenders, but they might also in their own unchallenged right 
 inflict the penalty incurred, beat and fine at discretion, nor was 
 any certain limit assigned to the amount of the mulct, or to the 
 number of the blows. Most comprehensive too was the list of 
 offences brought under the animadversion of these new censors: 
 absence from public prayers, regular attendance five times a day 
 in the public mosques being henceforth of strict obligation ; 
 smoking tobacco, taking snuff, or chewing (this last practice, 
 vulgarly entitled "quidding," had been introtiuced by the jolly 
 tars of Koweyt and other seaports of the Persian Gulf); wearing 
 silk or gold ; talking or having a light in the house after night 
 prayers; singing, or playing on any musical instrument ; nay, 
 even all street-games of children or childish persons : these were 
 some of the leading articles on the condemned list, and objects 
 of virtuous correction and severity. Besides, swearing by any 
 other name save that of the Almighty, any approach to an invoca- 
 tion, or even ejaculation directed to aught but Him ; in short, 
 whatever in word or deed, in conversation or in conduct, might 
 appear to deviate from the exact orthodoxy of the letter of the 
 Coran and the Wahhabee commentary, was to be denounced, or 
 even punished on the spot. Lastly, their censorship extended 
 over whatever might afford suspicion of irregular conduct ; for 
 instance, strolling about the streets after nightfall, entering too 
 frequently a neighbour's house, especially at hours when the 
 male denizens may be presumed absent, with any apparent 
 breach of the laws of decorum or decency ; all these were ren- 
 dered offences amenable to cognizance and correctional mea- 
 sures. It is easy to imagine what so wide-reaching a power might 
 become when placed in the hands of interested or vindictive 
 administrators. However, the number of the Zelators them- 
 selves, and the innate toughness and resistance of the Arab 
 character, somewhat diminished the ill consequences which 
 might naturally have been expected from this over-absolute and
 
 246 RVad [Chap. VIII 
 
 scarce-defined authority, though many and most atrocious in- 
 stances of its exercise and abuse were related in my hearing. 
 
 These Zelators were bound to a very simple style of dress, 
 devoid of ornament or pretension ; they may not even wear the 
 sword, mark of directly temporal or military authority. But in 
 comi)ensation, each one bears in hand a long staff, which serves 
 the double object of official badge and instrument of chastise- 
 ment, much like the truncheon of our own policeman ; this, 
 combined with downcast eyes, slow walk, subdued tone of 
 voice, the head-dress drawn cowl-fashion low over the forehead, 
 l,)ut without head-band, and a constant gravity of demeanour, 
 suffices to distinguish them at first sight from the ordinary 
 crowd. Of course, in their conversation, pious texts and ejacu- 
 lations, accompanied by the forefinger upraised every half- 
 minute at least, in season and out of season, to testify to the 
 unity of God, are even more frequent with them than among 
 the common faithful. Pacing from street to street, or unex- 
 pectedly entering the houses to see if there is anything incorrect 
 going on there, they do not hesitate to inflict at once, and 
 without any preliminary form of trial or judgment, the penalty 
 of stripes on the detected culprit, be he who he may ; and 
 should their own staves prove insufficient, they straightway call 
 in the assistance of bystanders or slaves, who throw the guilty 
 individual prone on the ground, and then in concert with the 
 Zelator belabour him at pleasure. A similar process is adopted 
 for those whom negligence has kept from public prayer ; the 
 Zelator of the quarter, accompanied by a band of the righteous, 
 all well armed with stout sticks, proceeds to the designated 
 dwelling, and demands an entrance, which no one dares refuse. 
 It is then a word and a blow, or rather many blows and few 
 words, till the undevout shortcomer is quickened into new fer- 
 vour by the most cogent of all a posteriori arguments. Should 
 he happen to be absent from home at the moment of the visit, 
 nay, sometimes even after the administration of the healing 
 chastisement, a pledge for future good conduct, as a cloak, 
 a sword, a head-dress, or the like, is taken from the house, nor 
 restored till several days of punctual attendance at the Mesjid 
 have repaired the scandal of past negligence, and proved the 
 sincerity of the conversion by its perseverance. But should 
 any rasii individual attempt to resist force by force, he may be
 
 CiiAr. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjed 247 
 
 sure of the roughest treatment; and should he hft his hand 
 against the sacred person of the Zelator, the sacrilegious mem- 
 ber is destined to the block and the knife. However, where 
 direct mutilation or capital punishment is due, for instance, in 
 a case of avowed and formal heresy or infidelity, the crime is 
 referred to the tribunal of Feysul himself, nor does he fail to 
 prosecute the culprit with the utmost rigour. 
 
 Furnished with such powers, and backed up by the whole 
 weight of government, it may be easily supposed that the new 
 broom swept clean, and that the first institution of the Zelators 
 was followed by root-and-branch work. Rank itself was no 
 protection, high birth no shelter, and private or political enmi- 
 ties now found themselves masters of their aim. Djeloo'wee, 
 Feysul's own brother, was beaten with rods at the door of the 
 king's own palace for a whift' of tobacco-smoke ; and his royal 
 kinsman could not or would not interfere to save him from 
 undergoing at fifty an ignominy barely endurable at fifteen. 
 Soweylim, the prime minister, and predecessor of Maliboob, 
 was on a similar pretext, but in reality (so said universal rumour) 
 at the instigation of a competitor for his post, seized one day 
 while on his return homeward from the castle, thrown down, 
 and subjected to so protracted and so cruel a fustigation that 
 he expired on the morrow. If such was the chastisement pre- 
 pared for the first personages in the state, what could plebeian 
 offenders expect % Many were the victims, many the backs 
 that smarted, and the limbs crippled or broken. Tobacco 
 vanished, though not in f unto ^ and torn silks strewed the streets 
 or rotted on the dunghills ; the mosques were crowded, and the 
 shops deserted. In a few weeks the exemplary semblance of 
 the outward man of the capital might have moved the admira- 
 tion of the first Wahhabee himself. 
 
 Similar measures were enforced throughout Nejed. Fervent 
 Zelators, armed with rods and Gorans, and breathing out ven- 
 geance upon all " right-hand and left-hand defections," visited 
 the various towns and villages with the happiest results ; and 
 the entire 'Aared, Sedeyr, Woshem, Yemamah, and their neigh- 
 bours, were speedily reformed and remodelled on the pattern 
 of Ri'ad. 
 
 But the zeal for revival did not stop here. The " infidels " of 
 Kaseem and Hasa, along with the backsliders of Hareek, were
 
 24S Ri'ad [Chap. VIII 
 
 now to learn that Feysul would not tolerate any longer among 
 them crimes reprobated by tlie genuine believers, and that they 
 in their turn must conform at least their exterior to the decencies 
 of orthodoxy, whatever might be the fashion of their hearts 
 and minds. Missions, headed by Zelators, were organized, and 
 a crusade against the prevailing scandals of the guilty provinces 
 was set on foot. But in spite of the practical arguments that 
 accompanied the Word, orthodoxy was destined here to meet 
 with but a jjartial triumph. A strong reaction manifested itself, 
 and in some places, at Bereydah in Kaseem for example, and at 
 Zekkarah in Hasa, bloAvs were returned with interest, and in 
 one village of Kaseem at least, to my knowledge, the ardour of 
 the Zelator was allayed b}' a sound ducking in a neighbouring 
 pond. A compromise now took place : dresses wherein silk 
 should not exceed a third part, or at most a half, of the mate- 
 rial, were permitted, though with a sigh ; and tobacco vendors 
 or smokers were henceforth to content themselves with observ- 
 ing decent privacy in the sale or consumption of the forbidden 
 article, on which condition they might do as they chose, unmo- 
 lested, save in the public streets or market-place. Compulsory 
 attendance at prayers was rarely enforced, and the roll-call of 
 names, customary in the mosques of Nejed, was elsewhere pru- 
 dently omitted. However, a certain degree of outward confor- 
 mity had been attained, and with that Fey.sul and his Star 
 Chaml^er were fain to content themselves for the moment, and 
 hope for better times. 
 
 Even in Nejed and in Ri'ad itself the outstretched cord 
 ended by relaxing a little, nor could the unpopularity of the 
 new institution remain wholly concealed. Yet it was kept up, 
 though the cholera, scared no doubt by the tremendous out- 
 break of orthodox severity, had fled the land ; nor was the 
 theory of the new censorship changed, only its practical exer- 
 cise assumed a milder form, while the thing itself was carefully 
 maintained, a bulwark against future heaven-sent scourges or 
 earthly fallings-away, and a pow^erful administrative engine or 
 rod when required. The slaves were indeed less busy than 
 before, and the domestic visits of rarer occurrence ; chastise- 
 ment was sometimes preceded by admonition, and the dorsal 
 vertebrae of culprits more seldom broken. But the number of 
 the Zelators was constantly filled up, whenever death or retire-
 
 Chap, vni] Thc Capital of Xcjcd 249 
 
 ment occasioned a vacancy : the nomination of each new candi- 
 date depending on themselves, and in concert with Feysul. 
 Twice every week they have official right to a private audience 
 of the king ; the days assigned are Monday and Thursday, the 
 hour sunrise or a little earlier. No small or unimportant favour 
 this from a monarch whose pubHc audiences are at the very 
 most once a month, and who in private is almost inaccessible 
 to all save his prime minister, his negro slaves, and his harem. 
 The Zelators are, in fact, the real council of state ; and no 
 question of peace or war, alliance or treaty, but is suggested 
 or modified by them. They represent what we may with all 
 due respect entitle the High Conservative party, amid that 
 inevitable tendency of all organized society to advancement, 
 from which not even Wahhabees are exempt. But more of this 
 and of them hereafter. 
 
 Meanwhile I might almost leave my readers to suppose in 
 what light such a body, and those who compose it, are regarded 
 by the mass of the population. Surrounded with all the de- 
 ference and all the odium consequent on their office and 
 character, they meet everywhere with marks of open respect 
 and covert distrust and hatred. Are a circle of friends met in 
 the freedom of conversation % let a Zelator enter, their voices 
 are hushed ; and when talk is resumed, it follows a tack in 
 which the recording angels of Islam themselves would find 
 nothing to modify. Are a bevy of companions walking gaily 
 with too light a gait down the street 1 at the meeting of a 
 Zelator, all compose their pace, and direct their eyes in mo- 
 mentary modesty on the ground. Is a stealthy lamp lighted 
 at unreasonable hours ? at a rap on the shutters suspected for 
 that of the Zelator, the "glim is doused," and all is silent in 
 darkness. Or, worse than all, is the forbidden pipe sending up 
 its sinful fumes in some remote comer % at the fatal tap on the 
 outer door, the unholy implement is hastily emptied out into 
 the hearth, and then carefully hidden under the carpet, while 
 everyone hurries to wash his mouth and mustachios, and by the 
 perfume of cloves or aromatic herbs give himself an orthodox 
 smell once more. In short, schoolboys caught out by a severe 
 under-master at an illicit prank, pious ladies surprised in reading 
 the last French novel, or teetotallers suddenly discovered with 
 a half-empty black bottle and tumbler on the *:able, never look
 
 250 Riad [Chap. VIII 
 
 more awkward, more silly, and more alarmed than Nejdeans 
 on these occasions when a Zelator comes upon them. 
 
 I was often more especially amused (to anticipate incidents 
 of the following days) by the figure Aboo-'Eysa used to make 
 in such a scrape. He knew the Zelators for what they were, 
 and they too knew him for what he was ; but high court pro- 
 tection and a position of wealth and influence in the one party, 
 and an official character not to be insulted with impunity in 
 the other, occasioned a degree of mutual forbearance, curiously 
 constrained and transparently comic. While the fury of reli- 
 gious renovation lasted, Aboo-'Eysa had prudently kept out of 
 harm's way; and if indispensable business drew him to Ri'ad, 
 would pitch a tent without the walls, there with his boon-com- 
 panions to smoke, eat and drink, and curse the Zelators, nor 
 enter the city save by stealth, and to visit the palace only. 
 Now that the first fervour, like all first fervours, had somewhat 
 cooled down, he ventured on lodging within the town, and only 
 took care to be out of the way on Fridays or at prayer-time. 
 However, while he was in the capital his silken robe judiciously 
 disappeared, his ornamental head-kerchief was folded up and 
 laid aside to make place for an old cotton rag, and he studi- 
 ously avoided certain devouter quarters of the town and the 
 vicinity of the great Wahhabee family. As for paying any one 
 of them a visit, he would as soon have called on the fiend 
 himself. But when unavoidable necessity or chance brought 
 him in their way, he did his best to look very good, and 
 measured his conversation with suitable decorum of phrase. 
 They, on the other hand, condescendingly winked at frailties 
 decently though imperfectly veiled, and affected not to notice 
 what could not be wholly hidden. However, in the moments 
 of mutual absence, neither spared the other: Aboo-'Eysa named 
 them "dogs," "hypocrites," and much more; while the fingers 
 of the Zelators tingled to be at the praiseworthy occupation of 
 " purifying his hide," for so the profane technicality of Nejed 
 styles the merited chastisement of dissenters and ill-doers. But 
 it is time to return to our new acquaintance, the occasion of 
 this long digression. 
 
 'Abbood, for such was his name, though I never met the like 
 before or after in Arabia Proper, however common it may be 
 in Syria and Lebanon, took a different and a more efficacious
 
 Chap. VIII] TJlc Capital of Ncjcd 25 1 
 
 mode of espionage than 'Abd-el-Hameed had done before him. 
 Affecting to consider us Mahometans, and learned ones too, 
 he entered at once on rehgious topics, on the true character of 
 Islam, its purity or corruptions, and enquired much after the 
 present teaching and usages of Damascus and the North, evi- 
 dently in the view of catching us in our words. But he had 
 luckily encountered his match; for every citation of the Coran 
 we replied with two, and proved ourselves intimately acquainted 
 with the " greater " and the " lesser " polytheism of foreign 
 nations and heterodox Mahometans, with the commentaries of 
 Beydowee and the tales of the Hadeeth, till our visitor, now 
 won over to confidence, launched out full-sail on the sea of 
 discussion, and thereby rendered himself equally instructive and 
 interesting to men who had nothing more at heart than to learn 
 the tenets of the sect from one of its most zealous professors, 
 nay, a Zelator in person. In short, he ended by becoming 
 half a friend, and his regrets at our being, like other Damas- 
 cenes, yet in the outer porch of darkness, were tempered by a 
 hope, which he did not disguise, of at least putting a window 
 into our porch for its better enlightenment. 
 
 Other visitors came and went ; Aboo-'Eysa, too, as in duty 
 bound, called on us towards evening to see if all was well, and 
 how we were lodged. The locality did not much please us, 
 because too near to the royal palace, almost, in fact, belonging 
 to it; besides, the apartments were over large, nor could we 
 arrange them with anything like comfort for their very size ; 
 our furniture was too limited for the task, and our means also. 
 So we begged Aboo-'Eysa to look out for us another and a 
 more proportionate dwelling, suited to our modest circum- 
 stances and the character of our profession. Many had indeed 
 already demanded medical advice and assistance, nor could any 
 other occupation suit us better in this town. Our friend pro- 
 mised, and kept his word. 
 
 Next day, in the forenoon, while we were sauntering about 
 the market-place, we met the minister 'Abd-el-'Azeez, who had 
 tliat morning returned to the capital. With a smiling face and 
 an air of great benignity he took us aside, and informed us that 
 the king did not consider Ri'ad a proper field for our medical 
 skill; that we had better at once continue our journey to Hof- 
 hoof, whither Aboo-'Eysa should conduct us straightway; and
 
 252 RTad [Chap, viri 
 
 that the monarch would furnish each of us with a camel, a new 
 suit of clothes, and money. 
 
 To make a bridge of gold (even though the sum offered Avas 
 small) for a flying enemy is a wise measure, whether in Ma- 
 cedonia or in Nejed ; and Feysul thought that he could not 
 better ensure his safety from our spells and incantations than 
 by making us his friends, but at a reasonable distance. We, in 
 our innocence, did not yet know the reason of this manoeuvre, 
 and attributed it to other and lighter motives. So, instead of 
 acquiescing, we represented to 'Abd-el-'Azeez that our stay at 
 Ri ad would be alike advantageous to the bodies of tlie towns- 
 men and to our owm purses; whereas an over-speedy departure 
 might sound ill, and prejudice our success even at Hofhoof. 
 He promised to consult Feysul once more upon the matter, but 
 gave us to understand that there was little prospect of an 
 " amendment " in the royal decree. Of course our persistence 
 in wishing thus to remain at Ri'ad could have no other effect 
 than to confirm the timid suspicions of the old tyrant ; but 
 this we knew not. 
 
 Meanwhile the privy council assembled around the king in 
 the garden had come to a somewhat similar resolution about 
 the Persians, whom Feysul determined to dismiss at the shortest 
 possible notice, though with fair words and some trifling present, 
 but without personal audience or effective redress. For this he 
 had more than one reason ; but it was the dread of assassination 
 that worked strongest of all on his e\-il conscience. 
 
 However, Arab prudence made him unwilling to precipitate 
 matters; and a little after noon he sent for Aboo-'Eysa, who im- 
 mediately went to the garden where his Majesty lay concealed. 
 What passed on that occasion we after\vards learnt in detail 
 from different sources. Feysul received Aboo-'Eysa with an 
 air of grave severity, and reproached him for having brought 
 so ill-conditioned a cargo to the palace gates. Our guide 
 made all possible excuses, and was backed up in his apology 
 by the prime minister Mahboob, a staunch friend of Aboo- 
 'Eysa's, or at least of his presents. For what regarded the 
 Persians, it was resolved on better thoughts to give them some 
 kind of satisfaction ; but Feysul, ever fearful of treacher}', 
 could not yet be persuaded to receive the Na'ib in person; and 
 accordingly that part of the business was committed to Mah-
 
 Cii.'.p. vrii] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 253 
 
 boob, who was to give the Shirazee a hearing, and aftenvards 
 make his report to the king. Then came our affair : here the 
 monarch showed himself extremely refractory, and Mahboob 
 partook, or seemed to partake, in his uneasiness. Indeed, 
 Feysul was half inclined to send us away, not to Hasa, but by 
 the very route on which we had come; an ominous proceeding 
 for us, and more likely to conclude in having us " packed with 
 post horse up to heaven," than conveyed by the leisurely pace 
 of camels to Kaseem or Shomer. At last the old king softened 
 down, and concluded by saying that we might go on to Hasa, 
 for the furtherance whereof he again proffered the liberal assist- 
 ance already notified by 'Abd-el-'Azeez : but both he and his 
 counsellors were decidedly averse to our remaining any longer 
 in Ri'ad. 
 
 When the Na'ib heard this news, he burst out into a new fit 
 of passion, and said much of a very undiplomatic nature re- 
 garding the king and his ministers ; nor could he well under- 
 stand how a Bedouin, for so he persisted in styling Feysul, 
 could treat with such haughty coolness the majesty of the Shah 
 of Persia, represented in his envoy. However there was no 
 help for it, so he smoothed his ruffled brow, chewed a little 
 opium, smoked a nargheelah, and set about drawing up a long 
 list of grievances and damages for the perusal of Mahboob on 
 their approaching interview. 
 
 Our own position was now an awkward one, nor did we 
 exactly know how to amend it. We were thoroughly deter- 
 mined not to quit Ri'ad till after fully satisfying our curiosity 
 relative to its government, people, and whatever else it con- 
 tained ; yet how to prolong our stay % To persist on our own 
 score in remaining, after a twice-repeated order to depart, would 
 have been sheer madness, and m.ust inevitably lead to the worst 
 consequences ; concealment or disguise was out of the question. 
 Aboo-'Eysa was no less annoyed than ourselves ; our friend- 
 ship, once commenced at Bereydah, had by frequent intercourse 
 there, and yet more by our journey together from Kaseem to 
 Ri'ad, become a real intimacy ; and though he did not precisely 
 comprehend our object in so vehemently desiring a longer 
 sojourn in the Wahhabee capital, he sympathised with our 
 vexation at so silly yet so serious an obstacle to our wishes. At 
 last, after much thinking and discussion, he proposed to try a
 
 254 Ri\ld [Chap, vin 
 
 measure with the efficacy of which long experience had ren- 
 dered him particularly conversant. The king, though obstinate 
 and timorous, was likely in a matter of this sort to let himself 
 ultimately be guided by the advice of his ministers. If 
 Mahboob and 'Abd-el-'Azeez could be brought round to our 
 cause, a revision of the royal edict might then be confidently 
 expected. Now, incorruptibility was no more a virtue of the 
 Nejdean court than Charles the Second's, or Louis-Philippe's, 
 and that Aboo-'Eysa had the best possible reasons to know. 
 However, even here a direct offer of minted coin would not 
 look well. In this dilemma, two pounds' weight of scented 
 wood, or " 'Ood," a special favourite with Arabs, and above all 
 with Nej deans, might prove a propitiatory offering of good 
 savour, and render our modest petition more acceptable and 
 efficacious. This he offered to procure at his own cost, and to 
 manage its presentation. We, my readers may well suppose, 
 made no difficulty. Night had already set in ; and 'Aboo-Eysa 
 was not the man to delay in a business where time was so 
 precious. He went at once on his quest ; and his acquaintance 
 with the people of the town enabled him soon to find the de- 
 sired perfumes, which he returned to show us, and then departed 
 a second time, without delay, to leave them in our name at the 
 doors of Mahboob and 'Abd-el-'Azeez. Late in the night he 
 returned, and bade us await in sure hope of a more favourable 
 intimation on the morrow. 
 
 Nor were his expectations deceived. Before noon he was 
 again summoned to the suburban retreat of royalty, and there 
 told, that since, all things maturely considered, the town of 
 Ri'ad did seriously stand in need of an yEsculapius, we might 
 be permitted to remain in that quality, and freely exercise our 
 profession under Feysul's own patronage, without fear of oppo- 
 sition or disquiet. 
 
 I have said some pages back that Djeloo'wee's palace soon 
 appeared to Barakat and myself not well adapted to our medical 
 avocations, and besides too near the castle of Feysul for strangers 
 and " infidels" like ourselves. In consccjuence, Aboo-'Eysa had 
 promised to look us out a more suitable dwelling-place. Next 
 morning, before we met 'Abd-el-'Azeez, our guide visited us, 
 and told us that a very comfortable abode had been put at 
 our disposition, free of expense. This Aboo-'Eysa had managed
 
 Chap. VIII] Tkc Capital of Ncjcd 255 
 
 through some friend of his at court, and without consulting 
 Feysul or his ministers. Without delay we went to look at the 
 proffered quarters. 
 
 Leaving the palace of Djeloo'wee, we passed down the great 
 street to the market-place, which we next crossed diagonally, 
 till we had the castle-gate opposite to us on the other side; and 
 then threaded a labyrinth of narrow by-streets, till a Avalk of 
 about eight minutes brought us in front of a high covered 
 passage ; through this we entered a broad impasse, on either 
 side of which were several small habitations, while a large tft'O- 
 storeyed house closed the farther end. This stately mansion was 
 now tenanted by the Na'ib Mohammed-' Alee and his train ; its 
 original owner, a man of good family, and wealthy in Arab esti- 
 mation, had become obnoxious to the " Zelators " of the town, 
 and was compelled to anticipate a sound palm-stick thrashing, 
 or worse, by a timely retreat to Hasa, where we afterwards met 
 him — one of hundreds in tne like predicament. His house was 
 confiscated, not indeed absolutely, but in a provisional manner, 
 by the government, and its vacant walls, by order of Feysul, 
 now sheltered the Na'ib and his companions. Some way down 
 the "Place" on the right, a side door gave admittance to a 
 humbler dwelling, belonging, like many of the town houses 
 hereabouts, to the palace, and rented on lease. It was in every 
 respect fitted to our manner of life ; and if its tenants, our 
 predecessors, suffered any inconvenience from evacuating the 
 premises in our favour, this was fully made up to them by the 
 munificent present of six Djedeedahs (a term to be explained 
 afterwards), or about two shillings English, which our free and 
 gracious liberality bestowed upon them. Whence my readers 
 may infer, that the value of money in Ri'ad, and its proportion 
 to house-rent, are not far from what they appear to have been 
 in London under the reign of Edward II, or even later. 
 
 Here we were possessors of no less than three apartments : the 
 first a reception-room, or K'hawah, near the entrance, with its 
 appropriate vestibule and fireplace ; it was long in form and 
 somewhat dark, like most K'hawahs at Ri'ad, where the southerly 
 climate and increasing heat renders the construction of apart- 
 ments subservient to the greatest shelter obtainable from the 
 sun's access, much more than is wont at Ha')-el, or even in 
 Kaseem and Sedeyr. In the interior, and behind the K'hawah,
 
 256 Riad [Chai-. VIII 
 
 was a courtyard, in the middle of which a fine and odoriferous 
 shrub of the verbena species attested the semi-sentimental 
 rurality of Nejdean townsmen; the practice of nursing one or 
 two plants, to give a city residence something of a country air, 
 not being confined to London and its balcony flower-pots. 
 Within the courtyard stood also a kitchen, separated from the 
 rest of the dwelling. On the other side we had a good-sized 
 chamber, of which I made my druggery and consultation room. 
 Its roof was flat, like that of the K'hawah, and both were sur- 
 rounded by a high parapet ; a wooden staircase led up to the 
 one terrace, and a flight of stone steps to the other. Another 
 small room had been converted by the late tenants into a store 
 for furniture and provisions not requisite for immediate use, 
 and of this they kept the keys, to our exclusion. 
 
 We were here not too far from the market-place, yet at a 
 decorous distance from the palace, and exactly in the quarter 
 where dwell the fewest Zelators and none of the old Wahhabee 
 family; indeed, this part of the town had the reputation, bad 
 or good, of being not only the least bigoted, but even a sort of 
 stronghold for the party of progress, since even Ri'ad owns such. 
 Lastly, we became hereby next-door neighbours to the talkative 
 Na'ib, whose mixed shrewdness and simplicity, ready tongue 
 and broken Arabic, rendered him always an amusing and some- 
 times an instructive companion. In short, we thought ourselves 
 fortunate in this second selection of lodgings, and took it for a 
 fLivourable augury for our business at Ri'ad. Without demur 
 we cheerfully fell to putting all things in order, and became 
 decent housekeepers in our way. 
 
 Flour, rice, meat, and coffee were, or rather should have 
 been, regularly furnisned us from the palace, of which we were 
 considered the guests. But finding that we did not much stand 
 in need of the royal liberality, and that a little show of indepen- 
 dence would do no harm, we were not over-diligent in asking 
 for or even in receiving the supply, and it often went by our 
 easy connivance to the private advantage of the purveyors. 
 Only we insisted rigorously in obtaining our stated allowance 
 of coffee, for it was excellent, and our consumption thereof 
 unbounded. Aboo-'Eysa, who passed two-thirds of his leisure 
 hours under our roof, had set us up in coffee-pots and other 
 requisites ; to procure a new mortar, similar to that carried off
 
 CuAi. VIII] The Capital of Ncjed 257 
 
 by the faithless yabbash at Bereydali, had been our first care 
 on arriving here. Now our guide was a desperate coftee-drinker, 
 so were also my companion and myself \ moreover, we made it 
 a rule that no one should enter our premises without a dose of 
 this nature, at any rate ; so that from earliest morn till latest 
 evening, our fire was never extinguished, nor had our cups 
 time to dry. 
 
 I must here beg my reader's permission for a brief episode 
 or digression on the subject of the above-mentioned beverage. 
 In my quality of an Oriental of many years' standing, I am 
 annoyed at the ignorance yet prevailing on so important a 
 matter in the enlightened West ; and as a doctor (at least in 
 Arabia), I cannot see with silent indifference the nervous sys- 
 tems of my fellow-men so rudely tampered with, or their mucous 
 membranes so unseasonably drenched, as is too often the case 
 to the west of the Bosporus. 
 
 Be it then known, by way of prelude, that coffee though one 
 in name is manifold in fact ; nor is every kind of berry entitled 
 to the high qualifications too indiscriminately bestowed on the 
 comprehensive genus. The best coftee, let cavillers say what 
 they will, is that of the Yemen, commonly entitled " Mokha," 
 from the main place of exportation. Now I should be sorry 
 to incur a lawsuit for libel or defamation from our wholesale 
 or retail salesmen ; but were the particle not prefixed to the 
 countless labels in London shop-windows that bear the name 
 of the Red Sea haven, they would have a more truthy import 
 than what at present they convey. Very little, so little indeed 
 as to be quite inappreciable, of the Mocha or Yemen berry ever 
 finds its v/ay westward of Constantinople. Arabia itself, Syria, 
 and Egypt consume fully two-thirds, and the remainder is almost 
 exclusively absorbed by Turkish and Armenian oesophagi. Nor 
 do these last get for their limited share the best or the purest. 
 Before reaching the harbours of Alexandria, Jaffa, Beyrouth, 
 &c., for further exportation, the Mokhan bales have been, while 
 yet on their way, sifted and resifted, grain by grain, and what- 
 ever they may have contained of the hard, rounded, half-trans- 
 parent, greenish brown berry, the only one really worth roasting 
 and pounding, has been carefully picked out by experienced 
 fingers; and it is the less generous residue of flattened, opaque, 
 and whitish grains which alone, or almost alone, goes on board
 
 258 Rraci [Chap, vnr 
 
 the shipping. So constant is this selecting process, that a gra- 
 dation regular as the degrees on a map may be observed in the 
 quality of Mokha, that is, Yemen, coffee even within the limits 
 of Arabia itself, in proportion as one approaches to or recedes 
 from Wadi Nejran and the neighbourhood of Mecca, the first 
 stages of the radiating mart. I have myself been times out of 
 number an eyewitness of this sifting ; the operation is performed 
 with the utmost seriousness and scrupulous exactness, reminding 
 me of the diligence ascribed to American diamond-searchers, 
 when scrutinising the torrent sands for their minute but pre- 
 cious treasure. 
 
 The berry, thus qualified for foreign use, quits its native land 
 on three main lines of export — that of the Red Sea, that of the 
 Inner Hejaz, and that of Kaseem. The terminus of the first 
 line is Egypt, of the second Syria, of the third Nejed and Sho- 
 mer. Hence Egypt and Syria are, of all countries without the 
 frontiers of Arabia, the best supplied with its specific produce, 
 though under the restrictions already stated; and through Alex- 
 andria or the Syrian seaports Constantinople and the North 
 obtain their diminished share. But this last stage of transport 
 seldom conveys the genuine article, except by the intervention 
 of private arrangements and personal friendship or interest, 
 ^V^lere mere sale and traffic are concerned, substitution of an 
 inferior quality, or an adulteration almost equivalent to substi- 
 tution, frequently takes place in the different storehouses of the 
 coast, till whatever Mokha-marked coffee leaves them for Eu- 
 rope and the West, is often no more like the real offspring of 
 the Yemen plant than the logwood preparations of a London 
 fourth-rate retail wine-seller resemble the pure libations of an 
 Oporto vineyard. 
 
 The second species of coffee, by some preferred to that of 
 Yemen, but in my poor opinion inferior to it, is the growth of 
 Abyssinia; its berry is larger, and of a .^omewhat different and a 
 less heating flavour. It is, however, an excellent species ; and 
 whenever the rich land that bears it shall be permitted by man 
 to enjoy the benefits of her natural fertility, it will probably 
 become an object of extensive cultivation and commerce. 
 With this stops, at least in European opinion and taste, the 
 list of coffee, and begins the list of beans. 
 
 Here first and foremost stands the produce of India, with a
 
 Chap, viii] Tkc Capital of Ncjcd 259 
 
 little, similar to it in every respect, from the plantations of 
 'Oman. This class supplies almost all coffee-drinkers, from the 
 neighbourhood of Dafar to Basrah, and thence up to Bagdad 
 and Mosoul; Arabs, Persians, Turks, Curdes, be they who they 
 may, have there no other beverage. To one unaccustomed to 
 what Yemen supplies, the Indian variety may seem tolerable, or 
 even agreeable. But without any affectation of virtuoso nicety, 
 I must say that for one fresh arrived from Nejed and Kaseem 
 it is hardly potable. The distorted and irregular form of the 
 berry, its blackish stain, and above all the absence of the 
 semi-transparent alabaster-like appearance peculiar to the 
 good Yemanite variety, renders the difference between the two 
 kinds appreciable to the unassisted eye, not only to the 
 palate. 
 
 It is possible that time and care may eventually render 
 Indian coffee almost a rival of the Yemen, or at least of the 
 Abyssinian. Hitherto it certainly is not, though it might be 
 hard to say to what particular causes, inherent in soil, climate, 
 or cultivation, its inferiority is ascribable. 
 
 American coffee holds, in the judgment of all Orientals, the 
 very last rank ; and the deterioration of this product in the 
 New World from what it is in the Old, is no less remarkable 
 than that observed in rice, tea, &c., and is of an analogous 
 character. 
 
 Of Batavian coffee I purposely say nothing, having never to 
 my knowledge tasted it. I hear it sometimes praised, but by 
 Europeans ; Orientals never mentioned it before me, perhaps 
 they confounded it with the Indian. 
 
 While we were yet in the Djowf, I described with sufficient 
 minuteness how the berry is prepared for actual use; nor is the 
 process any way varied in Nejed or other Arab lands. But in 
 Nejed an additional spicing of saffron, cloves, and the like, 
 is still more common; a fact which is easily explained by the 
 want of what stimulus tobacco affords elsewhere. A second 
 consequence of non-smoking among the Arabs is the increased 
 strength of their coffee decoctions in Nejed, and the prodi- 
 gious frequency of their use ; to which we must add the larger 
 "fmjans," or coffee-cups, here in fashion. So sure are men, 
 when debarred of one pleasure or excitement, to make it up by 
 another.
 
 26o RVad [Cha-. viii 
 
 As for us, installed in the manner already described, and with 
 a month and more of quiet residence before us, we assorted 
 our domestic arrangements, and agreed on a sort of division of 
 labour. Aboo-'Eysa was to keep up what I may call our foreign 
 relations, to bring us news from court, put the great ones there 
 into good humour with us, and give us everywhere a first-rate 
 medical reputation. Barakat Avas to do the household work, 
 purchase daily necessaries, cook when occasion required it — 
 all, in short, except the coffee department, which Aboo-'Eysa 
 reserved to himself For myself, I was to be the great and 
 learned ^sculapius, pound medicines, treat the cases, " look 
 wiser than any man could possibly be," like Lord Thurlow, 
 and talk correspondingly. 
 
 Certainly we had not to complain of want of occupation. Rut 
 before introducing the motley crowd that besieges our door, 
 or unravelling the threads of the strange intrigues which ran 
 through this period of our travelling life like the underplot of a 
 novel, and ended, novel-like, in a wild catastrophe, let us take 
 a morning stroll through the town, and obtain thereby a general 
 knowledge of Ri'ad and its inhabitants. 
 
 It is about sunrise ; little folks like ourselves are up and 
 stirring, and great ones, like the king and his court, have lain 
 down to sleep. What ! to sleep? Even so ; for haAang all in 
 Wahhabee devoutness risen by starlight to anticipate congre- 
 gational morning prayers, with private protestations and Coranic 
 readings to their hearts' content, and having next assisted at 
 the protracted ceremonies of matutinal worship, drawled out to 
 a most intolerable length by some sour-looking " Zelator " or 
 " Metow'waa' " (my readers are by this time familiar with these 
 terms), they have now turned in again for a subsidiary nap of 
 about two hours, till a suitable elevation of the sun in the 
 forenoon shall rcawake them to the supererogatory prayers of 
 Dhoha, and then to daily life. However, the less dignified or 
 less devout, like ourselves, are up and about their business, 
 enjoying too the cool air, for the sun's first rays are tempered 
 liy a light mist, habitual in this valley during the winter half of 
 the year. 
 
 We wish to buy dates, onions, and butter — all three first-rate 
 articles in the 'Aared. Dates are here of many varieties ; the 
 red ones are the best, but certain long yellow dates, without
 
 Chap VIII] Tlw Capital of Ncjcd 261 
 
 kernels, are particularly cheap and of good flavour. As for the 
 onions of 'Aared, I never saw the like elsewhere, either for size 
 or quality. Pity that the angels of Islam do not agree with 
 me in approving them ; hence good Wahhabees can only eat 
 onions with the precaution of careful mouth-rinsing and hand- 
 washing afterwards, especially if prayer- time be near, lest the 
 odour — not of sanctity — should compel the guardian spirits 
 to keep their distance, and thus leave the worshippers to un- 
 assisted and defective devotions. Luckily soap or potash is 
 in plenty, and besides there are here many not good Wah- 
 habees, and we are of their number. Butter is whitish, and 
 sold in the form of small round cakes, much as in Kaseem; 
 my Indian readers will not require the remark that this delicacy 
 has to be constantly kept in water to prevent its melting. 
 
 We wrap our head-gear, like tme Arabs, round our chins, 
 put on our grave-looking black cloaks, take each a long stick 
 in hand, and thread the narrow streets intermediate between 
 our house and the market-place at a funeral pace, and speaking 
 in an undertone. Those whom we meet salute us, or we salute 
 them ; be it known that the lesser number should always be the 
 first to salute the greater, he who rides him who walks, he 
 who walks him who stands, the stander the sitter, and so forth ; 
 but never should a man salute a woman ; difference of age or 
 even of rank between men does not enter into the general rules 
 touching the priority of salutation. If those whom we have 
 accosted happen to be acquaintances or patients, or should 
 they belong to the latitudinarian school, our salutation is duly 
 returned. But if, by ill fortune, they appertain to the strict 
 and high orthodox party, an under-look with a half-scowl in 
 silence is their only answer to our greeting. Whereat we smile, 
 Malvolio-like, and pass on. 
 
 At last we reach the market-place ; it is full of women and 
 peas mts, selling exactly what we want to buy, besides meat, 
 firev/ood, milk, &c. &c. ; around are customers, come on errands 
 like our own. We single out a tempting basket of dates, and 
 begin haggling with the unbeautiful Phyllis, seated beside her 
 rural store. We find the price too high. " By Him who 
 protects Feysul," answers she, " I am the loser at that price." 
 We insist. " By Him who shall grant Feysul a long life, I 
 cannot bate it," she replies. We have nothing to oppose to
 
 262 Riad [Chap. VIII 
 
 such tremendous asseverations, and accede or pass on, as the 
 case may be. 
 
 Half of the shops, namely, those containing grocery, house- 
 hold articles of use, shoemakers' stalls and smithies, are already 
 open and busily thronged. For the capital of a strongly cen- 
 tralized empire is always full of strangers, come will they nill 
 they on their several affairs. But around the butchers' shops 
 awaits the greatest human and canine crowd : my readers, I 
 doubt not, know that the only licensed scavengers throughout 
 the East are the dogs. Nejdeans are great flesh-eaters, and no 
 wonder, considering the cheapness of meat (z. fine fat sheep 
 costs at most five shillings, often less), and the keenness of 
 mountaineer appetites. I wish that the police regulations of 
 the city would enforce a little more cleanliness about tl^iese 
 numerous shambles; every refuse is left to cumber the ground 
 at scarce two yards' distance. But dogs and dry air much 
 alleviate the nuisance — a remark I made before at Ha'yel and 
 Bereydah; it holds true for all Central Arabia. 
 
 But before we pursue our walk, let us consider a little more 
 closely the personages now gathered on the space frowned over 
 by the high castle-walls, and limited by the massive colonnade 
 of Feysul's secret gallery, and the shops and houses which com- 
 plete the irregular square. Some townsmen of good appearance 
 are already present, nor does their outer semblance much differ 
 from the wont of Shomer or Kaseem, except by a greater sim- 
 ]jlicity of dress and a somewhat lower stature and duskier 
 complexion. Perhaps the general absence of the long "love- 
 locks," so general in the two districts above mentioned, is the 
 most remarkable feature of diversity. But there are many 
 strangers here too, and some hardly less foreigners than our- 
 selves. That slender and swarthy form, clad in a saffron-dyed 
 vest of a closer cut than the ample Nejdean shirt, with a 
 crooked dagger at his girdle, and a short yellow stick in his 
 hand, is a native of the outskirts of 'Oman, a land with which the 
 Wahhabees have now not unfrequent nor always friendly doings. 
 That other in a party-coloured overdress, with a large blue 
 turban fringed red and yellow, overshadowing a cast of features 
 totally unlike those of Central Arabia, and somewhat verging on 
 the Persian or the Indian type, is an inhabitant of Bahreyn ; 
 commerce or tribute has drugged him here, sore against his
 
 Chap, viii] Tlic Capital of Xcjcd 263 
 
 will ; for, like his 'Omanite brother, with whom he appears on 
 terms of great familiarity, he is only thinking how to make the 
 best of a bad bargain, and then get away faster than he came. 
 The servants of our friend the Na'ib, with their rakish Bagdad 
 air, and the \\Tinkled ill-tempered Meccans, may be easily dis- 
 tinguished in the crowd. But here conies a procession ; it is a 
 great man from Medinah, detesting and detested by all around, 
 who, with his numerous attendants richly clad, himself rustling 
 in silk and embroidery, has found his way to Ri'ad on business 
 of high import; perhaps to intercede, but in vain, for his friends 
 in 'Oneyzah, perhaps to concert some wicked scheme in the 
 Wahhabee interest for the downfall of the present Shereef Be 
 that as it may, all frown at him, and he frowns at all : I know 
 not on which side is the deeper contempt and hatred. 
 
 Close by I see a tall slender figure, remarkably handsome, 
 and clad in a not inelegant though unadorned dress. It is 
 Rafia', one of the Sedeyree family, a chief esteemed alike for 
 courage in war and for prudence in peace ; but now, like all 
 his relatives, under an official cloud, because belonging to the 
 too-national party of the province, and suspected of a want 
 of sincere attachment to the 'Aared dynasty. Possibly these 
 suspicions are not wholly out of place ; and were it known at 
 court, as it is, though under the rose, to Aboo-'Eysa and myself, 
 that those thin lips not unfrequently inhale a certain smoke of 
 American origin, Rafia' would, I fear, be held for even worse 
 than he is at present. Territorial disputes furnish the pretext 
 of his presence here; the desire of his kinsman 'Abd-el-Mahsin- 
 es-Sedeyree to find out what chance he has of being reinstated 
 in his ancestral authority, is the real but hidden motive. 
 
 Then pushes along through the crowd, dragging his cloak 
 with Bedouin carelessness on the ground till its lower edge 
 becomes an irregular fringe of torn thread, a chief of 'Oteybah 
 or Ajman. Formerly masters, one of Western, the other of 
 Eastern Nejed, during the anarchy which followed the Egj-ptian 
 war, these tribes were the first to feel the sword of 'Abd-Allah, 
 son of Feysul, and after counting their slaughtered warriors by 
 hundreds, and their plundered camels by thousands, reluctantly 
 assumed the semblance of compliance and the reality of sub- 
 mission. Now compelled, like Pope's ghosts, to haunt the 
 places where their freedom died, they pay melancholy visits to
 
 264 Ri'ad [Chap. VIII 
 
 Ri'acl, and loiter for months together in the streets, awaiting an 
 audience of their " Uncle " Feysul, who gives them to drink full 
 draughts from the bitter cup of contempt and conquest. — Vce 
 victis in Arabia and all over the world. 
 
 Amid the rabble are many other elements, exotic to Ri'ad, 
 though never wholly absent from it. Camel drivers from Zul- 
 phah, who in their frequent intercourse with Zobeyr and Basrah 
 have alloyed Wahhabee gravity and Nejdean decency with the 
 devil-may-care way of those ambiguous lands half Shiya'ee, 
 half infidel ; some ill-conditioned youth, who havmg run away 
 from his father or the Metow'waa' at Ri'ad, has awhile sought 
 liberty and fortune among the sailors of Koweyt or Taroot, and 
 returned with morals and manners worthy of Wapping or Ports- 
 mouth; some thin Yemanee pjedlar, come up by Wadi Nejran 
 and Dowasir to slip quietly in and out through the streets of 
 the capital and laugh at all he sees ; perhaps some Belooch or 
 Candahar darweesh, like those who accompanied us a month 
 ago to Bereydah, and who here awaits companions with whom 
 to cross the eastern arm of the desert on his way to the Per- 
 sian Gulf; mixed with these, the beggars of Dowasir, more 
 fanatic, more viciously ill-tempered, and more narrow in heart 
 and head than the men of 'Aared themselves, with the addition 
 of a laziness, meanness, and avarice quite their own; close by, 
 some young, lean, consumptive-looking student, who, cursed 
 with a genius, has come to study at Ri'ad, where he lives on 
 the Coran and the scanty alms of the palace ; his head full of 
 true orthodox learning, and his belly emj^ty or nearly so ; and 
 others less significant, each on " his business and desire, such 
 as it is," might an Arab Hamlet say. 
 
 Barakat and I resolved on continuing our walk through the 
 town. Ri'ad is divided into four quarters : one the north-east- 
 em, to which the palaces of the royal family, the houses of the 
 state officers, and the richer class of proprietors and govern- 
 ment men belong. Here the dwellings are in general high, 
 and the streets tolerably straight and not over-narrow; but the 
 ground level is low, and it is perhaps the least healthy locality 
 of all. Next the north-western, where we are lodged ; a large 
 irregular mass of houses, varying in size and keeping from the 
 best to the worst ; here strangers, and often certain equivocal 
 characters, never wanting in large towns, howe\er strictly regu-
 
 Chap, viii] Tlic Capital of Ncjcd 265 
 
 lated, chiefly abide ; here too are many noted for disaffection, 
 and harbouring other tenets than those of the son of 'Abd-el- 
 Wahhab, men prone to old Arab ways and customs in " Church 
 and State," to borrow our own analogous phrase ; here are 
 country chiefs, here Bedouins and natives of Zulphah and the 
 outskirts find a lodging ; here, if anywhere, is tobacco smoked 
 or sold, and the Coran neglected in proportion. However, I 
 would not have my readers to think our entire neighbourhood 
 so absolutely disreputable. Even here certain virtuous Metow'- 
 waa's and holy Zelators shine like lights in a dark place, and 
 ser\'e for good examples or spies among a population highly 
 edified, no doubt, by the very virtue that it has not the courage 
 to imitate. 
 
 But we gladly turn away our eyes from so dreary a view to 
 refresh them by a survey of the south-western quarter, the 
 chosen abode of formalism and orthodoxy. In this section of 
 Ri'ad inhabit the most zealous Metow'waa's, the most energetic 
 Zelators, here are the most irreproachable five-pray ers-a-d ay 
 Nejdeans, and all the flower of Wahhabee purity. Above all, 
 here dwell the principal survivors of the family of the great 
 religious Founder, the posterity of 'Abd-el-Wahhab escaped 
 from the Eg}'ptian sword, and free from every stain of foreign 
 contamination. Mosques of primitive simplicity and ample 
 space, where the great dogma, not however confined to Ri'ad, 
 that "we are exactly in the right, and every one else is in the 
 wrong," is daily inculcated to crowds of auditors, overjoyed to 
 find Paradise all theirs and none's but theirs \ smaller oratories 
 or Musallas, wells for ablution, and Ca'abah-directed niches 
 adorn every comer, and fill up every interval of house or 
 orchard. The streets of this quarter are open, and the air 
 healthy, so that the invisible blessing is seconded by sensible 
 and visible privileges of Providence. Think not, gentle reader, 
 that I am indulging in gratuitous or self-invented irony ; I am 
 only rendering expression for expression, and almost word for 
 word, the talk of true Wahhabees, when describing the model 
 quarter of their model city. This section of the town is spacious 
 and well-peopled, and flourishes, the citadel of national and 
 religious intolerance, pious pride, and genuine Wahhabeeism. 
 
 Lastly, the south-eastern quarter, entitled the " Khazik /' it 
 is also large, and more thickly inhabited than any other, but
 
 266 Riad [Chap. VIII 
 
 deficient in individuals of note and wealth ; here the lower 
 classes of the population find in general their abode, and pea- 
 sants and other incomers from the surrounding villages their 
 lodging. This is naturally the worst built and worst kept part 
 of the town, the ground is too low, and the air not healthy ; I 
 was told that the ravages of the cholera here in 1854-5 were 
 fearful, and can well believe it. 
 
 There is no distinct separation otherwise than by broad 
 streets between these several quarters, no gates, no wall of 
 division. However, each is really considered as a municipal 
 whole — " circle," Parisians might call it (a clumsy denomina- 
 tion, because it implies continual interstices or intersections) — 
 and each one has its own name, but I have forgotten those 
 given to the first three sections. The word " Khazik," applied 
 to the fourth, signifies "crowded" or "stifling." In the second 
 and fourth quarters we meet with hardly any house-enclosed 
 gardens or orchards ; a few occur in the first, and more in the 
 third; but the general rule of Nejed that the gardens should 
 be for the most part without the town-circuit, holds good in 
 Ri'ad also. 
 
 The junction-point or centre in which these divisions meet 
 and intersect is the market-place, with the royal palace ad- 
 joining it on one side, and the great mosque or Djamia' on the 
 other ; this word Djamia' means, literally, " collecting " or 
 " uniting," because here attends the great concourse of Friday 
 worshippers to the full and official performance of public ser- 
 vice, elsewhere somewhat curtailed. Hence, too, Friday itself 
 is called " Djema'," i. e. " collection." In no Nejdean town is 
 there more than one authentic Djamia' ; the other places of 
 prayer are entitled " Mesjids," or, if small, " Musallas." In this 
 point they conform themselves better than other Mahometans 
 to the tradition of the Prophet, who would never have ap- 
 proved the multiplication of Djamia's, customary in Syria, Egypt, 
 Turkey, &c. The Djamia' of Ri'ad is a large flat-roofed par- 
 allelogram, supported on square wooden pillars thickly coated 
 with earth; the building is low, and has no pretensions to archi- 
 tectural beauty. Barakat and myself calculated the space between 
 the long rows of columns, and found that it could contain above 
 two thousand individuals at a time; and an equal number can 
 without difficulty find their place within the open courtyard in
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 267 
 
 front. Mahometans Avhen at prayer leave a considerable space 
 between their ranks to allow room for prostration without 
 striking their heads on the heels of the row before them. 
 Hence my readers may conclude the size of this huge but inele- 
 gant construction. Tower or " Ma'dinah " (Minaret, we gene- 
 rally call it) there is none ; but in its stead a small platform 
 slightly raised from the roof-level; above the Mihrab, or station 
 allotted to the Imam at time of prayers, stands on the roof a 
 sort of closet or small apartment, into which old Feysul finds 
 admittance on Fridays by the covered gallery before described, 
 and acts invisible Imam to the assembly below. No mats or 
 carpets; reason why — Mahomet and his companions the Sah- 
 habah did not employ such; in compensation, the ground is 
 strewed with small pebbles, needlessly annoying to the shin- 
 bones and knees of the faithful. 
 
 Besides this great mosque, the principal one in the town, 
 there are thirty or more small ones, or Mesjids, in the different 
 quarters, some of them of spacious dimensions, especially that 
 ■wherein the Kadee 'Abd-el-Lateef ordinarily acts as Imam, and 
 that which is honoured by the daily presence of 'Abd-AUah, the 
 heir-apparent. This latter edifice is in the first quarter of the 
 city, the other in the third ; both attract attention by their size 
 and neatness, but are, like the rest, perfectly unadorned. In each 
 and all the names of those whom vicinity obliges to attendance 
 are read over morning and evening ; a muster-call, the better 
 to ensure presence and detect defaulters. The " voluntary 
 system " has few partisans in Ri'ad. 
 
 Round the whole town run the walls, varying from twenty 
 to thirty feet in height ; they are strong, in good repair, ami 
 defended by a deep trench and embankment. Beyond them 
 are the gardens, much similar to those of Kaseem, both in 
 arrangement and produce, despite the difference of latitude, 
 here compensated by a higher ground level. But immediately 
 to the south, in Yemamah, the eye remarks a change in the 
 vegetation to a more tropical aspect; of this, however, I will 
 not say more for the present. 
 
 A striking feature in this southerly slope of the central 
 plateau, is the much greater abundance of water here than on 
 its northern terrace in Sedeyr. This comparative moisture of 
 the soil and of the atmosphere, the latter being, in fact, a con-
 
 268 Ri'ad [Chap. viii 
 
 sequence of the former, is first perceptible about Horeymelah, 
 whence it increases progressively southward, till it attains its 
 maximum in the Yemamah ; farther on towards Hareek and 
 Dowasir it again diminishes, partly, I suppose, from the grow- 
 ing distance from the mountainous district, partly from the 
 vicinity of the Great Desert and its arid heat. 
 
 I have already mentioned the frequency of butchers' shops- 
 in the market The Nejdean breed of sheep is well known and 
 much esteemed, even beyond the limits of Arabia. This is 
 natural, for good and copious pasture, with a fairly temperate 
 climate, render Nejed a land eminently adapted to the propa- 
 gation and perfection of the species. However in the judgment 
 of many, amongst whom I myself am one, they are inferior as 
 an article of food to the sheep of Diar-Bekr and the frontiers of 
 Curdistan. In the market of Damascus, whither they some- 
 times find their way, they fetch a high, but not the highest price. 
 Tiieir wool is remarkably fine, almost equalling that of Cache- 
 mire in softness and delicacy. I need hardly say that they are 
 broad-tailed ; all Arab sheep are so more or less. Were Arabia 
 in the enjoyment of circumstances more favourable to commerce 
 and what else accompanies it, half the Turkish empire might 
 hence alone be supplied with wool and mutton ; the proportion 
 of pasture land in this country almost equalling the arable and 
 the unreclaimable desert taken together. But the difficulty of 
 exportation from the centre across the frontiers is naturally great, 
 and has been rendered yet more so artificially, I mean by mis- 
 government or by careless indolence. 
 
 Camels abound ; it is a " wilderness of camels." The breed 
 here resembles in the main that of Shomer ; but the colour, 
 there most often between red and yellow, is in Nejed generally 
 white or grey ; black is rare everywhere. The stature, too, of 
 the Nejdean camel is somewhat slimmer and smaller than the. 
 northern, and the hair is finer. They are cheaper in proportion 
 than sheep; twenty-five to thirty shillings is an average camel- 
 price ; not much for so powerful an animal. Dromedaries 
 begin to grow frequent ; but of them more anon. 
 
 (3xen and kine are much more common in Nejed than in the 
 northerly provinces ; in Yemamah they abound, and are not 
 rare, as I was told, in Wadi Dowasir. These beasts are gene- 
 rally small-limbed, but always furnished with the hump of
 
 Chap, viii] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 269 
 
 their Indian compeers, though less fortunate than they in 
 attracting respect or adoration. The prevaihng colour is dan. 
 Bufifaloes are unknown in Central Arabia. 
 
 Game, both small and great, feathered or quadruped, is 
 plenty throughout all this district, but is seldom hunted. 
 Partridges, quails, Kala (a variety of the partridge kind), and 
 pigeons, are to be met with everywhere ; and I heard of, but did 
 not see, the Kalam, a kind of bustard ; I have myself seen and 
 shot this bird in the neighbourhood of Raj cote. But small 
 shot have never been introduced into Nejed ; and to bring 
 down a bird on the wing surpasses the skill of most Arab marks- 
 men ; besides, matchlocks and bullets are ill adapted to quail 
 or partridge shooting. There are no ostriches in the uplands 
 of Toweyk. Of gazelles, numerous here even more than else- 
 where, I have spoken already, nor did I see or hear of any 
 other variety of the deer species. Nor are gazelles much hunted, 
 unless by some chance Solibah. Wild boars and pigs are fre- 
 quent in the mountain; needs hardly say that these animals 
 are here of no greater use than ornament. Only their tusks are 
 sometimes converted, but beyond the limits of Wahhabee lands, 
 into queer snuff-boxes, and sometimes into pipes, a twofold 
 abomination. But even a Solibah would not touch the flesh of 
 the unclean animal, little more in favour with Eastern Christians 
 than with ]Mahometans themselves, except where Europeans 
 have by their example accustomed a small number of indivi- 
 duals to consider it a lawful luxury. 
 
 My readers must certainly be desirous to learn something 
 about the horse in Central Arabia ; the more so that Nejdean 
 horses are to Arab horses in general what Arab horses are to 
 those of other countries. And besides, what Englishman would 
 esteem worthy his perusal a work on Arabia which should not 
 contain at least half-a-dozen pages on this subject % I am equally 
 desirous of mounting with all speed what I confess to be my own 
 hobby; but I must awhile moderate my reader's impatience and 
 my own, and we will wait together till dawns the happy day 
 when we may visit the royal Ri'ad stables, and at leisure survey 
 the " creme de la creme " of the race ; and then all who care 
 shall nave free admittance in my company. 
 
 And noAv from this incidental mention of horses, the noblest 
 of tlie animal tribes, let us make an onward step to man, and
 
 270 RTad [Chap. VIII 
 
 add a few words regarding the general character and the 
 principal elements of the population of Ri'ad itself and of 
 the surrounding districts. For fine buildings and gardens, wild 
 animals or domestic, valleys and mountains, do not make a 
 country; " el beled bi' ahlihi," " a land is to be estimated after 
 its indwellers," says a trite Arab proverb; and the chief game 
 to an enquiring mind, though in another sense than that of 
 Nimrod, is man. Or, to borrow the not inelegant hnes of an 
 Eastern poet — lines which may recall to some readers one of 
 Heinrich Heine's most perfect epigrams : — 
 
 I pass along by the dear dwelling, the dwelling of Leyla, 
 
 And I bestow a kiss first on this wall and then on that ; 
 
 Yet think not that the dwelling-place itself is the object of my love : 
 
 The object of my love is She who inhabits the dwelling. 
 
 We will observe a due gradation in this imjjortant matter, and 
 accordingly begin from the lowest in the human scale — its 
 negro type. 
 
 Throughout Arabia we had frequently met with negroes — in 
 Djowf, Shomer, Kaseem, and Sedeyr. But we had only met 
 with them in the condition of slaves, and rarely in other than 
 in the wealthier households, where these Africans were living, 
 contented indeed and happy, fat and shining, but invariably 
 under servitude, and in consequence entitled to no share in 
 the political, or even in the civil, scheme of Arab society. 
 Similar is their condition throughout Nejed itself so far as 
 'Aared. But here a change takes place ; not only are negro 
 slaves much more numerous than in the north, but even a 
 distinct and free population of African origin comes into 
 existence, along with its unfailing accompaniment of mulatto 
 half-castes, till at last they form together a quarter, sometimes 
 a third, of the sum total of inhabitants. Ri'ad abounds with 
 them, Manfooliah and Selemee'yah yet more, while tliey swarm 
 in the Hareek, Wadi Dowasir, and their vicinity. This is the 
 result of several causes : firstly, the nearness of the great slave- 
 marts, whether on the eastern or on the western coast, like 
 Djiddah in Hejaz, and the numerous seaports of 'Oman on the 
 other side; nor is this a nearness of space only, but of con- 
 necting routes, intercourse, and commerce. Hence the first 
 draught of slaves to Central Arabia, \vliether from the starting-
 
 CiiA!' VIII] T lie Capital of Nijcd 271 
 
 point of Mecca or from that of Hofhoof, passes directly through 
 'Aared, and many of them find a master here without going 
 any farther. Alongside of this cause, and dependent on it, is 
 the comparative cheapness of price : a negro here fetches from 
 seven to ten pounds English in value; at ya'yel or the Djowf 
 it vi^ould be thirteen or fourteen. The climate also of Southern 
 Nejed, which exhibits a certain similarity to the African, ren- 
 ders this part of Arabia more suited to negro habits and con- 
 stitutions than are the high lands of Toweyk or Shomer, and 
 thus contributes to their multiplication. Lastly, there exists 
 in the indigenous population itself a certain bent of character 
 inclining to sympathy with the dusky races ; this originates in 
 a fact of extensive historical and ethnological bearing, and 
 meriting more elucidation than my present limits allow. 
 
 The number of negro slaves in these provinces gives rise to 
 a second stage of existence for the black, common in the East, 
 though not equally compatible with his condition in the for 
 West. I mean that not of emancipation only, but of social 
 equality also, with those around him — not by Act of Parlia- 
 ment or of Congress, but by individual will and public feeling. 
 Nothing is more common for a Mahometan, but above all for an 
 Arab, whether Mahometan or not, than to emancipate his slaves, 
 sometimes during his own lifetime, on occasion of some good 
 success of a religious obligation, of a special service rendered, 
 nay often out of sheer good will, and sometimes on his death-bed, 
 when he often strives to ensure a favourable reception in the 
 next world by an act of generous humanity (at his heir's expense) 
 done at the moment of quitting this. Another cause in opera- 
 tion is one readily imagined in a land where morals are lax, 
 and legal restraint on this point yet laxer — I mean the univer- 
 sality of concubinage between the master and his female slave. 
 In Nejed, at least, the boys sprung from this union are free- 
 born, and so, I believe, are the girls, at least in the eye of 
 the law. 
 
 These new possessors of civil liberty soon marry and are 
 given in marriage. Now, although an emancipated negro or mu- 
 latto is not at once admitted to the higher circles of aristocratic 
 life, nor would an Arab chief of rank readily make over his 
 daughter to a black, yet they are by no means under the ban 
 of incapacity and exclusion wliich weighs on them among races
 
 2/2 RTad [Chai'. VIII 
 
 of English blood. Accordingly, negroes can without any diffi- 
 culty give their sons and daughters to the middle or lower class 
 of Arab families, and thus arises a new generation of mixed 
 race, here denominated " Khodeyreeyah " or " Benoo-Kho- 
 deyr," the which being interpreted means, " the Greens," or 
 " the sons of the Green one." My readers must not, however, 
 suppose that mulatto flesh in Arabia is so literally grass as to 
 bear its actual hue. The colours green, black, and brov^-n, are 
 habitually confounded in common Arabic parlance, though the 
 difference between them 'is, of course, well known and main- 
 tained in lexicons, or wherever accuracy of speech is aimed at. 
 These "green ones," again, marry, multiply, and assume various 
 tints, grass-green, emerald, opal, and the like ; or, in exacter 
 phrase, brown, copper-coloured, olive, and what Americans call, 
 I believe, yellow. Like their progenitors, they do not readily 
 take their jjlace among the nobles or upper ten thousand, how- 
 ever they may end by doing even this in process of time ; and 
 I have myself while in Arabia been honoured by the intimacy 
 of more than one handsome " Green-man," with a silver-hilted 
 sword at his side, and a rich dress on his dusky skin, but deno- 
 minated Sheykh or Emeer, and humbly sued by Arabs of the 
 ]iurest Ismaelitic or Kahtanic pedigree. Ri'ad is full of these 
 Khodeyreeyah shopkeepers, merchants, and officers of govern- 
 ment ; and I must add that their desire, common to all par- 
 \enus, of aping the high ton and ruling fashion, makes them at 
 times the most bigoted and disagreeable Wahhabees in the city; 
 a tendency which is the more fostered by hereditary narrowness 
 of intellect. 
 
 Thus in Central Nejed society presents a new element per- 
 vading it from its highest to its lowest grades. Another pecu- 
 liarity, not physical indeed, but moral, offers itself in the cha- 
 racter of the indigenous population, taken apart from the 
 embellishment or distortion caused by religious tenets. Not 
 only as a Wahhabee, but equally as a Nejdean, does the native 
 of 'Aarecl, Allaj, Yemamah, Hareek, and Dowasir, differ, and 
 that widely, from his fellow-Arab of Shomer and Kaseem, nay, 
 of Woshem and Sedeyr. The cause of this difference is much 
 more ancient than the epoch of the great Wahhabee, and must 
 be sought first and foremost in the pedigree itself. The descent 
 claimed by the indigenous Arabs of this region is from the family
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 273 
 
 of Tameen, a name peculiar to these lands, but very familiar to 
 Arab ears, and of frequent occurrence in prose and verse. Now 
 Benoo-Tameem have been in all ages distinguished from other 
 Arabs by strongly-drawn lines of character, the object of the 
 exaggerated praise and of the biting satire of native poets. 
 Good or bad, these characteristics, described some thousand 
 years ago, are identical with the portrait of their real or pre- 
 tended descendants. " Do you wonder at the men of 'Aared ?" 
 said a man of Hasa in reply to my unfavourable comments on 
 Ri'ad and its people ; " surely you cannot have forgotten that 
 they are Benoo-Tameem % " Much less spirited, less profusely 
 generous, less prone to movement and hazardous enterprise, 
 less cheerful and open too than the majority of Arab clans, 
 they were known as more persevering, more united, more pru- 
 dent; sparing of words, not easily roused nor quick to manifest 
 their feeHngs, but firm of purpose, terrible in revenge, deep and 
 implacable haters, and doubtful friends to all save their own 
 immediate kindred. Their very expression of feature, reserved, 
 often contracted, gloomy, or at best serious, contrasts strangely 
 with the frank and pleasing faces of the northerly tribes, while 
 it implies greater capacity for rule, organization, and, no less, 
 oppression. Acting far more than any other Arabs on system, 
 and less on impulse, of a narrower but a more concentrated 
 frame of intellect and will, their union and perseverance are 
 morally sure to triumph in the long run over their disunited and 
 desultory neighbours, and the Nejdean empire necessarily tends 
 to absorb or crush the greater part of the Peninsula, perhaps at 
 no distant period. This same type stamps all their words and 
 ways, even in house-life and in market dealings. 
 
 Along with this un amiable cast of mind and temper goes a 
 greater simplicity in dress and in house ornament, the cutting- 
 down of ringlets and the absence of ostentation in the use of 
 wealth and goods. All this is simply natural to the men of 
 'Aared and Yemamah, independent of Vvahhabee puritanism, 
 and the rigour of its code. But even this double rigour, innate 
 and legal, cannot always prevent their immense pride from 
 finding vent in gorgeous trappings and costly furniture, when 
 the consciousness of absolute and domineering strength affords 
 security in so doing. Fortunately for them, the number of those 
 who can safely enjoy such exceptional privileges is small ; and 
 
 T
 
 2/4 Ri'ad [Chap. VIII 
 
 the common routine is one of moderation, approaching to 
 austerity. 
 
 The Nejdean of these provinces is essentially agriculturist or 
 shepherd. Woshem, indeed, and the north of Sedeyr, have 
 something more of a commercial character, which in an Arab 
 implies a love of travel and no reluctance to a temporary change 
 of his native land for foreign scenes. But the men of Sedeyr 
 from Toweym southwards, of 'Aared, Yemamah, Aflaj, and 
 Dowasir, are very rarely seen on trading business beyond the 
 narrow circle of their own provinces. The commerce furnished 
 by Ri'ad and the other great Nejdean centres of population is 
 in its active part abandoned to foreigners. The bom Nejdean 
 (with exception of the natives of Hareek) does indeed keep his 
 storehouse, but will not go in quest of what to store it withal. 
 
 On the contrary, agriculture and gardening are much in 
 vogue. Everyone owns his little plot of ground, whence he 
 derives his own chief maintenance and that of his family; the 
 monarch himself is not exempt from this law, for a consider- 
 able portion of the royal revenue is invested in plantations 
 and fields. Nor are Nejdeans contemptible cultivators; the 
 copious produce of their palm-trees, and of their corn or maize 
 grounds, attests not perhaps theoretical but certainly practical 
 skill. Tme, the plough is of very simple construction, but a 
 light soil and a mild climate do not exact the hard stress and 
 deep furrows which demand the more complicated instrument 
 of the north. A rough hurdle answers all the purposes of an 
 iron-toothed harrow, and a large shovel, often wooden, does 
 the work of a spade. Irrigation is everywhere indispensable, 
 no produce worthy of a husbandman can here thrive without 
 it ; and I have already said that a little more mechanical art 
 might be advantageously bestowed on their pulleys and buckets. 
 However, considering the number and the wants of the popula- 
 tion — both comparatively less than they would be in most parts 
 of Europe over an equal space and under parallel circumstances 
 — what they have suffices them; and tlie Nejdean, if not active, 
 is far from lazy. 
 
 Meanwhile another and a very different source of action and 
 occupation has been opened, or at least enlarged and facilitated, 
 by the present state of affairs. Nejdeans were ever prone to 
 quarrel and war; their character, pourtrayed a few lines back,
 
 Chap. VIII] TJic Capital of Ncjcd 2/5 
 
 implies no less; and the motto "thou shalt want ere I want" 
 is not so peculiar to the highlands of Scotia that it might not 
 have been with fully equal propriety blazoned on many an 
 escutcheon in the highlands of Nejed. But so long as their 
 feuds and forays, wars and plunder, were bounded by the 
 ranges of Toweyk, there was little to gain or lose ; the poor 
 pillaged the poor, and the beggar, to permit ourselves a vulgar 
 allusion, sued the beggar. But now, under the powerful 
 dynasty of the Ebn-Sa'oods, the case has changed. War 
 became henceforth methodical, and in consequence success- 
 ful ; better still, it is directed, not against their needy fellow- 
 Nejdeans, but against the wealthy coast of Hasa, the traders 
 and the pearl-fishers of 'Oman, or to bring home the spoils of 
 Mecca and Medinah, of Meshid-Hoseyn and Zobeyr. War is 
 a lottery, and a lottery has more attractions than the plough 
 and the spade ; but war attended by such circumstances, and 
 presenting all the excitement of fanaticism, novelty, and rapa- 
 city, could not fail to engross the public mind, while it supplied 
 the public wants. From the first campaigns of Sa'ood-ebn- 
 Sa'ood down to our own time, every man of 'Aared and her 
 sister provinces looks on the sword as a foremost means of 
 private and household subsistence no less than of pubhc revenue 
 and state acquirement ; and hence the whole current of Wah- 
 habee being sets in a direction the very reverse of commerce, 
 and not over favourable to agriculture. 
 
 But I had almost forgotten that all this time we are walking 
 about the capital or strolling in its gardens; the noonday sun 
 is hot, and probably my companions are tired, and would like 
 to return home, there to make a quiet meal off our dates and 
 onions, and wash it down with three cups of coffee, such as, 
 alas ! my reader is little likely to enjoy from Paris to Stamboul. 
 We will now accordingly rest awhile, and after a short repose 
 resume our interrupted tale, and amid the incidents of medical 
 and professional life pourtray to the best of our abilities what 
 yet remains for delineation of Ri'ad and of its inhabitants. 
 
 T2
 
 2/6 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 Life at Ri'ad — The Wahhabee Dynasty. 
 
 Turn we this globe, and let us see 
 How different nations disagree 
 In what we wear, or eat, or drink, 
 Nay, Dick, perhaps, in what we think. 
 
 Prwr 
 
 Our First Patient Djcnvhar — His Position, Chm-acter, and Influence — 
 ^Abd-el-Kereem — His History and Character — Visit to his House — An 
 ^Aared Dinner — Fumigaiiott — His Family — Discussion on the Division 
 of Sins in Mahometan Theology — Polytheism and Tobacco Smoking — 
 Reasons alleged by 'Abd-el-ICereem — Qualities of Arab Tobacco — ^Abd- 
 el-KereerrCs Afanauvres to avoid Payment — His Se7-mon — ^Abd-er- 
 Rahmdn the Metow'wad' — His Rooms, Studies, a7id Pupils — Story of 
 Mahomet at Datnascus — Itidignation of ^ Abd-el- Hameed — ^Abd-el- 
 Lateef the Wahhabee — His History and Character — Anecdote of Divitie 
 judgment on Tobacco Smokers — Mohammed, Brother of 'Abd-el-Lateef 
 — Other Individuals — An Ope>-ation — Recoz'ery of DJowhar — Our Posi- 
 tion at the Palace — Fey'suls Old Age — His Family — Summary View of 
 the Provinces of his Empire — Their Dispositions — 'Aaseer — Numerical 
 Census — Revenue — Census of the Kingdom of Shomer — Its Revenue. 
 
 According to promise, Aboo-'Eysa played his part to bring us 
 in patients and customers, and the very second morning that 
 dawTied on us in our new house, ushered in an invahd who 
 proved a very godsend. This was no other than Djowhar, trea- 
 surer of Feysul, and of the Wahhabee empire. My readers 
 may be startled to learn that this great functionary was jet-black, 
 a negro, in fact, though not a slave, having obtained his free- 
 dom from Turkee, the father of the present king. He was tall, 
 and, for a negro, handsome, about forty-five years of age, 
 splendidly dressed, a point never neglected by wealthy Africans, 
 v.-hatever be their theoretical creed, and girt with a golden-
 
 Chap, IX] WiXJlJldbcC Pat'lCtltS 2// 
 
 hiked sword. But, said he, gold, though unlawful if forming a 
 part of apparel or mere ornament, may be employed with a 
 safe conscience in decorating weapons. Many preachers have, 
 I believe, wasted time and eloquence in attemi)ting to persuade 
 the ladies to moderation in dress. I would gladly consent to 
 see them try their chance with a congregation of upper-class 
 negroes ; what might be the result I know not, but certainly 
 Gabriel and the Wahhabee have both made a complete failure 
 in this resi)ect. In all other points Djowhar was an excellent 
 fellow, good-humoured, rather hot-tempered, but tractable and 
 confiding, like most '* people of his skin," in Arab phrase. 
 
 The disease he was actually suffering under annoyed him 
 much, especially as Feysul desired to send him without delay 
 on a government errand to Bahreyn (where we afterwards met 
 him), a business which his bad state of health rendered him 
 wholly unfit for. Thus, bettering his condition might be almost 
 looked on as a national service. Aboo-'Eysa, an old acquaint- 
 ance and friend of the chief treasurer's, introduced him, and 
 placed him in great dignity on a carpet spread in the courtyard, 
 where, with two or three other individuals of wealth and im- 
 portance, he seated himself beside the patient, and launched 
 out into an eulogium of my medical skill which would have re- 
 quired some qualification if applied to Cullen himself; but it 
 served wonderfully to encourage Djowhar, and thus predispose 
 him for a cure. 
 
 After ceremonies and coffee, I took my dusky patient into 
 the consulting room, where by dint of questioning and surmise, 
 for negroes in general are much less clear and less to the point 
 than Arabs in their statements, I obtained the requisite eluci- 
 dation of his case. The malady, though painful, was fortunately 
 one admitting of simple and efficacious treatment, so that I was 
 able on the spot to promise him a sensible amendment of con- 
 dition within a fortnight, and that in three weeks' time he should 
 be in plight to undertake his journey to Bahreyn. I added 
 that with so distinguished a personage I could not think of 
 exacting a bargain and fixing the amount of fees ; the requital 
 of my care should be left to his generosity. He then took 
 leave, and was re-conducted to his rooms in the palace by his 
 fellow-blacks of less degree. 
 
 The next individual worthy of note whom we took in hand
 
 2/8 Life at Ri'ad [Chap, ix 
 
 was of a very different stamp from Ujowhar ; less pliable, less 
 grateful, but in some respects even more to the purpose of our 
 sojourn in Ri'ad. This was 'Abd-el-Kereem, son of Ibraheem, 
 nearly allied by marriage with the great Walihabee family, and 
 claiming descent from the oldest nobility of 'Aared. Himself a 
 bitter Wahhabee, and a model of all the orthodox vices of his 
 sect, he had figured conspicuously in the first band of Zelators 
 at the epoch of their foundation in 1855, and the cruel death of 
 vSoweylim, the late minister, was by popular rumour ascribed to 
 this man's personal jealousy and private aims, thinly disguised 
 under the mask of religious zeal. Other acts of the same de- 
 scription were attributed to him, and he had during a brief 
 exercise of power become so universally unpopular, that his 
 fellow-Zelators had been compelled to avail themselves of the 
 ])retext of his weak health to remove him from office. Honoured 
 by those who considered him a victim of his own virtues, hated 
 by ordinary mortals, he now led a retired life in the third quarter 
 of the town, whence a chronic bronchitis, no uncommon ail- 
 ment in this climate, brought him to our door. 
 
 He presented himself with an air of cheerful modesty, and 
 before stating his case entered, by way of introduction, into a • 
 discourse which proved him a master of Islamitic lore. Under 
 our roof he affected a special tenderness for the Damascene 
 school of doctrine, took care to remind us that the son of 'Abd- 
 el-Wahhab had learned the true faith in the capital of Syria, 
 and insinuated that we ourselves were doubtless of equal ortho- 
 doxy and learning. It was a pleasure to converse with him on 
 topics in which he was thoroughly at home, and a few en- 
 comiums soon led him to instruct us on many points of Wahha- 
 bee doctrine and manners. At last, from abstract, he descended 
 to practical regions, and begged me to examine his chest. I 
 prescribed what seemed requisite, and he took his leave, but 
 not till after exacting a promise of our honouring his house with 
 our presence at an early dinner next day. All this familiarity 
 pleased yet alarmed Aboo-'Eysa. Pleased, because admittance 
 to the domestic circle of so high a character in the orthodox 
 world was, in common phrase, a feather in our cap, and a ticket 
 of respectability elsewhere ; and alarmed when he considered 
 the treacherous and evil heart of our future host. Indeed, this 
 latter feeling so far predominated, that he advised us not to
 
 Chap. IX] WakJuihcC Pat'lCUtS 2J() 
 
 Stand to our engagement ; but I did not think fit to comply 
 with this over-cautious admonition. 
 
 Next day, a litde before noon, 'Abd-el-Kereem, in a long 
 white robe, modest guise, and staff in hand, came to our abode 
 in person, and claimed the fulfilment of our promise. We rose 
 and accompanied him across the market-place and behind the 
 palace, through neat streets where decorum and gravity were 
 manifestly the order of the day, till we reached his dwelling. 
 It was a large one ; he ushered us into the courtyard, and 
 thence up a long flight of steps to the second storey, where we 
 entered a handsome and well-lighted divan. Above its door was 
 inscribed, in the large half-Cufic characters usual throughout 
 Nejed, and, like all Nejdean inscriptions, simply painted not 
 carved, the distich of the celebrated poet, 'Omar-ebn-el-Farid : — 
 
 Welcome to him of whose approacli I am all unworthy, 
 
 Welcome to the voice announcing joy after lonely melancholy : 
 
 Good tidings thine ; off with the robes of sadness ; for know 
 
 Thou art accepted, and I myself will take on me whatever grieves thee. 
 
 Within the room sat Ibraheem, the aged father of our friend 
 and master of the house, and with him another of his sons ; 
 several books treating of law and divinity, sections of the Coran, 
 and inkstands, with good supply of writing paper; some of 
 these objects strewed on the divan, others inserted in the 
 little triangular niches which represent bookcases in Arabia, 
 announced a haunt of learning and study. 
 
 Capital towns suppose more polished manners and greater 
 elegance of life than elsewhere, nor does Wahhabee severity 
 prevent Ri'ad from following the general rule. A very cour- 
 teous greeting and honourable reception was made us by 
 Ibraheem and his family, and one of the children brought in 
 without delay a select dish of excellent dates, as a gage of good 
 will and esteem. When in due time the dinner made its ap- 
 pearance, after many excuses for its simplicity : — " You Damas- 
 cenes would treat us better were we your guests, but Nejed is 
 poor, the means want us, not the will," and the like — it in- 
 cluded, among other delicacies, a dish which I was equally sur- 
 prised and pleased to see, because it was a clear indication of 
 our approach to the eastern coast. But were my readers, even 
 though of East Norfolk, to guess for an hour together what was 
 this well-omened platter, they would hardly, I think, hit on
 
 2 So Life at Ri\id rcnAP. ix 
 
 dried shrimps, the article now before us. My Syrian com- 
 panion did not know what to make of them ; for me, I wel- 
 comed old friends, though under disadvantageous circumstances 
 — less fresh and less correctly prepared than they might have 
 been on the bonny banks of Yare. On enquirv', I was informed 
 that these delicacies formed a regular item of importation from 
 Hasa, and that the fishery itself belonged to Bahreyn. But of 
 the copious marine produce of that island nothing else arrives 
 thus far ; possibly from want of skill in salting and curing. 
 
 After dinner we washed our hands with potash or kalee 
 (whence our own " alkali "), the ordinary cleanser of Nejed, 
 and then took place the ceremony of fumigation. Not that 
 we here underwent it for the first time, since even in Djebel 
 Shomer it is sometimes practised, and in Sedeyr is of daily 
 occurrence ; but I forgot to describe it before, and this may be 
 a suitable occasion. Indeed, here, in orthodox 'Aared, per- 
 fuming has scarcely less of a religious than of a genteel cha- 
 racter, the Prophet having declared himself in express terms 
 almost as much a lover of sweet odours as of women, wherein 
 he left an example to be imitated by zealous followers. Ac- 
 cordingly after meals, or even at the conclusion of a simple 
 coffee-drinking visit, appears a small square box, with the upper 
 part of its sides pierced filigree- wise, Avhile its base offers a sort 
 of stalk or handle, long enough to lay hold of without danger 
 of burning one's fingers ; the apparatus is of baked clay, and 
 looks much like an overgrown four-petaled flower. Above, it 
 is filled with charcoal or live embers of Ithel, and on these are 
 laid three or four small bits of sweet-scented wood, identical 
 with that which in the last chapter bribed the ministry on our 
 behalf; or, in place of wood, fragments of benzoin incense, till 
 the rich clammy smoke goes up as from a censer. Everyone 
 now takes in turn the burning vase, passes it under his beard 
 (which, I may remark, is generally but a scraggy one in Nejed), 
 next lifts up one after another the corners of his head-gear or 
 kerchief, to catch therein an abiding perfume, though at the 
 risk of burning his ears if he be a new hand at the business, 
 like myself; and lastly, though not always, opens the breast of 
 his shirt too, to give his inner man a whiff of sweet-smelling 
 remembrance. For the odour is extremely tenacious, and may 
 be perceived for hours after. Twice or thrice only did I see 
 incense of the kind commonly employed in Europe brought
 
 Chap. IX] WaJilulbcc Patioits 281 
 
 in on these occasions ; imported, they said, from Hadramaut. 
 But to return to our host. 
 
 His father, old Ibraheem, could remember the Egyptian 
 invasion and the siege of Derey'eeyah. He told us many tales 
 regarding those events, of which he had been an eye-witness ; 
 and the name of Aboo-Nokta was not unknown to our narrator, 
 but he assigned much greater military prominence to another 
 negro champion, entitled Harith, the hero, in Nejdean annals 
 at least, of a single combat, Homeric fashion, with Ibraheem 
 Basha himself When the old man was on these topics, he 
 kindled up, and looked as though he could swallow all the 
 infidels on earth alive, nor do I suppose that he was in reality 
 scant of courage ; cowardice is no fault of Nejdeans. 
 
 'Abd-el-Kereem continued to pay us almost daily visits, and 
 we occasionally to return them, till his ailment was sufficiently 
 relieved, and he had no further need of us. He was not, I 
 think, " clear," to borrow a Quaker phrase, touching our ortho- 
 doxy, and loved discussion ; but if ready to question, he was 
 no less ready to expound and answer. 
 
 During an intimate conversation, I enquired of him one day, 
 what, according to the Wahhabee code, were the great sins, or 
 " Kebey'ir-ed-denoob," in Arab terms, and what the little ones, 
 or "Seghey'ir." My readers may perhaps know that Mahomet- 
 ans divide sins into classes — the " great," to be punished in the 
 next world, or at least deserving it; and the "httle" sins, whose 
 forgiveness is more easily obtained, and whose penalty is remis- 
 sible in this life. 
 
 The fact of a real and important distinction is admitted, 
 somewhat analogous to the division widely received among 
 Christians between mortal and venial transgressions. But here 
 comes a main difficulty, namely, which is which % Every one 
 knows the infinite variety of opinion existing on this subject 
 among Christian doctors or casuists. Nor are Mahometan 
 divines less at variance. Some hold infidehty, polytheism, or 
 non-Mahometanism, to be the only mortal sin — want of faith, in 
 short. This seems to have been Mahomet's own decision, and 
 is countenanced by several texts of the Coran. Others insist- 
 ing on certain expressions contained in the " Book," add wilful 
 homicide and usury ; others again run the total number up to 
 seven, perhaps in imitation of the seven deadly sins specified 
 among Christians; others carry it on to fifty, to seventy; and in a
 
 2S2 Life at Ri' ad [Chap. ix 
 
 learned manuscript perused by myself in the town of Hamah, 
 1 was alarmed to find no less than four hundred entitled to this 
 " bad eminence." 
 
 Knowing this variety of opinion among ordinary Mahometans 
 regarding the bipartition of sins, I was desirous to learn where 
 A\'ahhabees thought fit to draw the contested line. My readers 
 cannot fail to understand that the answer to this query must 
 throw considerable light on the moral character of the sect ; 
 the most important point, perhaps, where national creeds are 
 concerned. Accordingly, I expressed to my learned friend the 
 great anxiety which I lay under, and how uneasy my conscience 
 was, from the fear of committing "great" sins, while deeming 
 them only " little " ones ; that I had found the doctors of the 
 north diffident and unsatisfactory in their replies; but that now, 
 in the most pious and orthodox of towns, and in the society of 
 the most learned of friends (modestly looking towards him), I 
 hoped to set my mind at rest, and settle once for all a matter 
 of such high importance. 
 
 'Abd-el-Kereem doubted not that he had a sincere scholar 
 before him, nor would refuse his hand to a drowning man. 
 So, putting on a profound air, and with a voice of first-class 
 solemnity, he uttered his oracle, that " the first of the great 
 sins is the giving divine honours to a creature." A hit, I may 
 observe, at ordinary Mahometans, whose whole doctrine of 
 intercession, whether vested in Mahomet or in 'Alee, is classed 
 by Wahhabees along with direct and downright idolatry. A 
 Damascene Sheykh would have avoided the equivocation by 
 answering, " infidelity." 
 
 " Of course," I replied, " the enormity of such a sin is 
 beyond all doubt. But if this be the first, there must be a 
 second ; what is it?" 
 
 " Drinking the shameful," in English, *' smoking tobacco," 
 was the unhesitating answer. 
 
 "And murder, and adultery, and false wtnessr' I suggested. 
 
 "God is merciful and forgiving," rejoined my friend; that is, 
 these are merely little sins. 
 
 " Hence two sins alone are great, polytheism and smoking," 
 I continued, though hardly able to keep countenance any longer. 
 And 'Abd-el-Kereem with the most serious asseveration replied 
 that such was really the case. On hearing this, I proceeded 
 humbly to entreat my friend to explain to me the especial
 
 Chai'. IX] WaJiJidhcc Patients 283 
 
 wickedness inherent in tobacco leaves, that I might the more 
 detest and eschew them hereafter. 
 
 Accordingly he proceeded to instruct me, saying that. Firstly, 
 all intoxicating substances are prohibited by the Coran; but 
 tobacco is an intoxicating substance ; Ergo, tobacco is pro- 
 hibited. 
 
 I insinuated that it was not intoxicating, and appealed to 
 experience. But, to my surprise, my friend had experience too 
 on his side, and had ready at hand the most appalling tales of 
 men falling down dead drunk after a single whiff of smoke, 
 and of others in a state of bestial and habitual ebriety from 
 its use. Nor were his stories so purely gratuitous as many 
 might at first imagine. The only tobacco known, when known, 
 in Southern Nejed, is that of 'Oman, a very powerful species. 
 I was myself astonished, and almost " taken in," more than 
 once, by its extraordinar)' narcotic effects, when I experienced 
 them, in the coffee-houses of Bahreyn and the K'hawahs of 
 Sohar. 
 
 However, I would not subscribe to his argument ; besides, I 
 had not yet tried the sort of tobacco which he had in mind. 
 So I rejoined that, without questioning in the least the accuracy 
 of the facts he stated, they were after all to be looked on as 
 exceptions, or unfortunate idiosyncrasies ; and that, in a general 
 way, the depraved wretches whom we Damascenes, in the less 
 enlightened regions of the north, daily saw with deep regret 
 indulging in the use of the " shameful," did not exhibit any 
 notable symptoms of ebriety, or incur such tragic catastrophes, 
 at least in their outward man. 
 
 But my preceptor turned the tables on me by boldly asserting 
 intoxication to be the rule and non-intoxication the exception. 
 "Just so," added he, "some men will drink wine without being 
 sensibly affected by it, yet their example nohow exempts the 
 liquor from the absolute prohibition, founded on its natural and 
 ordinary effect." Whereto I thought it wisest to make no reply, 
 for fear of a too comprehensive major in my syllogism, which 
 might have brought me under suspicion of advocating wine also, 
 and so made bad worse. 
 
 Still 'Abd-el-Kereem, like most sophists, felt inwardly that 
 his first reason was not entirely conclusive, and now brought 
 forward a second, founded on tradition. That authority teaches 
 us that Mahomet, why or when I do not remember, declared
 
 284 Life at RV ad [Chap. ix 
 
 to his followers the unlawfulness of employing in food whatever 
 had been burnt or singed with fire. Perhaps this is one reason 
 for the universality of boiled meat in Nejed, to the total ex- 
 clusion of roasted, grilled, or fried, unless ignorance of cookery 
 be the only practical cause. Any way, there stands the pro- 
 hibition, and it only remained to show that tobacco smoke was 
 included in it. The Arab equivocation between " drinking " 
 and " smoking" — for the word •' shareba" is applied to either — 
 sufficed for this. 
 
 To this argument I opposed the use of fumigations, so 
 common in Nejed, and so dear to the Prophet. But in vain, 
 for the word " shareba " was inapplicable here. Whereon I 
 sought refuge in the " Mellah," or bread, baked or rather burnt, 
 under the glowing cinders, of which comestible a former stage 
 of our narrative has afforded frequent example, and which is 
 equally in use throughout Nejed. This was really to the point; 
 and 'Abd-el-Kereem fell back on the intoxicating properties of 
 the herb. 
 
 Such was the upshot of my conversation that day with 'Abd- 
 el-Kereem ; I give it by way of a specimen of many others held 
 at different times. The sinfulness of tobacco was, indeed, a 
 frequent topic in Nejed, and it was confirmed by visible and 
 appalling judgments. Thus, for example : A man, supposed of 
 correct life and unquestionable Islam, died and was buried at 
 Sedoos, the same little frontier town which we passed not long 
 since. Prayers were said over him, and he was duly laid in his 
 grave, reclining on his side, his face toward the Ca'abah, like 
 any other good Muslim. Now it chanced that a neighbour, 
 while assisting at the funeral ceremonies, had let fall, unperceived 
 by himself, a small purse of money exactly into the pit, where 
 it remained covered up with earth alongside the dead man. On 
 returning home, the owner of the purse discovered his loss ; he 
 searched everywhere, but to no purpose, and at last rightly con- 
 cluded that his money must have found an untimely grave. 
 What was to be done ? To disturb the repose of the dead is 
 an action no less abhorred among Mahometans than among 
 ordinary Christians. But quid iioti morialia pcctora cogis, Auri 
 sacra fames \ The peasant consulted the village Kadee, who 
 assured him that in such a case digging up a corpse was no 
 crime, though he wisely advised him to await nightfall, for fear
 
 Chap. IX] WahJidbce Patients 285 
 
 of scandal and gossip. Night at last came, and the excusable 
 " resurrection man " set to work, and soon released his purse 
 from the cold grasp of death. But what was his amazement 
 and horror to see his deceased townsman now laid with his face 
 turned away from the Ca'abah, and shifted to a position exactly 
 the opposite of that in which they had but lately placed him. 
 Hastily covering up the grave, he returned to give the Kadee in- 
 formation of the portent. Both agreed that the defunct, to merit 
 this ominous transposition, must have died in infidelity or some 
 equally grievous sin, and an oflficial search of his quondam domi- 
 cile was set on foot, to discover the traces or indications of his 
 wicked ways. High and low they ransacked, and at last de- 
 tected, where it had been carefully hidden in a crevice of the 
 wall, a small bone pipe, whose blackened tube and diabolical 
 smell too plainly denoted its frequent use, and revealed the 
 infamous hypocrisy of its owner. The crime was evident, the 
 visible chastisement explained, and no doubt but that the ama- 
 teur of "shameful" smoke had already gone to unquenchable 
 fire — " sarve hhn right " ! Another had rotted piecemeal, a rock 
 had fallen on the head of a third, &c. Bigotry and its tales are 
 the same under every climate, and in every tongue imitato 
 7i07nine — -fabula narraiur. 
 
 I return to 'Abd-el-Kereem, and what passed between us on 
 occasion of his entire recovery, an event in which my readers, I 
 hope, take a charitable interest ; it was pre-eminendy significant 
 ahke of the man and of the people. In about three weeks' 
 space the symptoms which had previously annoyed him had so 
 far disappeared, that he felt and declared himself perfectly well. 
 At the outset of the treatment we had fixed the fee to be paid 
 on cure, and now that the time came, I gently reminded him of 
 his engagement. The first hint having not taken effect, a 
 second and a third followed, each broader than its predecessor, 
 but all to no purpose. Meanwhile several of the most respect- 
 able inhabitants, for we had by this taken our place among the 
 citizens, joined in urging the ex-Zelator to the acquittance of 
 the stipulation. And since the whole sum in question did not 
 exceed eleven shillings English, 'Abd-el-Kereem's backwardness 
 was no less ridiculous than shabby. Ashamed, yet reluctant, 
 he bethought himself of an expedient for getting off", ingenious, 
 but hardly creditable.
 
 286 Life at Riati [Chap. IX 
 
 I was seated alone in my K'hawah, somewhat late in the 
 afternoon, when a brisk knock at the door warned me to stop 
 my note-writing and to undo the latch. In came three or four 
 of my town friends, with the merry faces of men who have a 
 good jest to tell, and had hardly seated themselves before they 
 began to relate what they had just witnessed. They had ar- 
 rived from the daily afternoon sermon at the Great Mosque or 
 Djamia'. While yet at Ha'yel I mentioned this kind of discourse ; 
 here there is no essential difference, unless that the ceremony 
 is much longer, the audience more numerous, and the lecture 
 or sermon turns twice out of three times on some peculiarity of 
 the sect On the present occasion, when the reader, a Metow'- 
 waa', had finished his part, 'Abd-el-Kereem came forward to 
 deliver the viva voce commentary, here never omitted. Our 
 friend took for theme of his discourse, the inefficacy of created 
 means, and the obligation of placing one's confidence in the 
 Creator alone, to the exclusion of the creature. Thence coming 
 to a practical application, he inveighed against those who put 
 their trust in physic and physicians, not in God solely, and 
 declared such trust to be, firstly, heretical, and, secondly, a sheer 
 mistake, inasmuch as the only effective cause of health or sick- 
 ness, life or death, is simply the Divine will ; doctors and medi- 
 cine being for nothing in the matter from beginning to end. 
 Whence he deduced a second and a very legitimate consequence, 
 that such useless things and beings could nohow merit any 
 recompense either in money or in thanks from a true believer. 
 Nay, added he, should even a sick man really seem to be bettered 
 by medical means, and while employing them recover his health, 
 such a recovery would be a mere coincidence, no matter of 
 cause and effect, and the doctor would in consequence be en- 
 titled to absolutely nothing, since the cure was due not to him, 
 but to the Deity alone. La Ilah ilia Allah, &c. 
 
 Probably, at another moment and from another mouth, these 
 lessons of theologico-practical wisdom would have passed with- 
 out other comment than silence or approbation. J5ut unluckily 
 'Abd-el-Kereem was a conspicuous character, and so was I. 
 Every neighbour knew the whole history of his ailment, his 
 physicking, and his cure, by heart. The result was, that his 
 holding forth, although perfectly orthodox in itself, lay under 
 the imputation of private nor over-honourable feelings, and
 
 Chap. IX] WiiJiJidbcc Paticuts 287 
 
 everyone suspected the preacher to be engaged rather in 
 knotting his own purse-strings than in untying the plexus of a 
 doctrinal question. Winks and nods went round ; and, when 
 the auditors were once out of the mosque, followed comments 
 and what laughter might be compatible with Nejdean decorum. 
 My friends enjoyed the joke heartily, and in conclusion pro- 
 mised to bring 'Abd-el-Kereem by one means or another to our 
 house next day, while we agreed together on what should then 
 be said and done. 
 
 They kept promise, and in the following forenoon 'Abd-el- 
 Kereem appeared with an embarrassed look, and surrounded 
 by several companions, amongst whom were those of the pre- 
 ceding evening. After the preliminaries of courtesy, and con- 
 versation having reached the desired point, " 'Abd-el-Kereem," 
 said I, " there can be no doubt that health and recovery come 
 from God alone, and small thanks to the doctor. In the same 
 manner, neither more nor less, I expect that God will give me 
 so much" (naming the stipulated sum) "by your instrumen- 
 tality, and when I have got it, small thanks to you also." 
 Every one laughed, and fell on our poor ex-Zelator, till he 
 became thoroughly ashamed of himself. He left the house with 
 promise of speedy payment, and before sunset his younger 
 brother had brought the money in question, thus preventing 
 further sarcasms. But 'Abd-el-Kereem never crossed our 
 threshold again. 
 
 I had a much more favourable specimen of the learned or 
 semi-learned class in a third patient of note, 'Abd-er- Rahman, 
 the Metow'waa' or chaplain of the palace. For years past he 
 had been subject to attacks of severe nervous headache, and he 
 was actually labouring under a paroxysm which confined him 
 to his room, and rendered him incapable of performing his 
 clerical functions. Djowhar, who already felt and acknow- 
 ledged an amelioration in his health, had by this time esta- 
 blished the good reputation of his doctor in the palace ; and at 
 his suggestion the Metow'waa' sent for me, with a message of 
 uncommon urgency. 
 
 His apartments, directly opposite to those of Mahboob, were 
 spacious and well-furnished, and contained, among other articles, 
 about forty volumes, printed or manuscript, on various subjects; 
 a very fair library for Arabia. In spite of pain, he mustered up
 
 288 Life at RV ad [Chap. ix 
 
 all the elegant pedantry of grammar in the exposure of his 
 case ; and when, after two or three days, a proper treatment 
 had relieved him of his tortures, he proved a very interesting 
 acquaintance, infinitely more amiable and open than 'Abd-el- 
 Kereem. In his rooms I learnt much of the history of Mosey- 
 lemah, of the Wahhabee, of the religious state of Nejed in old 
 limes, and many similar topics. Hither, as to a common 
 centre, resorted many of the young students in law and divinity 
 already alluded to, and would discuss before me moral ques- 
 tions or points of dogma after their fashion, for 'Abd-er-Rahman 
 was not only learned, but agreeably communicati\'e, and a good 
 speaker, and drew these pale thin lads around him, till most 
 regarded him as their guide and master. 
 
 One morning I was seated on the " Belas," or coarse-spun 
 Nejdean carpet, by his side, and many of the palace were pre- 
 sent in mixed conversation. Somehow the discourse fell on 
 Damascus, or " Sham," whereon all, in politeness bound, began 
 to praise vvhat they fancied to be my native city, and to cite 
 that well-known tradition of Mahomet's visit to that city. A 
 mere fable, according to which the Prophet, on whom be salu- 
 tation and blessings, had purposed entering the S}Tian capi- 
 tal, and had already half-ahghted from his camel near the 
 southern gate ; when just as one of his blessed feet reached the 
 ground, and the other was about to follow it, lo ! Gabriel the 
 archangel by his side, to inform him that God left him his 
 choice between the Paradise of this world and that of the next ; 
 and that consequently if he persisted in entering Damascus, it 
 must be on condition of renouncing the gardens and houris of 
 heaven. Whereon the Prophet very properly changed his 
 design, preferred the enjoyments of eternity to the groves and 
 waters of Barada, replaced his leg over his saddle, and returned 
 by the way he came. However, to the confusion of all sceptics 
 and infidels, the print of the prophetic foot which had already 
 touched the rocky soil, remained ineffaceably imprinted there, 
 and I myself have had the happiness of seeing it in the pretty 
 little mosque commemorative of jhe vision and the choice, 
 near the town-gate on the road from Hauran. Though indeed 
 some contend that the five-toed mark belongs not to Mahomet 
 but to Gabriel, who, in human fonn, but with angelic agility, 
 alighted on one foot only. Far be it from me to attempt
 
 Chap. IX] WakJidbcc Puticiits 289 
 
 deciding so weighty a controversy; my readers may settle it for 
 themselves. 
 
 Whosesoever the footprint may be, the story is gospel among 
 Mahometans, and it was now recited for the thousandth time, 
 in compliment to us, the supposed " Showam," or Damascenes. 
 But 'Abd-el-Hameed, the Feshawuree, already described, was 
 present, and could not bear this in silence. Besides the jealous 
 ill will that he bore us, and which alone might have sufficed to 
 move his choler, he was himself a native of the fair regions of 
 Cachemire, and brought up amid groves far lovelier than the 
 gardens of Damascus, and by the side of rivers to which the 
 Barada were a mere gutter. Lastly, he was a true Shiya'ee at 
 heart, and the praises of the most Sonnee of all cities, the old 
 capital of Beni-Ommeyah, and the centre even now of hostility 
 and antagonism to his sect, were gall and wormwood to his 
 soul. So " fierce he broke forth " : " What nonsense you here 
 are talking. Paradise of the earth ! Paradise of the earth ! and 
 all for a few stunted trees and a little muddy water ! Why ! do 
 you not understand that the Prophet and his companions were 
 nothing but Bedouins, accustomed all their life to the arid 
 sterilities of IJejaz, and the desert 1 so when at Damascus they 
 came for the first time on a cluster of gardens and running 
 streams, they straightway concluded this to be Paradise, and 
 so named it ! Guess, had they seen my country they would 
 have changed their mind." 
 
 All eyes stared, all jaws dropped, and " Astaghfir Ullah," (I 
 beg pardon of God,) and "La Ilah ilia Allah" went largely 
 round, while 'Abd-el-Hameed, now red-hot with excitement, 
 and worked up into recklessness of results, glared anger and 
 scorn, and muttered Cabul curses. Had he not been a per- 
 sonal favourite of Feysul's, matters might have gone ill for him. 
 But 'Abd er-Rahman prudently hastened to turn the conversa- 
 tion, and this outbreak of Affghan vehemence passed without 
 further comment. 
 
 Needs not weary my non-medical readers with a detail of 
 cases, here more numerous,.a.nd luckily more successful than 
 elsewhere. Some of my patients were townsmen, others 
 strangers on business in Ri'ad ; some were rich, some poor ; 
 many visits and meals were given and returned. Thus, at 
 times we found ourselves cushion-reclined in a well-carpeted 
 
 u
 
 290 Life at RVad [Chap. ix 
 
 K'hawah, before an ostentatious pile of coffee-pots, two for use 
 ■and ten for show; at others in the low, ill-lighted rooms on the 
 ground floor, the dwellings of the poor ; sometimes in a garden 
 a mile or more out of town, on a call of friendship or duty. 
 The days passed rapidly ; and I am much mistaken if some 
 London practitioners would not have envied us our want of 
 leisure, and a popularity which they would better have deserved. 
 
 However, I cannot leave in silence 'Abd-el-Lateef, the great- 
 grandson of the famed Wahhabee, and now Kadee of the 
 capital — a very, indeed remarkably handsome and fair-spoken 
 man, and bearing in his manners a sensible dash of Egyptian 
 civilization. While yet a mere child he was carried to Egypt 
 with the rest of his family by the conquering Basha, and there 
 educated. Cairo society, and the intercourse of men more 
 learned and less exclusive than those of Nejed and Perey'- 
 eeyah, have taught him an ease and variety of conversation 
 surprising in a Kadee of Ri'ad ; and thus enabled him to assume 
 on occasion a liberality of phrase free from the cant terms and 
 wearisome tautology of the sect which he heads. But such 
 liberal semblance is merely a surface whitewash ; the tongue 
 may be the tongue of Egypt, but the heart and brain are ever 
 those of Nejed. Nor do I believe that the central mountains 
 of Arabia contain a more dangerous man than 'Abd-el-Lateef, 
 or one who more cordially hates the progress he has witnessed, 
 and in which he has to a certain degree participated. It is the 
 embodied antipathy of bad to good, at least equal to that of 
 good to bad. 
 
 We were not unfrequently together, though the knowledge of 
 whom I had to deal with made me rather hold back, in spite of 
 his great courtesies. That his house was a palace, his gardens 
 of the widest, his slaves a throng, need hardly be said ; next 
 after the king, he was unquestionably the first personage in the 
 capital, and even in the empire ; nay, in many respects, he was 
 more powerful than Feysul himself. I was again and again his 
 guest to a cup of coffee : from I know not what intonation of 
 my voice, he believed me not a Damascene but an Egyptian, 
 and conversed willingly about the Kasr-el-'Eynee and the 
 Djamia'-el-Azhar. But he also knew me to be a Christian, 
 and in due time showed what were his real feelings towards me 
 as such.
 
 Chap. IX] Walilidbcc Paticuts 291 
 
 I was often present at his public lectures and comments, 
 ■whether delivered in his own elegant mosque, close by his house 
 in the third quarter of the town, or in the great Djamia' of the 
 city. On these occasions he was surrounded by numerous and 
 earnest auditors, besides a select body of especial disciples ; ' 
 and I must give him the deserved credit of being a clear and 
 elegant speaker, possessed also of the range of learning suit- 
 able to his position. 
 
 'Abd-el-Lateef is not the only representative of his family ; he 
 is the eldest of several brothers, but all notably inferior to him 
 in talent. The youngest among them, Mohammed, was a very 
 original character. He had just returned from Egypt, where 
 he had figured for two years among the medical students of the 
 Kasr-el-'Eynee, and exemplified in his person the Arab proverb, 
 "went a donkey and came back a jackass." Narrow-minded, 
 narrow-hearted, as avaricious at twenty as ever Sir John Cutler 
 at sixty, with the exotic vices of Cairo engrafted on the indi- 
 genous stock of Ri'ad, and a dialect confused like his who in 
 his travels "lost his own language, and acquired no more," it 
 was most amusing to hear his Egyptian experiences, and his 
 comments on the race of Pharaoh, as he impolitely styled the 
 inhabitants of the great Delta. He had followed the prelimi- 
 nary lectures of the medical college, but little understood them ; 
 at last, time came to attend the anatomical course, and witness 
 the mysteries of the " dead room," when, said he, his orthodoxy 
 could not stomach practices so contrary to correct Islam, and 
 he had abandoned college and capital in disgust. So ran his 
 version of the matter ; I much suspect that hopeless stupidity, 
 perhaps ill-conduct, held the larger part with an expulsion 
 veiled under the more respectable title of retirement. He was 
 in truth one of the most thorough brutes I ever had the bad 
 fortune to meet ; and I was honoured by his especial hatred, 
 and peculiar calumnies. 
 
 Were I not deterred by the fear of abusing my reader's pa- 
 tience, I might add some account of the Bedouin chief Toweel, 
 of the 'Oteybah clan, whom I counted among my patients, and 
 who. Bedouin-like, availed himself of returning health to run 
 away from Ri'ad without settling his bill ; of the wealthy Abd- 
 er-Rizzak, and his handsome dwelling in the genuine style of 
 an old Nejdean chief; of the good-humoured Abyssinian Fahd, 
 
 u 2
 
 292 The Wahhdbcc Dynasty icha?. ix 
 
 whose sprightly off-hand manner contradistinguished him from 
 his Arabian neighbours ; of the young ijamood, wounded in 
 'Oneyzah warfare, and thus half a martyr, with many other 
 patients and friends who enlivened our stay, while they filled 
 now our note-book and now our purse. 
 
 None, however, proved a more grateful or a more liberal 
 convalescent than our old acquaintance, the chief treasurer, 
 Djowhar. With negi'o docility, he forgot his high position so 
 far as to come and seek treatment morning and evening at our 
 modest domicile, though movement was in his case accompanied 
 by much pain. At the end of three weeks his cure was far ad- 
 vanced, and he could without serious inconvenience undertake 
 his journey to the coast. His joy was unbounded, and a present 
 handsome for Nejed — it amounted to about forty shillings of 
 our own money — with abundance of hearty encomiums, testified 
 his gratitude. Our position at court was now excellent, and 
 'Abd-Allah himself, the heir-apparent, and the active adminis- 
 trator of the kingdom, was decidedly in our favour. But 
 ]\Iahboob, the prime minister, had hitherto looked coldly on 
 us ; and it was to his father's recovery that we at last owed his 
 patronage, and, for a certain period of time, his intimacy. Our 
 visits at the palace became more and more frequent, and we 
 could talk of sultans of Nejed, princes and ministers, "as maids 
 of thirteen do of puppy-dogs." 
 
 Feysul, the sultan of the land, has already figured in this 
 narrative, sufiiciently to dispense with further details of his 
 history and person. Suffice to say that as age has advanced, 
 Feysul has becom.e stone blind, while increasing corpulence, 
 a rare phenomenon in Arab physiology, has rendered him 
 more and more incapable of active exertion. Timidity also, 
 and superstition its frequent follower, grows on him daily, till 
 for the last three or four years he has almost wholly resigned 
 the direction of affairs to his son 'Abd-Allah, dividing what 
 time yet remains to him between the oratory and the harem. 
 He never appears in public, except for an early visit every 
 Friday morning to his father's tomb, or when some extraordinary 
 event induces him to show himself to the populace for a few 
 minutes and no more. Witliout the palace walls 'Abd-Allah 
 governs supreme, while within Maliboob and some negro slaves, 
 privileged in their access to tlie person of the old despot, lead
 
 Chap. IX] TJic WaJiJuibcc Djuasty 293 
 
 him at their will. The only other human beings freely admitted 
 to his presence are the bigoted Zelators, whose moral and even 
 material influence he is unable to withstand, nor dares reject 
 whatever they may impose on him, however injurious to the 
 better interests of the empire. Avarice, "that good old-gentle- 
 manly vice," has claimed over Fey.sul the dominion which she 
 too often extends over better men at a similar period of their 
 existence, while dissimulation and treachery have been perfected 
 by long practice into a second nature. In short, it may be 
 feared that what good was in him has almost if not totally 
 vanished, while heart and head, intellect and will, are alike 
 sinking into a dotage well befitting a tyrant of seventy. 
 
 Of 'Abd-Allah his eldest son the past sketch may suffice. It 
 is, however, worth adding that his mother belongs to the Sa'ood 
 family. Not so the mother of the second son, named after the 
 first founder of the race Sa'ood, but born from a woman of the 
 Benoo-Khalid clan, and verifying a known Arab saying, by 
 presenting much more of the maternal than of the paternal 
 resemblance. For whereas 'Abd-Allah is, like his father, short, 
 stout, large-headed and thick-necked, a very bull in appearance, 
 Sa'ood is tall, slender, handsome, and with a strong trace of the 
 careless Bedouin expression in his countenance. Open and 
 generous, fond of show and horsemanship, he is a great favourite 
 with the "liberal" party, who entitle him "Aboo-'hala," literally, 
 "father of welcome," from the " Ya-'hala," or "welcome" with 
 which he is wont to greet whoever approaches him. Whereas 
 'Abd-Allah stands forth the head of the orthodox party, who 
 look up to him as their main support and future hope. 
 
 Of course the two brothers, almost equal in age, are at daggers 
 drawn, and cannot even speak peaceably to each other. Feysul, 
 to prevent frequent collision, has appointed Sa'ood regent of 
 Yemamah and Hareek, with Salemee'yah for chief residence, 
 thus putting him at a distance from Ri'ad, where 'Abd-Allah 
 resides in quality of special governor over the town. Meantime 
 Sa'ood, by his easy access and liberal conduct, has won the 
 hearts of his immediate subjects, and of all opposed to rigorism 
 in the other provinces. Hence it is universally believed thai 
 the death of Feysul will prove the signal for a bloody and 
 equally matched war between the Romulus and Remus, or, if 
 you will, between the Don Henry and Don Pedro,' of Nejed.
 
 294 ^^'''^^ WaJtJiahcc Dynasty [Chap. rx 
 
 So far as two despots and two evils admit of a choice, my own 
 good wishes go with Sa'ood. Feysul, however, from orthodoxy 
 and perhaps sympathy, favours the elder brother, and tries to 
 keep the second in the background. Once only, on occasion of 
 some troubles in Wadi Dowasir, he appointed Sa'ood leader of 
 the armament about to be sent thither. But he soon repented 
 him of having thus given him an opportunity for public display, 
 when Sa'ood, after a brief but brilliant campaign, reappeared at 
 Ri'ad accompanied by two hundred picked men, all richly 
 dressed in handsome scarlet uniform, with gold broidery, sil- 
 vered swords, costly housings, and " each man mounted on his 
 capering beast," in a splendour unknown even to the days of 
 the first 'Abd-Allah, and equally offensive to paternal bigotry 
 and fraternal jealousy. Sa'ood was ordered back with speed to 
 Salemee'yah, whence, however, we shall soon see him return, 
 and I will then duly relate what passed on the meeting of the 
 family trio — Sa'ood, 'Abd-Allah, and Feysul. 
 
 A third son, Mohammed, offspring of a Nejdean dame, and 
 much resembling his father and eldest brother in appearance, 
 was now at the siege of 'Oneyzab, where we left him a few 
 chapters back. The fourth and last, 'Abd-er-Rahman, is a 
 heavy-looking boy, who as yet inhabits his father's harem. He 
 appeared to me between ten and twelve years old : a Lavater 
 would not gather from his features much promise for the future. 
 I have mentioned the old maid, Feysul's only unmarried daughter 
 and private secretary. She is, I trust, very beautiful, but I have 
 never been blest with a peep behind the black veil wherein she 
 sits muffled up, looking more like a heap of clothes than a 
 king's daughter. And thus much for the royal family of Nejed. 
 
 But before we return to our narrative and relate what passed 
 between us and them, it may not be amiss to take a brief view 
 of the actual condition of this empire, which presents two ele- 
 ments, very diverse and often sharply opposed to each other : 
 the first consists of the real staunch Wahhabees, men who, in 
 the words of old Oliver, "bring a conscience to their work;" 
 the second, of those who are only Wahhabees by subjection, and 
 because they cannot help it. German idiom might class them 
 into Wahhabees and " muss," or " z««j-/-^^- Wahhabees." 
 
 The former class predominates in the six provinces, 'Aared, 
 ^Voshcm, Sedeyr, Aflaj, Dowasir, and Yemamah. Not that
 
 CHAP. IX] The WaJiJuxbcc Dyuasiy 295 
 
 disaffected individuals are here wholly wanting, but they form 
 a decided minority, composed mainly of old chieftain families 
 dispossessed by the present government, and of their immediate 
 retainers. The rest of the inhabitants are all sincerely attached 
 to the Sa'ood dynasty and system, though the reason and de- 
 gree of their attachment are nowise the same. It is strongest in 
 the 'Aared, where religious sympathy is reinforced by national 
 bonds ; the Sa'oods are natives of the land, and its long- 
 honoured chieftains, so that the government is here eminently 
 popular, or, to speak more exactly, upheld by the people. 
 Besides, a restless and warlike disposition, joined to poverty at 
 home, renders the character and consequences of the prevalent 
 system especially well pleasing to the highlanders of 'Aared. 
 However, even here exists a reactionary party, men who would 
 gladly see more tobacco and fewer prayers. Yet even these do 
 not precisely desire a change of dynasty, though in case of 
 Feysul's death they would prefer a Sa'ood to an 'Abd-Allah. 
 But in general the partisans of the latter and of strict orthodoxy 
 are at least seven to one throughout 'Aared. In a political and 
 moral point of view this province is, and always has been, of 
 the highest importance. 
 
 In the Yemamah popular feeling is not much dissimilar, 
 though it assumes a somewhat mitigated form. Here too there 
 prevails the deepest hereditary respect for the reigning family, 
 though the well-wishers of Sa'ood outnumber those of 'Abd-Allah, 
 wherein Yemamah contrasts with 'Aared. The personal presence 
 of Sa'ood, and the less deep-grained dye of fanaticism in the 
 southerly province explain this difference. Both 'Aared and 
 Yemamah are meanwhile essentially Wahhabee. 
 
 In Hareek, old discord, cruel wars, and unpleasing memories 
 have left their traces, and there may be found many families 
 discontented not only with Wahhabeeism in general, but with 
 the family of Ebn-Sa'ood in particular. This was yet more the 
 case a few years back ; at the present day Sa'ood, by frequent 
 visits to Hootah, and a peculiar courtesy to its citizens, seems 
 to have won over the majority of hearts ; and when the inevitable 
 contest shall ensue between the two brothers, 'Abd-Allah can 
 hardly reckon on a single sword or dagger in his behalf from 
 liareek. 
 
 Aflaj, barren and savage, resembles 'Aared in its inhabitants,
 
 296 The WaJiJidbcc Dynasty [Cha^. ix 
 
 unless that heie religious motives form a stronger tie of attach- 
 ment than political feeling. 
 
 This is above all the case in Wadi Dowasir, where enthusiasm 
 darkens into positive fanaticism of the worst kind, and where 
 the love of plunder comes in to aid even more than in 'Aared 
 itself. The most contemned and the most contemptible among 
 all the Arab race, if history, poetry, and satire (with my own 
 personal experience to boot) hold true, the denizens of Wadi 
 Dowasir, or Aal-'Aamar, to give them their genuine name, rank 
 the highest in the Wahhabee and the lowest in the national 
 scale. For ages nothing, they are now, to the misfortune of 
 their neighbours, something by their incorporation with the 
 great Wahhabee body; and no better exemplification of a cer- 
 tain vulgar proverb touching a beggar on horseback, and whither 
 he will ride, can be found anywhere than among the Khodey- 
 reeyah and Aal-'Aamar of Wadi Dowasir. Needs not say that 
 where pillage is to be had, their ragged troops can always be 
 counted on, be it for Sa'ood or be it for 'Abd-Allah. 
 
 Woshem is a very different province. Here predominates 
 the commercial, or at least the shopkeeper spirit, and "it is 
 the cause, it is the cause, my soul," finds a fainter echo in 
 Woshem hearts than anywhere else throughout Djebel Toweyk. 
 But their quiet, unmartial disposition hinders them from being 
 otherwise than good subjects of a government on Avhose exist- 
 ence mainly depends their substantial profit, while it trebles 
 and quadruples the caravans of pilgrims on the Mecca road, 
 and fills the warehouses of the wayside towns and villages, 
 especially Shakra', with whatever merchandise passes from the 
 West to Nejed. In war this province supplies the commissariat 
 rather than the ranks ; however, its inhabitants are good ^Vah- 
 habees, and if they furnish few "Zelators," produce also few 
 malcontents. 
 
 Sedeyr is in extent the largest, and in reputation the highest 
 of all these districts. Here Nejdean generosity, courage, per- 
 severance, and long patience, are animated by somewhat of 
 that enterprising spirit so distinctive of the Shomer population ; 
 and in physical qualities the men of Sedeyr have decidedly the 
 advantage over all their neighbours. Here also are those old 
 towns, almost the oldest on Arab records, old families, old and 
 honourable memories. The Sedeyr is the nobleman of Nejed,
 
 Chap. IX] TJic WaJiJidbcc Dyuasty 297 
 
 The greater proportion of the inhabitants are genuine Wahha- 
 bees, and sincerely attached to the tenets of the sect, especially 
 in the southern tracts of the mountain ; in the northern districts, 
 their intercourse with Koweyt, Zobeyr, and Djebel Shomer 
 has somewhat unsettled their opinions. On the other hand, 
 there is less political attachment to the Ebn-Sa'oods here than 
 elsewhere in Nejed; many of the chiefs regret their former 
 independence, and the people hanker after an indigenous 
 government. It would require no very violent shock to de- 
 tach them from the Ri'ad dynasty ; but not so from Wahhabee 
 doctrines. 
 
 The Bedouins of these six provinces are comparatively few 
 in number, scattered up and down the immense plateau and its 
 varied valleys. They are one and all sincere lovers of civil and 
 religious anarchy, being easily gained and easily lost, in propor- 
 tion to the strength or weakness of the governing hand ; creatures 
 of the day, and a ready tool for invasion or insurrection, distur- 
 bance and disorganisation, whoever be the bidder. 
 
 Thus much for Nejed Proper, with Hareek and Dowasir. 
 Next follow three great provinces, subject to Nejed for one only 
 sufficient reason, that they cannot free themselves from her; I 
 mean Hasa, Kateef, and Kaseem. 
 
 Of the inhabitants of Kaseem we have already said enough 
 to explain their tendencies ; the 'Oneyzah war may suffice for 
 a sample. Gladly would they, and perhaps some day will, 
 ally themselves to the first power, be it what it may, that shall 
 show itself their protector, whether in the name of Hejaz or 
 Cairo, Ottoman or Egyptian. The majority here are Mahome- 
 tans, nowise Wahhabees. 
 
 The union of Hasa and Kateef with Nejed is even more un- 
 stable and compulsory than that of Kaseem. 'Aaseer is ever 
 the constant ally, though not the tributary, of Nejed. 
 
 To sum up, we may say that the Wah.habee empire is a 
 compact and well-organised government, where centralization is 
 fully understood and effectually carried out, and whose main- 
 springs and connecting-links are force and fanaticism. There 
 exist no constitutional checks either on the king or on his sub- 
 ordinates, save what the necessity of circumstance imposes or 
 the Goran prescribes. Its atmosphere, to speak metaphorically, 
 is sheer despotism, moral, intellectual, religious, and physical.
 
 •98 
 
 TJu- WaJiJiabcc Dynasty 
 
 [CiiAr. IX 
 
 This empire is capable of frontier extension, and hence is 
 dangerous to its neighbours, some of whom it is even now 
 swallowing up, and will certainly swallow more, if not otherwise 
 prevented. Incapable of true internal progress, hostile to com- 
 merce, unfavourable to arts and even to agriculture, and in the 
 highest degree intolerant and aggressive, it can neither better 
 itself nor benefit others ; while the order and calm which it 
 sometimes spreads over the lands of its conquest, are described 
 in the oft-cited Ubi solitiidlnem faciimt pacem appdla7it of the 
 Roman annalist. 
 
 In conclusion, I here subjoin a numerical list, taken partly 
 from the government registers of Ri'ad, partly from local 
 information, and containing the provinces, the number of the 
 principal towns or villages, the population, and the military 
 contingent, throughout the Wahhabee empire. A second list 
 supplies something analogous for the Bedouins existing within 
 its territory. 
 
 Provinces Towns or villages 
 I 'Aared . . . 15 . . 
 
 Population 
 110,000 . 
 
 Military mi 
 6,000 
 
 II Yemamah . .32 . 
 Ill Haieek . . . 16 . . 
 
 140,000 . 
 45,000 . 
 
 4,500 
 3,000 
 
 IV Aflaj .... 12 . . 
 
 14,000 . 
 
 1,200 
 
 V Wadi Dowasir . 50 . . 
 
 100,000 . 
 
 4,000 
 
 VI Seley'yel . . 14 . . 
 VII Woshem . . 20 . . . 
 
 30,000 . 
 80,000 . 
 
 1,400 
 4,000 
 
 /Ill Sedeyr . . . 25 . . 
 IX Kaseem . . 60 . . 
 
 140,000 . 
 300,000 . 
 
 5,200 
 . 11,000 
 
 X Hasa . . . 50 . . 
 
 160,000 . 
 
 7,000 
 
 XI Kateef . . . 22 . . 
 
 100,000 . 
 
 — 
 
 ^ 
 
 1,219,000 
 
 47,300 
 
 Two remarks are here necessary. Firstly, we may notice an 
 occasional disproportion between the number of the mhabitants 
 and that of the villages. This is caused by the var)'ing size 
 and importance of the latter, according to the political and 
 other conditions of the respective provinces. Thus, for example, 
 in Wadi Dowasir, where no considerable town exists, and the 
 ordinary centres of population are mere hamlets, their number 
 almost equals that assigned to Kaseem, where however the ex- 
 istence of large towns, like 'Oneyzah, Bereydah, I.Ienakeeyah, 
 Kass, and so forth, together with the general fertility of the
 
 Chap. IX] 
 
 TJie WaJihdhcc Dynasty 
 
 299 
 
 country, raises the total of the inliabitants to the triple of what 
 Wadi Dowasir suj^plies. 
 
 Secondly, the military quota is suliject to no less striking 
 inequalities. This again depends in great measure on the cha- 
 racter of the districts on the list. Thus Kateef, though thickly 
 peopled, furnishes absolutely nothing to the army, for rea- 
 sons which will aftenvards be explained ; while 'Aared, with a 
 scarce higher cipher for its inhabitants, fills the ranks of the 
 Nejdean combatants. Most of these anomalies find their solu- 
 tion in what we have already said in the detail of our journey. 
 
 I will now sum up the Bedouin population, a much diminished 
 element of Central Arabia. 
 
 Tribes 
 I Ajman 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Population 
 6,000 
 
 II Benoo-Hajar 
 III Benoo-Khalid 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,500 
 3,000 
 
 IV Meteyr 
 V 'Oteybah . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6,000 
 12,000 
 
 VI Dowasir 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5,000 
 
 VII Sebaa'. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,000 
 
 VIII Kahtan 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6,000 
 
 IX Harb . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14,000 
 
 X 'Anezah 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,000 
 
 XI Aal-Morrah . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,000 
 
 Scattered Families 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 Total 
 
 76,500 
 
 The military force of a Bedouin tribe is reckoned at about 
 one-tenth of its entire sum. This calculation gives us 8,000 for 
 the utmost number of nomade warriors under the white and 
 green banner of Ebn-Sa'ood. 
 
 Thirdly, I subjoin the amount of annual tribute furnished by 
 the several provinces to the treasury of Ri'ad, exclusive of extra- 
 ordinary contributions. The estimation is given after the lists 
 in Djowhar's charge, and set down in rials or Spanish dollars, 
 which are employed here, and not unfrequently elsewhere in the 
 East, for a standard of monetary summation ; they may, in the 
 Nejdean exchange-market, be roughly reckoned equivalent to 
 about five shillings and sixpence of our own money. 
 
 Provinces Tribute 
 
 I 'Aared 5,000 Rials 
 
 II Yemamah ....... 6,000
 
 300 
 
 TJic Wahhdbcc Dynasty 
 
 [CHAr. IX 
 
 Provinces 
 
 III Hareek 
 
 IV Aflaj . 
 
 V Wadi Dowasir 
 VI Selev'yel . 
 VII Woshein 
 VIII Sedeyr 
 IX Kascem 
 X I.Iasa . 
 XI Kateef. 
 
 Total 
 
 Tribute 
 
 10,000 Rials 
 
 2,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 3,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 7,000 
 
 120.000 
 
 150,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 . 363,000 
 about 100,000/. sterling 
 
 To this must be added : firstly, an annual tribute or black- 
 mail of 8,000 rials, or about 2,200/. exacted from Bahreyn. 
 Secondly, a similar contribution levied on the western provinces 
 of 'Oman, and amounting to 20,000 rials = 5,500/. sterling. 
 These when added to the former sum, give a total 391,000 
 rials = 107,000/. sterling. 
 
 Extraordinary contributions, fines, presents, spoils of war, 
 and the like, are calculated at an almost equal income; nor 
 would the entire revenue of the year be overrated at 160,000/ 
 sterling, or even more. And since there is no standing army, 
 no fleet (except two or three miserable vessels at Kateef), and 
 no court retinue of any consequence, to be kept up in Nejed, 
 we may conclude that the Wahhabee government is not much 
 exposed to the danger of incurring a national debt, and that it 
 may even be held wealthy for the country and circumstances. 
 
 I will now add by way of appendix an approximative estimate 
 of the like elements in the kingdom of Telal-ebn-Rasheed. 
 This I might have given before ; but I prefer putting the two 
 states side by side ; that my readers may have better occasion 
 for remarking several important diversities in population and 
 other respects between the teiTitories of Nejed and Djebel 
 Shomer: — 
 
 Provinces 
 I Djebel Shomer 
 II Djowf . . . 
 
 III Kheybar . 
 
 IV Upper Kaseem 
 V Tcyma' 
 
 Towns or villages 
 . 40 
 12 
 
 20 
 6 
 
 Total .... 86 
 
 Population 
 162,000 
 40,000 
 25,000 
 35.000 
 12,000 
 
 274,000 
 
 Military muster 
 . 6,000 
 
 • 2,500 
 . 2,000 
 
 • 2,500 
 1,000 
 
 . 14,000
 
 Chap. IX] Tlic Wakkdbce Dynasty 301 
 
 Follow the Bedouin tribes subject to Telal : — 
 
 Tribes Total 
 
 I Shomer ........ 80,000 
 
 II Sherarat ........ 40,000 
 
 III Howeytat ........ 20,000 
 
 IV Benoo-'Ateeyah ....... 6,000 
 
 V Ma'az ......... 4,000 
 
 VI Ta'i 8,000 
 
 VII Wahhidee'yah 8,000 
 
 Total ........ 166,000 
 
 Military muster, about 16,000. 
 
 Total of population, 430,000 ; of military fores, 30,000 
 
 My readers will not fail to notice the far greater proportion 
 of nomades in the north. Of Telal's revenues I was unable to 
 obtain any exact statement; but, judging by the state and 
 character of agriculture and commerce in his dominions, I 
 should estimate them at about one-fourth of what Feysul 
 receives yearly.
 
 302 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 Court of Ri'ad — Journey to Hofhoof 
 
 Let me have 
 A dram of poison, such soon-spreading gear 
 As will disperse itself through all the veins, 
 And that the trunk may be discharged of breath 
 As suddenly as hasty powder fired 
 L>oth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb. 
 
 SSuikespeare 
 
 First Acquaititance with ^ Aid- Allah — His Favour — Character of this Prince — 
 A Visit to the Royal Stables — -The Nejdee Horse — Details on the Breed— 
 The Prime Minister Mahboob — His History, Charactei-, and Conduct — 
 Reception of the Persian Naih at Court — His Anitoyance — A Morning 
 Visit from the Zelaiors — Result — Manoeuvres of the Naib with the Riad 
 Go7jer?tment — Concltcsion of the Negotiation — Preparations against ''Oney- 
 zah — Official Correspondence — Arriz'al of So' ood with the Southern Contin- 
 gent — Their Reception at RPad — Quarrels of Sa'ood and 'Abd-Allah — 
 Interview with Sa^ood — His Character — Relative Position of the two 
 Brothers — 'Abd-Allah becomes cold and suspicious — Proposal of a Ri''ad 
 Establishment — Hotu evaded — The Strychnine Cure — Demand tnade by 
 ' Abd-Allah— Our Refusal — A Night-scene at the Palace — Critical Position 
 — A Lull — Escape from Ri'ad — Farewell to the Capital — Three Days in 
 IVadi Solcy' — youj-ney with Aboo-'Eysa and El-Ghannam — Uplands of 
 Eastern Toweyk — Lakefydt — Last Range of To7Vtyk — Landscape — Wells 
 of Oweysit — The Dahnd, or Great Desert — A Dangerous Moment — Rg- 
 viat Aboo-''Eysa — The Adl-Morrah — Separation of Aboo-Eysa from El- 
 Ghannam — Desert Route — Wadi Farook — The Heights of Char and 
 Ghon'cyr — Descent to the Coast-level — Locusts — Night Arrival at Hofhoof. 
 
 The first stonn had blown over, and all seemed to promise us 
 a quiet and secure residence in tlie capital, so long as we should 
 choose to abide there. Djowhar had won us a fair outset 
 reputation, and every day brought new consultations and ac- 
 quaintances, most of a flivourable character. Feysul, whose 
 apprehensions were now somewhat calmed, had returned to his 
 palace, and after some delay mustered up courage enough to
 
 i€.t m R{llA\Di. 
 
 ■e/- fia/tm/x/i. 
 
 10 ArsenaJ. 
 
 21 RooniAS /hr Se/ lu/iu Ne^rOf'S Jhr' 
 
 22 22 ApartrmnU n^ Ahoo Shfnis 
 
 23 OreU/Lorv rntioju.i' 
 
 24 BaS tu' Sirr or piwcUe- aal 
 
 25 BeruJus for jmMic nuuioefu* 
 
 26 Moal 
 
 27 ffock aJrout /ourteerL /ee^' hiffh, 
 2S Room^ occupud /ry /Veffrv^ 
 
 totwi dxoa*^ a'f -jnaor
 
 PLAN or FEVSULS PALACE ti RIAD. 
 
 
 
 
 
 r
 
 Chap. X] CoilVt IlltrigHCS of Rl acl 3O3 
 
 accord the Na'ib a private audience in the inner divan. Mo- 
 hammed-'Alee was not however over-pleased with his recep- 
 tion, and could not understand the coolness with which the 
 "Bedouin" (the only title avouched by the Shirazee to the 
 Nejdean monarch) received his long list of grievances ; nor did 
 Mahboob display much zeal in the furtherance of his cause. 
 We, for our part, had agreed with Aboo-'Eysa not to request 
 any special interview with Feysul ; the old man was a mere tool 
 in the hands of his ministers and of the "Zelator" faction; and 
 while no useful result could be expected from our presence in 
 his divan, it might on the other hand give rise to jealous sus- 
 picions and to idle conjecture. 
 
 But 'Abd-AUah, exempt from the senile fears which agitated 
 his father's breast, was not disposed to let us remain long with- 
 out the favour of his personal acquaintance. Not desiring inti- 
 macy with him, we had avoided the chances of meeting. How- 
 ever, many days had not gone by, when we received a message 
 requesting our appearance before him. The bearer of his high- 
 ness's invitation was also by name 'Abd-Allah, a Nejdean of 
 the Nejdeans, belonging to the sourest and the most bigoted 
 class ; lean limbed, sallow featured, and Avrinkled ; intelligent 
 indeed and active, but by no means an agreeable companion. 
 This worthy informed us that the health of his uncle (polite 
 style for 'Abd-AUah), was something deranged, and that he in 
 consequence desired a doctor's visit. He concluded by recom- 
 mending us not to delay compliance with the royal wish. 
 
 We put on clean over-dresses and went to 'Abd-Allah's 
 palace. There we had to pass two outer courts before we 
 reached a vestibule, just at the other end of which was the 
 prince's private K'hawah. The morning was far advanced, and 
 the heat within doors oppressive. 'Abd-AUah had taken his 
 seat on a carpet spread in the vestibule, with three or four 
 attendants at his side. Many others, some white, some black, 
 plainly dressed, but aU armed, stood or sat by the portal, and 
 in the outer courts ; an ungenial-looking set they were, espe- 
 cially the true-bom Nejdeans. 
 
 Were it not for a haughty, almost an insolent, expression on 
 his features, and a marked tendency to corpulency — an here- 
 ditary defect, it would seem, in some branches of the family — 
 Abd-Allah would not be an ill-looking man. As he is, he
 
 304 Court Intrigues of Ri ad [Chap. x 
 
 resembles in a degree certain portraits of Henry VIII, nor are 
 the two characters wholly dissimilar. On our approach, he 
 mustered up a sort of rough politeness, and gave us a tolerably 
 encouraging reception, though I soon found that the story of 
 his bodily indisposition was a mere pretext for gratifying his 
 curiosity. Of course no mention of 'Obeyd or his letter crossed 
 our lips. 'Abd- Allah made some general enquiries about Djebel 
 Shomer, for he had been already informed of our visit there, 
 manifested much ill-will against Telal, railed at the defenders 
 of 'Oneyzah, and cursed Zamil. Then began a series of un- 
 scientific medical queries about temperaments — bilious, lym- 
 phatic, sanguine, and the like. He was particularly anxious to 
 know what his own temperament might be, and I rose con- 
 siderably in his estimation by assuring him it was a happy com- 
 bination of all four. He next made us repeated assurances of 
 protection and good will, nor do I believe that they were for the 
 moment hypocritical, since he had not yet any particular sus- 
 picions on our score. Lastly, he ordered rather than requested 
 our attendance at an early hour next morning, and wished us 
 to bring our medical books along with us, professing himself 
 very desirous to learn the healing art : " a promising pupil," 
 thought I, and so doubtless will my readers. 
 
 He was, however, in earnest, and when next day we were 
 introduced into the litde or private K'hawah, and honourably 
 treated with coffee and perfumes, he kept us for a full hour 
 reading and being read to, partly from my own Boulac-printed 
 volume, and partly from a dateless manuscript belonging to his 
 highness's librar)', wherein therapeutic traditions of the Prophet 
 (proving him, alas ! to have been a very poor medical authority), 
 old definitions and receipts stolen from second-hand transla- 
 tions of Galen, and spoilt by the way, were jumbled together, 
 with Persian names of plants and botany of Upper Egyptian 
 idiom, till " a Daniel, yea, a Daniel," would have been puzzled 
 to find out the interpretation thereof Of course we treated the 
 work with great deference, and tried to engraft on it somehow 
 or other more authentic explanations ; with what success I 
 hardly know. But at any rate we succeeded in securing a large 
 share of the royal confidence, and now, when we passed by the 
 palace attendants, if white they smiled on us, if black grinned, 
 till we felt (juite at home.
 
 cnAi' X) Coiirt Intrigues of Ri'ad 305 
 
 For about three weeks matters continued on this amiable 
 footing. Ahnost every day came a general or a special invita- 
 tion to visit the prince, and pass two or three hours of the fore- 
 noon or night amid the atmosphere of royalty. Nor was his 
 highness at all reserved. He talked politics, and with all the 
 insolence of ignorance would scoff at those very powers which 
 liad only a few years before annihilated the empire of his ances- 
 tors, beheaded one of his predecessors, driven another to years 
 of exile, and shut up his own father in long captivity. How- 
 ever, Constantinople and Cairo were nothing in 'Abd-Allah's 
 sight, and when on one occasion I asked him casually if he had 
 been to Mecca, " I will go there," answered he, " but on horse- 
 back ;" with an implied meaning that we may perhaps see 
 realised in our own day. Then followed the wildest plans for 
 storming 'Oneyzah, how the walls were to be breached by 
 cannon, or might better still, seeing that they are of unbaked 
 brick, be melted down by a gigantic water-engine; how he 
 would cut off Zamil's head, &c. A series of successes over 
 marauding Bedouins and unwarlike neighbours, had led the 
 prince to believe the Nej deans the first army, and himself the 
 first general, on earth. Yet take it all in all, it was not m.ere 
 brag, for within the limits of the Peninsula 'Abd-Allah stands a 
 fair chance of overriding be it who it may; and Egypt has not 
 every century an Ibraheem Basha to command her armies. 
 
 During this time I got a sight of the royal stables, an event 
 much desired and eagerly welcomed. For the Nejdean horse is 
 considered no less superior to all others of his kind in Arabia, 
 than is the Arabian breed collectively to the Persian, Cape of 
 Good Hope, or Indian. In Nejed is the true birthplace of the 
 Arab steed, the primal type, the authentic model. Thus at any 
 rate I heard, and thus, so far at least as my experience goes, it 
 appears to me ; although I am aware that distinguished autho- 
 rities maintain another view. But at any rate, among all the 
 studs of Nejed, Feysul's was indisputably the first ; and who 
 sees that has seen the most consummate specimens of equine 
 perfection in Arabia, perhaps in the world. 
 
 It happened that a mare in the imperial stud had received a 
 bite close behind the shoulder from some sportive comrade; 
 and the wound, ill-dressed and ill-managed, had festered into a 
 sore puzzling the most practised Nejdean farriers. One morning 
 
 X
 
 o6 Court hitrigncs of Rtad [Chap. x 
 
 wliile Barakat and myself were sitting in 'Abd-Allah's K'hawah, 
 a groom entered to give the prince the daily bulletin of his 
 stables. 'Abd-Allah turned towards me, and enquired whether 
 I would undertake the cure. Gladly I accepted the proposal 
 of visiting the patient, though limiting my proffer of services to 
 a simple inspection, and decHning systematic interference with 
 what properly belonged to the veterinary province. The prince 
 gave his orders accordingly; and in the afternoon a groom, 
 good-natured as grooms generally are, knocked at our door, and 
 conducted me straight to the stables. 
 
 These are situated some way out of the town, to the north- 
 east, a little to the left of the road which we had followed at our 
 lirst arrival, and not far from the gardens of 'Abd-er-Rahman 
 the Wahhabee. They cover a large square space, about 150 
 yards each way, and are open in the centre, with a long shed 
 nmning round the inner walls ; under this covering the horses, 
 about three hundred in number when I saw them, are picketed 
 during night; in the daytime they may stretch their legs at 
 pleasure within the central courtyard. The greater number were 
 accordingly loose ; a few, however, were tied up at their stalls ; 
 some, but not many, had horse-cloths over them. The heavy 
 dews which fall in Wadi Haneefah do not permit their remain- 
 ing with impunity in the open night air ; I was told also that 
 a northerly wind will occasionally injure the animals here, no 
 less than the land wind does now and then their brethren in 
 India. About half the royal stud was present before me, the 
 re.st were out at grass; Feysul's entire muster is reckoned at six 
 hundred head, or rather more. 
 
 No Arab dreams of tying up a horse by the neck ; a tether 
 replaces the halter; and one of the animal's hind-legs is encircled 
 about the pastern by a light iron ring, furnished with a padlock, 
 and connected with an iron chain of two feet or thereabouts in 
 length, ending in a rope, which is fastened to the ground at 
 some distance by an iron peg; such is the customary method. 
 But .should the animal be restle.ss and troublesome, a fore-leg is 
 l)ut under similar restraint. It is well known that in Arabia 
 liorses are much less frequently vicious or refractory than in 
 l^irope, and this is the reason why geldings are here so rare, 
 though not unknown. No particular prejudice that I could 
 discover exists against the operation itself; only it is seldom
 
 Chap. X] Couvt I iitrigucs of Ri ad 307 
 
 performed, because not otherwise necessary, and tending of 
 course to diminish the value of the animal. 
 
 But to return to the horses now before us ; never had I seen 
 or imagined so lovely a collection. Their stature was indeed 
 somewhat low; I do not think that any came fully up to fifteen 
 hands ; fourteen appeared to me about their average; but they 
 were so exquisitely well shaped that want of greater size seemed 
 hardly, if at all, a defect. Remarkably full in the haunches, 
 with a shoulder of a slope so elegant as to make one, in the 
 words of an Arab poet, " go raving mad about it ;" a little, a very 
 little, saddle-backed, just the curve which indicates springiness 
 without any weakness ; a head broad above, and tapering down 
 to a nose fine enough to verify the phrase of " drinking from a 
 pint-pot," did pint-pots exist in Nejed ; a most intelligent and 
 yet a singularly gentle look, full eye, sharp thorn-like little ear, 
 legs fore and hind that seemed as if made of hammered iron, so 
 clean and yet so well twisted with sinew; a neat round hoof, 
 just the requisite for hard ground; the tail set on or rather 
 thrown out at a perfect arch ; coats smooth, shining, and light ; 
 the mane long, but not overgrown nor heavy; and an air and 
 step that seemed to say " look at me, am I not pretty % " their 
 appearance justified all reputation, all value, all poetry. The 
 prevailing colour was chestnut or grey ; a light bay, an iron 
 colour, white, or black, were less common ; full bay, flea-bitten, 
 or piebald, none. But if asked what are, after all, the spe- 
 cially distinctive points of the Nejdee horse, I should reply, 
 the slope of the shoulder, the extreme cleanness of the shank, 
 and the full rounded haunch, though every other part too has 
 a perfection and a harmony unwitnessed (at least by my eyes) 
 anywhere else. 
 
 Unnecessary to say that I had often met with and after a 
 fashion studied horses throughout this journey; but I purj^osely 
 deferred saying much about them till this occasion. At Ha'yel 
 and in Djebel Shomer I found very good examples of what is 
 commonly called the Arab horse : a fine breed, and from among 
 which purchases are made every now and then by European 
 princes, peers, and commoners, often at astounding prices. 
 These are for the most part the produce of a mare from Djebel 
 Shomer or its neighbourhood, and a Nejdean stallion, sometimes 
 the reverse ; but never, it would seem (although here I am, of 
 
 X 2
 
 3oS Court Intrigues of Ri'ad [Chap. x 
 
 course, open to correction by the " logic of facts "), thorough 
 Nejdee on both sides. With all their excellences, these horses 
 are less systematically elegant, nor do I remember having ever 
 seen one among them free from some one weak point ; perhaps a 
 little heaviness in the shoulder, perhaps a slight falling off in 
 the rump, perhaps a shelly or a contracted hoof, or too small 
 an eye. Their height also is much more varied ; some of them 
 attain sixteen hands, others are down to fourteen. Every one 
 knows the customary divisions of their pedigrees : Manakee, 
 Siklawee, Hamdanee, Toreyfee, and so forth ; I myself made a 
 list of these names during a residence some years previous 
 among the Sebaa' and Ru'ala Bedouins, nor did I find any 
 difference worth noting between what was then told me and the 
 accounts usually given by travellers and authors on this topic. 
 Nor did the Bedouins fail to recite their oft-repeated legends 
 about Solomon's stables, &c. But I am inclined to consider 
 the greater part of these very pedigrees, and still more the an- 
 tiquity of their origin, as comparatively recent inventions, and 
 of small credit, got up for the market of Bedouins or towmsmen. 
 Nor is a Kohlanee mare by any means a warrant for a Kohlanee 
 stallion ; crossing the breed is an everyday occurrence, even in 
 Shomer. Once arrived at this last district, I heard no more of 
 Siklawee, Delhamee, or any other like genealogies ; nor were 
 Solomon's stables better known to fame than those of Augeus. 
 In Nejed I Mas distinctly assured that no prolonged lists of 
 ])edigrees were ever kept, and that all enquiries about race are 
 limited to the assurance of a good father and a good mother ; 
 for Solomon, added the groom, he was much more likely to 
 have taken horses from us than we from him ; a remark which 
 Ijroved in him who made it a certain amount of historical criti- 
 cism. In a word, to be a successful jockey in Nejed requires 
 about the same degree of investigation and knowledge that it 
 V ould in Yorkshire, and no more ; perhaps even less, consider- 
 ing the stud-books. 
 
 The genuine Nejdean breed, so far as I have hitherto found, 
 is to be met with only in Nejed itself; nor are these animals 
 common even there; none but chiefs or individuals of consider- 
 able wealth and rank possess them. Nor are they ever sold, at 
 least so all declare ; and when I asked how then one could be 
 acquired, " by war, by legacy, or by free gift," was the answer.
 
 Chap. X) Coiivt IlltyigHCS of Rl\xd 3O9 
 
 In this last manner alone is there a possibility of an isolated 
 specimen leaving Nejed, but even that is seldom; and Avhen 
 poHcy requires a present to Egypt, Persia, or Constantinople 
 (a circumstance of which I witnessed two instances and heard 
 of others), mares are never sent, and the poorest stallions, though 
 deserving to pass elsewhere for real beauties, are picked out for 
 the purpose. 
 
 'Abd-Allah, Sa'ood, and Mohammed keep their horses in se- 
 parate stables, each one containing a hundred or thereabouts. 
 After much enquiry and remark, ray companion and I came to 
 the conclusion that the total Nejdean horse-census would not 
 sum up above five thousand, and probably falls short even of 
 that number. The fact that here the number of horsemen in 
 an army is perfectly inconsiderable when compared to that of 
 the camel riders, may be added in confirmation, especially 
 since in Nejed horses are never used except for war or parade, 
 while all travel work and other drudgery falls on camels, some- 
 times on asses. 
 
 Pretty stories have been circulated about the familiarity 
 existing between Arabs, Bedouins in particular, and their steeds ; 
 how the foal at its birth is caught in the hands of bystanders, 
 not allowed to fall on the ground, how it plays with the children 
 of the house, eats and drinks with its master, how he tends it 
 when indisposed, whilst it no doubt returns him a similar service 
 when occasion requires. That the Arab horse is much gentler, 
 and in a general way more intelligent than the close-stabled, 
 blinkered, harnessed, condemned-cell-prisoner animal of "meriy 
 England," I willingly admit; matters, alas ! cannot be otherwise. 
 Brought up in close contact with men, and enjoying the compa- 
 ratively free use of his senses and limbs, the Arab quadruped is 
 in a fair way for developing to full advantage whate\-er feeling 
 and instinct good blood brings with it, nor does this often fail 
 to occur. If, however, we come to the particular incidents of 
 Arab horse-life just alluded to, they certainly form no general 
 rule or etiquette in practice, nor would any Arab be the worse 
 thought of for rapping his mare over the nose if she thrust it 
 into his porridge, or for leaving nature to do the office of mid- 
 wife when she is in an interesting condition. Still I do not 
 mean to say that the creditable anecdotes immortalised in so 
 many books may not perhaps take place here and there, but, to
 
 310 Court Intrigues of Ri' ad rcHAr x 
 
 quote an Arab poet, " I never saw the like nor ever heard." For 
 m\- own personal experience, it goes no farther than feeding 
 Arab horses out of my hand, not dish, and prevailing on them, 
 better than the spirits of the vasty deep, to come when I did call 
 for them. 
 
 After a delightful hour passed in walking up and down among 
 these beautiful creatures, attended by grooms professionally 
 sensible to all the excellences of horseflesh, I examined the 
 iron-grey mare in question, saw another whose appetite was 
 ailing, prescribed a treatment which if it did no good could 
 certainly do no harm, and left with longing lingering look 
 behind, the stables, whither however I subsequently paid not 
 unfrequent visits, befitting to a doctor. 
 
 Farther on, when we cross the eastern and southern limits of 
 Toweyk, we find the Arab breed rapidly losing in beauty and 
 perfection, in size and strength. The specimens of indigenous 
 race that I saw in 'Oman considerably resembled the "tattoes" 
 of India; but in the eastern angle of Arabia the deficiency of 
 horses is in a way made up for by the dromedaries of that 
 land. 
 
 Nejdee horses are especially esteemed for great speed and 
 endurance of fatigue ; indeed, in this latter quality none come 
 up to them. To pass twenty-four hours on the road without 
 drink and without flagging is certainly something ; but to keep 
 up the same abstinence and labour conjoined under the burn- 
 ing Arabian sky for forty-eight hours at a stretch is, I believe, 
 l>eculiar to the animals of the breed. Besides they have a deli- 
 cacy, I cannot say of mouth, for it is common to ride them 
 without bit or bridle, but of feeling and obedience to the knee 
 and thigh, to the slightest check of the halter and the voice of 
 the rider, far surpassing whatever the most elaborate mane'ge 
 gives a European horse, though furnished with snafile, curb, 
 and all. I often mounted them at the invitation of their owners, 
 and without saddle, rein, or srirrup, set them off at full gallop, 
 wlieeled them round, brought them up in mid career at a dead 
 lult, and that without the least difficulty or the smallest want 
 of corresjjondence between the horse's movements and my own 
 will ; the rider on their back really feels himself the man-half 
 of a centaur, not a distinct being. This is in great part owing 
 to the Arab system of breaking in, much preferable to the
 
 Chap. X] CoUVt lutrigUCS of R i\id 3 I I 
 
 European in conferring pliancy and perfect tractability. Nor is 
 mere speed much valued in a horse unless it be united with the 
 above qualities, since whether in the contest of an Arab race, 
 or in the pursuit and tlight of war, " doubling " is far more the 
 rule than " going ahead," at least for any distance. Much the 
 same training is required for the sport of the Djereed, that 
 tournament of the East, and which, as I witnessed it in Nejed, 
 differed in nothing from the exhibitions frequent in Syria and 
 Egypt, except that the palm-stick or " Djereed " itself is a little 
 lighter. I should add that in the stony plateaus of Nejed, 
 horses are always shod, but the shoe is clumsy and heavy; the 
 hoof is very slightly pared, and the number of nails put in in- 
 variably six. Were not the horn excellent, Nejdean farriery 
 would lame many a fine horse. 
 
 While we advanced in 'Abd-Allah's good graces, and pre- 
 scribed now for his four-legged and now for his two-legged 
 servants, Mahboob, moved by the encomiums of his father, 
 Djowhar, condescended to pay us a visit, which prudence had 
 prevented us from the courtesy of anticipating. Prime minister 
 Mahboob, and what a prime minister ! Luckily for me, Aboo- 
 'Eysa had so often given me his excellency's portrait, that I did 
 not mistake him at his first entrance, but my companion 
 Barakat did, and could hardly believe when told that the indi- 
 vidual before him was the main column of Nejed and of the 
 whole Wahhabee empire. 
 
 Born of a Georgian slave-woman, herself a present from 
 'Abbas Basha to Feysul at his first accession, Mahboob, now 
 about twenty-five years of age, presented so very boyish, so un- 
 Nejdean, so un-Arab an appearance, that I was utterly startled. 
 His father is Djowhar, our black patient — I mean his legal 
 father; for so white a complexion, such smooth streaky hair, 
 such blue eyes, such symmetrically proportioned limbs, never 
 owned a black for physical parent, unless indeed my study and 
 my books be false, and my observations too. The fact is, that 
 while the official tongue, with a prudence which I shall imi- 
 tate throughout my narrative, designates Djov.'liar as father of 
 the prime minister, no one high or low entertains a doubt of 
 Feysul's own better right to that endearing title. Needs not 
 enter into the details of court mysteries or scandal, if scandal 
 can find place in Nejed : my readers may take it on my word
 
 312 Court Iniyig7ics of RVad [Chai'. x 
 
 that so sure as the Georgian woman is jMahboob's mother, so 
 sure Feysul, her first master and possessor, is Mahboob's father. 
 
 The youth is clever, of that there could be no doubt ; that 
 he is daring is equally certain. A taste for general literature, 
 and a spirit of research indicative of Caucasian origin, may 
 also be remarked in him. But vanity, imprudence, overbearing 
 pride, despotic cruelty, and a levity of manner strangely con- 
 trasting with the gravity customary at Ri'ad, are equally the 
 share of Mahboob, nor any wonder, considering his origin and 
 palace education. These faults are however in a measure veiled, 
 nay, rendered almost becoming, by a manly independence of 
 thought and manner, an outspoken tone, and a hearty cheerful- 
 ness at times, not generally found in the Nejdeans around him; 
 qualities certainly due to his mother rather than to his father, 
 whoever that may be. Last, not least perhaps, he is remark- 
 ably handsome, almost beautiful, a thorough Georgian ; in a 
 word, Byron's Arnold in the strange dream of the " Deformed 
 Transformed," came often in my mind while conversing with 
 the graceful but bloodstained Mahboob. Thus endowed in 
 mind and body, this half-caste Caucasian stripling, at an age 
 when well-born Englishmen are being plucked in the Schools, 
 or serving as cornets or midshipmen, leads by the nose the old 
 tyrant of Nejed, browbeats his terrible son, commands the 
 servility of courtiers, chiefs, and Zelators, and wields almost 
 alone the destinies of more than half the Arabian Peninsula. 
 
 Mahboob's first visit to us was very characteristic. Little 
 ceremony, much familiarity, a second question asked before 
 the first was answered, everything rapidly examined — books, 
 drugs, dress, and all ; a cup of coffee hastily swallowed, a word 
 of encouragement and patronage, a very European shake of the 
 hand, and then farewell till next meeting. 
 
 Aboo-'Eysa, whose main prop at court was no other than 
 Mahboob, and whose lot was now in a way bound up with our 
 own, was extremely anxious that this first interview should be 
 followed up by a closer intimacy, nor was I at all reluctant to 
 study more at leisure so exceptional and at the same time so 
 important a personage. To this end I returned the call next 
 day, in company with Aboo-'Eysa. 
 
 Mahboob was seated in Djowhar's divan. To Aboo-'Eysa he 
 showed all the familiarity of an old patron, and extended much
 
 Chap. X] Couvt lutrigucs of Ri' ad 313 
 
 of the same hand-in-hand manner to myself. But this time he 
 pushed his interrogations further than before, and I discovered 
 that the minister did me the honour of supposing me of similar 
 origin with himself, namely, an Egyptian by country, and born 
 of a Georgian or Circassian. Such a supposition had in Ri'ad 
 a very peculiar bearing, and influenced not a little the events 
 which followed. 
 
 Mahboob was inwardly convinced that we Avere in reality 
 more or less spies, sent by the Egjq^tian government, probably 
 with reference to the Kaseem war and the siege of 'Oneyzah. 
 This was no bad conjecture; the route we had traversed, the 
 books in our possession, the very fact of (comparatively) 
 superior medical knowledge, my own pronunciation, all tended 
 to justify this idea. Not that Mahboob said it in so many 
 words, but it was easy to perceive the drift of his thought, the 
 more so from his careless and desultory manner. Meanwhile 
 Mohammed, 'Abd-el-Lateef s younger brother, had got up an 
 enormous lie of his having personally known me while in 
 Egypt, of all my past history and present intentions ; a series 
 of fictions readily contradicted, but not to be with equal readi- 
 ness effaced. 
 
 After this first meeting in Djowhar's K'hawah, Mahboob 
 opened to me his own, and there I often passed several hours 
 of the succeeding days. His library was the most copious that 
 I had yet seen in Arabia ; it consisted of the works of many 
 well-known poets, among whom were Ebn-el-'Atiheeyah, Mo- 
 tenebbi, Aboo-l-'Ola, besides the Divan of Hariri, the Hamasa, 
 and other works of classic Arab literature ; along with these, 
 treatises on law and religion by Malekee and Hanbelee au- 
 thors, commentaries on the Coran, books of travels, touching 
 whose authenticity least said w-ere soonest mended ; geogra- 
 phical treatises, dividing the world into seven regions, of which 
 Arabia was of course the first and by far the greatest, and much 
 else of like manufacture. The most interesting work for me 
 was a manuscript history of the Wahhabee empire, preceded 
 by a general sketch of Arab annals ; the ante-Islamitic portion 
 closely resembled that given by Aboo-1-Feda, perhaps was 
 copied from him ; the space intervening between the wars of 
 Khahd-ebn-el-Waleed and the rise of the Sa'ood dynasty, re- 
 lated to Nejed alone. Account books, muster rolls, official
 
 314 Court Intrigues of Riad (Chap. x 
 
 correspondence and the like, were stowed away in a large side 
 cabinet ; but the folding doors were frequently left open, and 
 I was able to get an occasional look at the documents, of which 
 niy Arab census in the last chapter is in a great measure an ex- 
 tract. Mahboob raised hardly any difficulty to my taking notes 
 or copying passages, especially out of the literary works ; I 
 regret that some of the papers then written were lost in the 
 subsequent casualties of my journey. 
 
 The prime minister promised much and did something. He 
 took care that we should be duly supplied from the palace with 
 the entire list of Nejdean luxuries — butcher's meat and coffee — 
 besides making me a handsome present of ready money, which 
 I accepted in hopes of thereby lessening his preconceived sus- 
 jjicions. But his eye was always on me with the restless unsa- 
 tisfied expression of one who pries into deep water for something 
 at the bottom and cannot quite distinguish it ; however, a sup- 
 ])Osed sympathy of race inclined him to be friendly. 
 
 Meanwhile both Mahboob and 'Abd-AUah made fun of the 
 old Na'ib to their hearts' content ; and he too in his turn 
 fleered at them. The Persian, finding Feysul hopelessly cold 
 in his cause, resolved on a visit to his son and heir, and having 
 arrayed himself in all his finery, called at the prince's palace. 
 ^Vhen introduced into the K'hawah, he found 'Abd-AUah 
 stretched out on the carpet Bedouin-fashion, back uppermost, 
 with a cushion under his elbows to prop him up, and much in 
 the position of a dog when he puts his muzzle on his fore-paws 
 and looks at you. " Welcome," said the gracious prince to the 
 approaching ambassador, and motioned him to sit down, with- 
 out the while changing his own unceremonious posture. Then, 
 after a minute of staring, " Is your beard dyed % " was the 
 first princely question. I should say that staining the hair is 
 looked on by Wahhabees as an unlawful encroachment on the 
 rights of the Creator to bestow on His creatures whatever 
 colouring He chooses. The Na'ib in a grave but somewhat 
 vexed tone allowed that his beard was dyed, and asked what 
 was the matter even if it were ? " Because," replied 'Abd-AUah, 
 " we consider such a practice to be highly improper." Whereto 
 the Na'ib dryly answered, that the Persians thought otherwise. 
 " Are you a Sonnee or aShiya'ee V next enquired the reclining 
 majesty. The Na'ib's patience, always scant, was now at an
 
 Chai , X] Court Intrigues of RVad 3 1 5 
 
 end. " I am a Shiya'ee, and my father was a Shiya'ee, and my 
 grandfather was a Shiya'ee, and we are all Shiya'ees," answered 
 he, in a tone of downright passion \ " but you, 'Abd-Allah, what 
 are you, a prince or a chaplain]" The whole in that broken 
 Arabic which rendered anger impossible. " A prince," replied 
 'Abd-Allah, looking very big. " Because," rejoined the Persian, 
 "I thought from your questions you were a chaplain; and if you 
 are indeed so, get you off to the mosque ; that is the place, not 
 a palace, for one who talks in your style." 'Abd-Allah burst 
 out laughing, and made an apology worse than the fault, by 
 pretending ignorance of diplomatic usages and the respect due 
 to ambassadors, and then changed the discourse. All this was 
 nohow real levity or clownishness in the Nejdee ; his insolence 
 was the result of cool and deliberate calculation, designed to 
 bring the Persian down to the right point for the bargain already 
 resolved on by Feysul and his son. The Na'ib came away in 
 a fury against the Bedouin, and 'Aboo-Eysa had much ado to 
 prevent his leaving the capital in a huff that very day. 
 
 Nor was he more successful with Mahboob, to whom he paid 
 many ceremonious visits, in hope of gaining his influence with 
 the old king, and never without hearing something premedi- 
 tatedly offensive on the score of Persians and Shiya'ees. These 
 last, among their many other fancies, have an excessive and 
 superstitious reverence for the written names of holy person- 
 ages, and hold the wilful destruction of such words to be an 
 atrocious crime. On one occasion, while the Na'ib was present 
 in the divan, Mahboob received some letters bearing the cus- 
 tomary heading, " In the name of God." These letters the 
 minister read, and then, before the Persian's face, tore them 
 across and threw them into the fire burning on the hearth. 
 Mohammed-' Alee nearly fainted with horror. But worse fol- 
 lowed. The Shirazee had with him a silver drinking-cup of 
 Persian workmanship, and beautifully embossed, with the five 
 names so venerated by Persians — Mohammed, 'Alee, Fatimah, 
 Hasan, and Hoseyn — worked on the rim. This goblet he one 
 day brought with him to the palace, with the view of "astonish- 
 ing the natives." Mahboob took it in his hand, turned it round, 
 and on reading the characters about the edge exclaimed, "What 
 are these abominable inscriptions % " and flung the cup on the 
 ground. The Na'ib's feelings may be better imagin-jd than
 
 3i6 Court Intrigues of Riaci [Chap. x 
 
 described. During the quiet evening hours that we often passed 
 in his cool upper ajjartments, smoking his Nargheelahs and 
 talking over the events of the day, we had the advantage of 
 hearing from his own mouth all these incidents, and many more 
 of like tenor. 
 
 A comical event which occurred about this time brouglit 
 matters, as they say, to a crisis, and by its pre-eminent absurdity 
 rescued the Na'ib from further outrages to his Shiya'ee feelings. 
 I have already said that morning and evening roll-calls were 
 daily read in the mosques belonging to the several quarters of 
 the town, and that absentees were liable to very practical ad- 
 monitions towards better attendance in future. Of course 
 neither the Na'ib and his men as Shiya'ees, nor Barakat and 
 myself as Christians, troubled ourselves much with Wahhabee 
 congregational attendance. One morning the "Zelator" super- 
 intendent of the mosque, to which according to our place of 
 residence we were supposed to belong, took it into his head 
 that infidels or not we were bound in common decency to act 
 like orthodox Muslims : " cum Romse fueris, Romano vivitur 
 usu." Accordingly our two names, with those of the Na'ib and 
 his posse, were read out among the rest, but there was no voice 
 nor any that answered. Hereon the indignant Zelator collected 
 a pious band armed with sticks and staves ; and a little before 
 sunrise presented himself at our door, the nearest on his rounds. 
 Luckily the door was bolted from within, while Barakat, Aboo- 
 'Eysa, and myself were, in place of prayers and ablutions, 
 smoking our morning pipes over a very excellent cup of coffee. 
 When Aboo-'Eysa heard the knock, which his bad conscience 
 at once interpreted, he was terribly frightened, knowing by 
 experience that Wahhabee fanaticism when once up is no trifling 
 matter. Turning quite pale, he begged us to return no answer 
 to the summons, but to hide ourselves within an inner chamber. 
 Barakat, on the contrary, with all the courage of a Zahlawee, 
 determined to face the danger, went right to the door, opened 
 it suddenly, and stepping out slammed it to as suddenly behind 
 him, without giving the visitors time to enter. Next ensued 
 the following parley in the street : — 
 
 " Why did you not come to prayers this morningi" "We 
 have already said our i)rnyers; what kind of atheists do you 
 take us for?" "Why then did you not answer when your
 
 Chap. X] Couvt Iiitrigucs of RV ad 317 
 
 names were called over?" enquired the Zelator, supposing from 
 the other's ready equivocation that we must have been somehow 
 or other at the mosque. " We imagined that you Wahhabees 
 had some peculiar ceremony of your own which did not concern 
 us foreigners; how are we to know all your customs'?" replied 
 the unabashed Barakat. " Who was your right-hand man when 
 you stood up to prayer?" enquired the doubting cross-ques- 
 tioner. "Some Bedouin or other; is it my business to know all 
 the Bedouins in Ri'ad?" answered my companion. "And who 
 was on your left?" "The wall." Which last was said with 
 such an air of innocence and unconcern, that the stick-bearers 
 knew not what to make of it. So, like good Arabs, they allowed 
 us the benefit of doubt, and passed on after an admonition to 
 be regular in our religious duties. " If God wills it," was the 
 vague but orthodox answer. 
 
 From our door the holy squadron passed to that of the Na'ib. 
 Here a thundering knock was at once answered by 'Alee, the 
 younger servant, who with unsuspecting rashness flung the 
 entrance wide open. No quarter to Persians : " Throw him 
 down, beat him, purify his hide," was shouted out on all sides, 
 and the foremost laid hold of the astonished Shiya'ee to inflict 
 the legal chastisement. But 'Alee was a big strapping lad, and 
 not easily floored; he soon tore himself away from his well- 
 intentioned executioners, and rushed into the interior of the 
 house calling madly for aid on his brother Hasan. Out came 
 the elder with a pistol in either hand, while 'Alee having picked 
 up a dagger brandished it fearfully; and the old Na'ib, aroused 
 from sleep in his upstairs bedroom, leaned over the parapet 
 in his dressing-gown, like Shelley's " grey tyrant father," and 
 screamed out from above Persian threats and curses. The 
 Zelators turned tail and fled in confusion; 'Alee and Hasan 
 ran after, sword and pistol in hand, half-way down the street, 
 beating one, kicking another, and leaving a third sprawling in 
 the dust. 
 
 Without delay the Na'ib donned his clothes and went to the 
 palace, there to demand justice for the housebreaking aggres- 
 sion thus committed, and to protest very reasonably this time 
 against the absurdity of compulsory attendance on divine wor- 
 ship. We did not think it necessary to accompany him, since 
 our affair had at any rate ended smoothly. But Aboo-'Eysa,
 
 3l8 Court hitrif^ucs of Ri\id [Chap. x 
 
 who had gone with the Na'ib, played the orator in our behalf. 
 The result was a royal order issued to the Zelators not to 
 trouble themselves further about us and our doings ; while, in 
 compensation for past insults, the Persian ambassador was 
 henceforth treated at the palace with greater decency by 
 Mahboob and his crew. 
 
 It may be well to recount at once the remainder of Moham- 
 med-'Alee's fortunes at Ri'ad. After a month of veering and 
 tacking, speeding to-day, put back to-morrow, and never getting 
 nearer to the point, Aboo-'Eysa told him plainly what he had 
 already suggested more than once, but without effect — that in 
 the Wahhabee capital it was money, and money alone, that 
 could make the mare to go, and that if he desired a speedy and 
 a favourable solution of his difficulties, he had only to make 
 some judicious offerings, and all would be well. 
 
 Sad news this to Mohammed-' Alee, close-fisted as Persians 
 usually are; however, he had no other course open. Next day 
 the double-barrelled fowling piece went to 'Abd-Allah, the tea- 
 making machine to Mahboob, a beautiful ruby found its way to 
 Feysul's inner chamber; and I believe that the king's fair 
 daughter, the she-secretary of the cabinet, obtained her share 
 of the gifts. The effect was magical. Instantaneously, a mag- 
 nificent letter of apolog}' for " past accidents " was drawn up, 
 addressed to the Shah, and signed by Feysul, wherein all the 
 blame of whatever had befallen the caravan was safely thrown 
 on the luckless Aboo-Boteyn, now a refugee among the " in- 
 fidels " at 'Oneyzah ; but no sooner should Heaven have de- 
 livered him up to the vengeance of the faithful, than the wretch 
 should be put in irons and sent to Teheran to answer for him- 
 self before the majesty of Persia, unless indeed he were killed 
 first, as might be hopefully anticipated. Not a word about 
 Mohanna. Nor a word either (I read the document myself) 
 about costs and damages, except what Aboo-Boleyn was to 
 refund — when the hare was caught, which, please God, should 
 soon be the case. 
 
 In conclusion, the better to stop the Na ib's mouth, and to 
 prevent too urgent representations on the score of his plundered 
 followers, some presents were offered him. An elderly horse, 
 which might at Bombay have brought two hundred rupees or 
 thereabouts ; a camel, worlli in Ncjed from six to seven rials.
 
 Chap, xj Cotivt luirigucs of Ri ati 319 
 
 somewhat less than two pounds English ; three or four cloaks 
 of Hasa manufacture, and of second-rate quality, were thrown 
 as a sop to Cerberus, and greedily swallowed. The Na'ib was 
 no judge of horse-flesh or camel-flesh either ; the cloaks too 
 were new to him, and he very properly supposed the gift-horse 
 and raiment to be each the very best in their kind. In return 
 he pledged his word that the Persian pilgrims should continue 
 to pursue the route of Nejed, and pay for it also. It was a 
 scoundrelly business from beginning to end, and did little 
 honour either to the merchandising Sultan of Nejed and his 
 subordinates or to the Persian who deliberately sold his coun- 
 trymen's rights and the interests of his government for an old 
 horse, an old camel, and some old cloaks. 
 
 As a corollary to these manoeuvres, Aboo-'Eysa procured for 
 himself a royal patent naming him head conductor from the 
 Persian coast to Mecca of all future pilgrim bands, to the 
 permanent exclusion of competitors ; a measure which had at 
 least the advantage of ensuring to the unlucky Shiya'ees a 
 certain amount of good treatment while on their road, and of 
 putting our friend in possession of emoluments sufficient to meet 
 even his own extravagant habits and ostentatious generosity. 
 
 One question yet remained to be settled by Mohammed-'Alee, 
 namely, by what road he should return to Meshid and thence 
 to Bagdad and Teheran. Winter was setting in, and the land 
 route, leading mainly over high ground, might prove disagree- 
 ably cold, even in Arabia. This and other valid reasons would 
 have led him to prefer the easier and warmer line of journey 
 through Hasa, and thence by ship up the Persian Gulf and the 
 Shatt-el-'Aarab to Meshid 'Alee, instead of the weary track by 
 the mountains of Sedeyr, Zulphah, and the up-country. But 
 Mohammed-'Alee was a devout Shiya'ee, and as such must 
 needs first consult his luck by counting his beads. Thrice his 
 computation notified to him the heaven-sent warning to adopt 
 not the former, but the latter path, and this he accordingly did, 
 with much loss of time and increase of expense and trouble. 
 
 My readers perhaps know (if they do not, it is worth remark- 
 ing) that a Persian, and in fact a Shiya'ee in general, even 
 though not by birth a Persian, can do nothing, not so mu<!h as 
 drink a cup of coffee or light a Nargheelah, without counting 
 his luck on his rosary; a ridiculous custom, and justly repro-
 
 320 Court Intrigues of Ri 11(1 ichap. x 
 
 b.ited by the Wahhabees, whose hatred of magic, sjDells, charms, 
 and the rest of that category, extends also to divinations and 
 omens of whatever sort, dream interpretations, lucky or unlucky 
 ciays, and the like; a favourable piece of witness which I am 
 glad to be able to render the Wahhabees. 
 
 In the last week of November, just before our own departure, 
 Mohammed-'Alee with all his attendants set off for Sedeyr, and 
 in the following spring I was rejoiced on learning at Bagdad 
 that he and his had arrived in safety at their journey's end. 
 
 The two Meccan beggars, our companions from Ha'yel hither, 
 got a shirt and two rials apiece, with which munificent present 
 one of them went to Basrah, where he passed himself oft" for a 
 Sev'yid, and invested in a huge turban ; the other set his face 
 westward, and went — I know not whither. We will now resume 
 the course of events. 
 
 During these forty days active preparations were making in 
 Nejed for the decisive blow to be struck at 'Oneyzah. What 
 liad hitherto been sent against that town were little more than 
 mere skirmishing parties, and consisted of a certain number of 
 men from Aflaj and Sedeyr, from Zulphah and Shakra', with a 
 iKtw warriors of 'Aared and Yemamah to keep up the spirits of 
 the rest, and a younger son of Feysul's to command. The in- 
 tention of the Wahhabee council was, that when occasional 
 attacks, joined with the half-blockade, should have sufficiently 
 weakened their enemy, the whole force of Central and Southern 
 Nejed, with that of the great eastern provinces, should be brought 
 to bear. The entire expedition was to be entrusted to the 
 invincible and murderous 'Abd-Allah. 
 
 The appointed time now drew on, and Yemamah and Hareek 
 were ordered to send in their contingent, Soley' and Dowasir 
 were called on for their rude militia, while the levy from Ha.^a 
 with the artillery of Kateef was to come, and along with the 
 dreaded battalions of 'Aared itself, to complete the besieging 
 army. What chance could be left to one isolated town, how- 
 ever strong, against such a concentration of assailing force ? 
 
 Zamil and his adherents felt that their ruin was not only 
 planned, but certain. No hope remained them from the Shereef 
 of Nfecca, and Egypt was for them, no less than for the Israelites 
 of old, a broken reed. Accordingly, they sent submissive, nay 
 suppliant, letters to Fey.«ul, offered allegiance, tribute, and
 
 Chap. X] Coiivt Iiiti'igucs of RV ad 321 
 
 obedience, renewed their protestations of orthodoxy, appealed 
 to the brotherhood of Islam, and, lastly, rendered the Sultan of 
 Nejed responsible for all the evils of war and a city taken by 
 storm. Feysul was moved, relented of his purpose, and would 
 gladly have accepted a submission so humbly tendered, and the 
 refusal of which must draw after it such awful responsibility. 
 But Mahboob looked forward with all the ambition of rising 
 power to the great extension of Wahhabee prerogative conse- 
 quent on the fall of 'Oneyzah; while 'Abd-Allah, ferocious in 
 the anticipation of success, was no more disposed to let slip a 
 lesson in his art, or a laurel leaf from his garland, than he whom 
 history or libel reports to have fought the battle of Nimwegen 
 with the treaty of Utrecht in his pocket. The Zelators also, on 
 their side, besieged the old and vacillating monarch, and urged 
 him to unsparing severity. Long consultations were held in the 
 palace, and at last Feysul's ultimatum was sent. " Give up Zamil, 
 EI-Khey'yat, and the other ringleaders of revolt," so ran the 
 document, " and then, not till then, will I treat of peace." Death 
 was more tolerable to the men of 'Oneyzah than compliance on 
 such terms, and no further answer was returned. I myself 
 obtained, through Mahboob, a sight of the letter from 'Oneyzah, 
 and of the reply, though of course I was not admitted to the 
 council itself, for my account of which I depend on current 
 report. 
 
 'Abd-Allah made no secret of his joy, and prepared for a 
 speedy departure. Meanwhile Feysul sent orders to his second- 
 bom Sa'ood, to bring up the troops of Hareek, and to hand 
 them over when in Ri'ad to his elder brother, whose special 
 office as governor of the capital he, Sa'ood, was to fill during 
 the absence of the latter at 'Oneyzah. Sa'ood speedily arrived, 
 and with him about two hundfed horsemen ; the rest of his men, 
 more than two thousand, were mounted on camels. When they 
 entered Ri'ad, Feysul for the first and the last time during our 
 stay, gave a public audience at the palace gate. It was a scene 
 for a painter. There sat the blind old tyrant, corpulent, 
 decrepit, yet imposing, with his large broad forehead, white 
 beard, and thoughtful air, clad in all the simplicity of a Wah- 
 habee ; the gold-hafted sword at his side his only ornament or 
 distinction. Beside him the ministers, the officers of his court, 
 and a crowd of the nobler and wealthier citizens. 'Abd-Allah, 
 
 Y
 
 322 Court Intrigues of Rl\id ichap. x 
 
 the heir of the throne, was alone absent. Up came Sa'ood with 
 the bearing of a hussar ofiticer, richly clad in Cachemire shawls 
 and a gold wrought mantle, while man by man followed his red 
 dressed cavaliers, their spears over their shoulders, and their 
 swords hanging down ; a musket too was slung behind the saddle 
 of each warrior ; and the sharp dagger of Hareek glittered in 
 every girdle. Next came the common soldiers on camels or 
 dromedaries, some with spears only, some with spears and guns, 
 till the wide square was filled with armed men and gazing spec- 
 tators, as the whole troop drew up before the great autocrat, and 
 Sa'ood alighted to bend and kiss his father's hand. " God save 
 Feysul ! God give the victory to the armies of the MusHms !" 
 was shouted out on every side, and all faces kindled into the 
 fierce smile of concentrated enthusiasm and conscious strength. 
 Feysul rose from his seat, and placed his son at his side. 
 Another moment, and they entered the castle together, whilst 
 the troops dispersed to their quarters, chiefly in the Khajik. 
 
 I have noticed that 'Abd-AUah did not appear. Much though 
 he rejoiced at an event tending to forward his owia aims, yet 
 personal jealousy and hatred would not allow him to bear part 
 in his brother's reception. Next day Feysul, while seated in 
 his private divan with Sa'ood, enquired of him whether he had 
 yet seen his elder brother, and, on his negative answer, ordered 
 him to pay 'Abd-Allah the first visit. " I am the stranger guest, 
 while he is an inhabitant of the town," replied Sa'ood, " and it 
 is accordingly his duty to call first on me." Feysul urged his 
 orders, but in vain ; Sa'ood persisted in refusal. The old king 
 at last lost his wonted self-command, and, supported by two 
 negro slaves, rose to strike his son. "Strike," said Sa'ood, 
 bending his shoulders to receive the blow ; " you have me before 
 you, but I will not go to my brother's house." The slaves now 
 interfered, and Feysul, abashed at the indecorum of his own 
 conduct, permitted Sa'ood to retire Avithout further comment. 
 
 A few hours after, the blind monarch, mounted on a led horse, 
 was seen traversing the street which conducts to the palace of 
 'Abd-Allah. Arrived there, he related what had just occurred, 
 and entreated his son to fulfil the obligation of a first visit. But 
 the elder son proved no less intractable than the younger, though 
 less excusably. Finally, " It is all my fault, I have treated your 
 brother ill," said Feysul ; "he was in the right, and we are in
 
 Chap. X] Coiu't lutrigucs of RV ad 323 
 
 the wrong. The error must be repaired somehow. Do you come 
 along with me to the palace, and we will both together call on 
 him in his lodgings ; your visit will thus be coloured by mine, 
 and matters will resume their proper course." 'Abd-Allah could 
 no longer refuse ; the customary ceremonies of poHteness were 
 exchanged between the brothers, and the dangers of a gross and 
 public scandal so far avoided. But Mahboob had been informed 
 of all. " Do you now understand the true state of affairs ? " said 
 he to Feysul. "By God! you will hardly be in your grave 
 when the clash of swords will be heard from 'Aared to Sedeyr." 
 Feysul sighed deeply ; but what remedy where the rivalry of 
 the mothers, inherited by the children, is heightened by the 
 rivalry of a kingdom % 
 
 Sa'ood had not been three days in his new quarters within 
 the palace, when a tall and handsome attendant came with 
 extreme courtesy of demeanour to call me into the presence of 
 his master, who, said he, was suffering from a toothache or a 
 headache, I forget which, and required my professional help 
 without delay. On entering the prince's apartments I was met 
 by a hearty welcome in the good-humoured style customary 
 to Sa'ood, and a loud laugh when I enquired after his ailment. 
 "As well as yourself," he rephed; "all I wanted was a pretext 
 for having you here." He then entered freely into conversation, 
 and expressed, or at least professed, much sympathy for Egypt. 
 The fact is, that being a mortal enemy to 'Abd-Allah, and feeling 
 the certainty of a not distant struggle, he would gladly seek 
 support from a government whose feelings he can anticipate 
 to be on the whole unfriendly to his ultra-Wahhabee brother. 
 During the rest of my stay here he repeatedly sent for me, 
 showed much good will, possibly sincere, under the idea that 
 I was an emissary of Egypt, and thereby contributed to set 
 'Abd-Allah against me, in the manner which now remains to 
 relate. 
 
 At first we have seen that everything went on very smoothly 
 and even favourably with the heir-apparent. But time advanced, 
 success provoked jealousy here and there, while closer observa- 
 tion awakened suspicions, till the fair sky began to overcloud, 
 and there appeared indications of a gathering storm, enough to 
 have put us on our guard had we been more cautious than, I 
 regret to say, we were. Truth here obliges me to the recital of 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 Court Intrigues of Ri ad [Chap. x 
 
 more than one imprudence, for which I trust that my European 
 readers will bear more indulgence than his royal highness at 
 Ri'ad. I put down the circumstances in order to render clearer 
 the cause and connection of events. 
 
 Thus, one evening 'Abd-Allah importuned me for a prophy- 
 lactic against a toothache which from time to time gave him 
 annoyance. I proposed one or two, but he did not approve 
 them. At last I suggested that there yet remained one sovereign 
 remedy, but that he must keep it a profound secret. " What 
 is it]" eagerly enquired the prince. " It consists in tobacco, 
 chewed and applied to the tooth, with a hghted pipe to promote 
 its action," answered I. The Wahhabee said nothing, but his 
 frown spoke much, and I felt I had gone too far. 
 
 Another time he wanted me to pay more regular and specific 
 attention to his horse's ailments. For awhile I tried, but with- 
 out use, to make him understand that a physician was one 
 thing, and a veterinary surgeon another : the truth was, that I 
 was seriously afraid of committing some real blunder with his 
 mares and colts. But 'Abd-Allah would hear no excuse, till 
 finally I cut matters short by saying, "Your highness will please 
 to remember that here in your capital I am a doctor of asses, 
 not of horses." He understood the hit, and was not over- 
 pleased; then laughed a sour laugh, and changed the dis- 
 course. 
 
 But worse followed. One night we were at the palace, and 
 'Abd-Allah, as often, was for keeping me up till midnight, 
 pestering me with medico-scientific enquiries, and exacting for 
 himself a regular course of pharmaceutical lectures, but with- 
 out the fees. I was sleepy and tired, and should much have 
 preferred going home to bed. Desirous of bringing matters to 
 a crisis, I now remained silent, and let his highness's questions 
 go by without an answer. "What are you thinking of?" said 
 he. After one or two evasive answers, I replied that I was 
 thinking of a story regarding the Caliph Haroon-er-Rasheed and 
 his well-known jester and boon companion Aboo-Nowas. 'Abd- 
 Allah, who, like all Arabs, relished nothing so much as a story 
 of kings and caliphs, eagerly enquired what the tale might be. 
 So I informed him that the celebrated caliph had a bad habit of 
 sitting up very late, and that he used to keep Aboo-Nowas for 
 companion of his vigils at hours when the latter would willingly
 
 Chap. X] CoUVt I llty'lgUCS of Rl iXcl 325 
 
 have been at rest. One night Haroon was talking at a great 
 pace, and Aboo-Nowas remained silent as though wrapped in 
 thought. "What are you thinking about?" asked the caliph. 
 "Of nothing," answered Aboo-Nowas, and relapsed into silence. 
 A second time the same question was put, and met with the 
 same reply. But on a third interrogation Aboo-Nowas raised 
 his head, looked the majesty of Bagdad hard in the face, and 
 said, " I am thinking of this " (the Arab word is, T regret to 
 say, that most " unpleasing to a married ear," we will render 
 it by) "brute, who will neither go himself to bed nor let 
 me go." 
 
 'Abd-Allah stared, and hesitated a moment between anger 
 and laughter. At last the latter prevailed. "You are at 
 liberty," said he, and I took my leave. 
 
 By this time he was ripe for serious displeasure, and the 
 Kadee 'Abd-el-Lateef, as I was afterwards informed, with some 
 others of like strain, took the opportunity of putting his sus- 
 picions on the alert. The first intimation that we received was 
 curious enough. 
 
 For a foreigner to enter Ri'ad is not always easy, but to get 
 away from it is harder still ; Reynard himself would have been 
 justly shy of venturing on this royal cave. There exist in the 
 capital of Nejed two approved means of barring the exit against 
 those on whom mistrust may have fallen. The first and readiest 
 is that of which it has been emphatically said. Stone-dead hath 
 710 fellow. But should circumstances render the bonds of death 
 inexpedient, the bonds of Hymen and a Ri'ad establishment 
 may and occasionally do supply their office. By this latter 
 proceeding, the more amiable of the two, 'Abd-Allah resolved 
 to enchain us. 
 
 Accordingly, one morning arrived at our dwelling an attend- 
 ant of the palace, with a smiling face, presage of some good in 
 reserve, and many fair speeches. After enquiries about our 
 health, comfort, well-being, &c., he added that 'Abd-Allah 
 thought we might be desirous of purchasing this or that, and 
 begged us to accept of a small present. It was a fair sum of 
 money; just twice so much as the ordinary token of good will, 
 namely, four rials in place of two. After which the messenger 
 took his leave. Aboo-'Eysa had been present at the interview: 
 "Be on the look-out," said he, "there is something wrong."
 
 326 Court Intrigues of RV ad [Chap. x 
 
 That very afternoon 'Abd-Allah sent for me, and with abun- 
 dance of encomiums and of promises, declared that he could 
 not think of letting Ri'ad lose so valuable a physician, that I 
 must accordingly take up a permanent abode in the capital, 
 where I might rely on his patronage, and on all good things ; 
 that he had already resolved on giving me a house and a garden, 
 specifying them, with a suitable household, and a fair face to 
 keep me company ; he concluded by inviting me to go with- 
 out delay and see whether the new abode fitted me, and take 
 possession. 
 
 Much and long did I fight off; talked about a winter visit to 
 the coast, and coming back in the spring; tried first one pretext 
 and then another ; but none would avail, and 'Abd-Allah con- 
 tinued to insist. To quiet him, I consented to go and see the 
 house. For the intended Calypso, I had ready an argument 
 derived from Mahometan law,^^■hich put her out of the question, 
 but its explanation would require more space than these pages 
 can afford. Suffice that it was peremptory, and the "pro- 
 posal " came to a premature end. However, the offered house 
 and income remained behind. On these points 'Abd-Allah 
 hoped to meet with a less efficacious resistance, and indeed 
 I doubt if any legislation in the world can supply a valid 
 pretext for declining a good salar}^ So he told one of his 
 attendants to show me over the premises, and I for my part 
 promised him a categoric answer next morning. 
 
 The house was really good, well situated, with a small garden 
 adjoining, nor could any reasonable demur be made on its 
 score. A real vagrant Arab physician would, in vulgar i)hrase, 
 have snapped at the offer. But in the question was really " to 
 be or not to be," and difficulties when they cannot be turned, 
 must be faced. 
 
 On our ensuing meeting I told 'Abd-Allah that we were fully 
 sensible of the honour done us, but that we had previously 
 made all our engagements for going on to Hasa, that we could 
 no longer break them, that a return to Ri'ad in the following 
 sj>ring might suffice, and that since 'Abd-Allah himself was to 
 head in person the expedition against 'Oneyzah, we might well 
 await his return before taking up our settled residence in 
 the capital, where difficulties might possibly occur during his 
 absence; in short, that we could not pass the winter in Nejed,
 
 Chap. X] Couvt Litvigiics of Ri ad 32/ 
 
 but that we hoped for a second and a longer visit next year. 
 However palHated, the refusal could not but be disagreeable; 
 'Abd-AUah admitted it with evident reluctance and concealed 
 mistrust. 
 
 The winter season was now setting in ; it was the third week 
 in November; and a thunder-storm, the first we had witnessed 
 in Central Arabia, ushered in a marked change for cold in the 
 temperature of Wadi Haneefah. Rain fell abundantly, and 
 sent torrents down the dry watercourses of the valley, changing 
 its large hollows into temporary tanks. None of the streams 
 showed, however, any disposition to reach the sea, nor indeed 
 could they, for this part of Nejed is entirely hemmed in to the 
 east by the Toweyk range. The inhabitants welcomed the 
 copious showers, pledges of fertility for the coming year, while 
 at 'Oneyzah the same rains produced at least one excellent 
 effect, but which I may well defy my readers to guess. The 
 hostile armies, commanded by Zamil and Mohammed-ebn- 
 Sa'ood, were drawn up in face of each other, and on the point 
 of fierce conflict, when the storm burst on them, and by putting 
 out the lighted matchlocks of either party, prevented the dis- 
 charge of bullets and the effusion of blood. 
 
 The affairs of the Na'ib were nearly terminated, and Aboo- 
 'Eysa had received his patents. We now prepared to start east- 
 wards, but the day of our departure from Nejed was yet to fix, 
 when a sudden explosion of royal ill-will put an end to our inde- 
 cision, and necessitated more promptitude than we had hitherto 
 intended for our movements. 
 
 In one of my medical cases, the nature of the malady had 
 led me to try that powerful though dangerous therapeutic agent 
 strychnia ; and its employment had been followed by prompt 
 and unequivocal amelioration. Not that the amendment was, 
 I should think, of a permanent character, but of this point the 
 Nejdeans, who saw no farther than the present effect, were and 
 could be no judges, while the high rank of the patient himself, 
 an old town chief, drew special attention to the fact. Everybody 
 talked about it, and the news reached the palace. 
 
 'Abd-Allah had just paid his compulsory visit to Sa'ood, and 
 the mutual rivalry of the brothers, now the more exasperated 
 by vicinity, was very thinly concealed, or rather not concealed, 
 under the formalities of social politeness. Intrigues, treasons.
 
 3 28 Court Litrigitcs of Riad [Chap. x 
 
 violence itself, were hatching beneath the palace walls, and assas- 
 sination, whether by the dagger or the bowl, I had better said 
 the coffee-cup, would have been quite in keeping, nor likely to 
 cause the smallest surprise to any one. Mahboob, too, always 
 odious to 'Abd-Allah, was at this moment more so than ever, 
 and the minister himself could not fail to foresee his own per- 
 sonal peril when time should place undivided and autocratic 
 power in the hands of one whom he had so often browbeaten 
 and kept in abeyance. Hence he sided with Sa'ood, and by so 
 doing heated the furnace of 'Abd-Allah's evil passions one seven 
 times more than it was wont to be heated. The nobles of the 
 town, the very strangers, all sided with the one or the other of 
 the half-brothers, and though Feysul's life, like the silken thread 
 round the monsters in Triermain's " Hall of Fear," yet held the 
 tigers back, it might not suffice to restrain some sudden and 
 especially some secret spring. 
 
 Now 'Abd-Allah in the course of his amateur lectures had 
 learnt enough to know the poisonous qualities of various drugs, 
 and of strychnine in particular; and though probably unac- 
 quainted with the exploits of European criminals, was fully 
 capable of giving them a rival in the East. The cure, or at least 
 the relief, just alluded to, had occurred about the i6th of No- 
 vember, exactly at the time when I had given him to understand 
 our definite refusal of his offers, and when he was in conse- 
 quence somewhat uncertain what course next to follow. A day 
 or two after he sent for me, expressed his regret at our resolution 
 to quit the capital, and begged that we would at least leave 
 behind us in his keeping some useful medicines for the public 
 benefit, and above all that we would entrust him with that 
 poweiful drug whose sanitary effects were now the subject of 
 general admiration. 
 
 All that I could say about the uselessness, nay, the great 
 danger, of pharmacy in unlearned hands, was rejected as a mere 
 and insufficient pretext. At last, after much urging, the prince 
 ended by saying that for the other ingredients I might omit 
 them if I chose, but that the strjxhnine he must have, and that 
 though at the highest price I might fancy to name. 
 
 His real object was perfectly clear, nor could I dream of 
 lending a hand, however indirect, to his diabolical designs, nor 
 did I see any way open before me but that of a firm though
 
 Chap. X] Coiivt lutvigucs of RV ad 329 
 
 polite denial. In pursuance, I affected not to suspect his pro- 
 jects, and insisted on the dangerous character of the alkaloid, 
 till he gave up the charge for the moment, and I left the 
 palace. 
 
 Next day he renewed his demands, but to no purpose. A 
 third meeting took place ; it was the 19th or 20th of the month. 
 Beckoning me to his side, he insisted in the most absolute 
 manner on having the poison in his possession, and at last, 
 laying aside all pretences, made clear the reasons, though not 
 the person for whom he desired it, and declared that he would 
 admit of no excuse, conscientious or otherwise. 
 
 He was at the moment sitting in the further end of the 
 K'hawah, and I was close by him ; while between us and the 
 attendants there present, enough space remained to prevent 
 their catching our conversation, if held in an undertone. I 
 looked round to assure myself that we could not be overheard, 
 and when a flat denial on my part had been met by an equally 
 flat rejection and a fresh demand, I turned right towards him, 
 lifted up the edge of his head-dress, and said in his ear, " 'Abd- 
 Allah, I know well what you want the poison for, and I have no 
 mind to be an accomplice in your crimes. You shall never 
 have it." 
 
 His face became literally black and swelled with rage ; I never 
 saw so perfect a demon before or after. A moment he hesitated 
 in silence, then mastered himself, and suddenly changing voice 
 and tone began to talk gaily about indifferent subjects. After a 
 few minutes he rose, and I returned home. 
 
 There Aboo-'Eysa, Barakat, and myself immediately held 
 council to consider what was now to be done. That an out- 
 break must shortly take place seemed certain ; to await it was 
 dangerous, yet we could not safely leave the town in an over- 
 precipitate manner, nor without some kind of permission. We 
 resolved together to go on in quiet and caution a {^.w days more, 
 to sound the court, make our adieus at Feysul's palace, get a 
 good word from Mahboob (no difficult matter), and then slip off 
 without attracting too much notice. But our destiny was not 
 to run so smoothly. 
 
 On the evening of the 21st we were sitting up late, talking 
 over the needful preparations of the journey, and drinking coffee 
 with a few good-natured townsmen, who had no objection to a
 
 330 Court Intrigues of Ri ad [Chap.x 
 
 contraband smoke ; a practice for which our dwelHng had long 
 since become famous or infamous, when a rap at the door 
 announced 'Abd-Allali — not the prince, but his namesake and 
 confidential retainer. " What brings you here at this hour of 
 the night?" said we, not overpleased at the honour of his 
 visit. 
 
 " The king " (for such is in common Ri'ad parlance the title 
 given to the heir-apparent) "sends for you; come with me at 
 once," was his short and sharp answer. " Shall Barakat come 
 with me % " .said I, looking towards my companion. " The king 
 wants you alone," replied the messenger. " Shall I bring one 
 of my books along with me?" "There is no need." "Wait 
 a few minutes while we get a cup of coffee ready for you." 
 
 This last offer could not in common decency be refused. 
 While the ceremony was in performance, I found time to ex- 
 change a few words with Aboo-'Eysa and Barakat. They agreed 
 to dismiss the guests, and to remain on the alert for the result 
 of this nocturnal embassy, easily foreseen to be a threatening 
 one, perhaps dangerous. Yet the fact of my companion's not 
 being also sent for, seemed to me a guarantee against immediate 
 peril. 
 
 The royal messenger and myself then left the house, and pro- 
 ceeded in silence and darkness through the winding streets to 
 the palace of 'Abd- Allah. Arrived there, a short parley ensued 
 between my conductor and the guards, who then resumed their 
 post, while the former passed on to give the prince notice, 
 leaving me to cool myself for a minute or two in the night air 
 of the courtyard. A negro then came out, and beckoned me 
 to enter. 
 
 The room was dark, there was no other light than that afforded 
 by the flickering gleams of the firewood burning on the hearth. 
 At the further end sat 'Abd- Allah, silent and gloomy; opposite 
 to him on the other side was 'Abd-el-Lateef, the successor of 
 the Wahhabee, and a few others, Zelators, or belonging to their 
 party. Mahboob was seated by 'Abd-el-Lateef, and his pre- 
 sence was the only favourable circumstance discernible at a first 
 glance. But he too looked unusually serious. At the other 
 end of the long hall were a dozen armed attendants, Nejdeans 
 or negroes. 
 
 When I entered, all remained without movement or return
 
 Chap. X] Cojivt I iitrigucs of RV ad 331 
 
 of greeting. I saluted 'Abd-Allah, who rejjlied in an undertone, 
 and gave me a signal to sit down at a little distance from him 
 but on the same side of the divan. My readers may suppose 
 that I was not at the moment ambitious of too intimate a 
 vicinity. 
 
 After an inten^al of silence, 'Abd-Allah turned half round 
 towards me, and with his blackest look and a deep voice said, 
 " I now know perfectly well what you are ; you are no doctors, 
 you are Christians, spies, and revolutionists (' mufsideen') come 
 hither to ruin our religion and state in behalf of those who sent 
 you. The penalty for such as you is death, that you know, and 
 I am determined to inflict it without delay." 
 
 " Threatened folks live long," thought I, and had no difficulty 
 in showing the calm which I really felt. So looking him coolly 
 in the face, I replied, "Istaghfir Allah," Hterally, "Ask pardon 
 of God." This is the phrase commonly addressed to one who 
 has said something extremely out of place. 
 
 The answer was unexpected ; he started, and said, " Why so ? " 
 
 " Because," I rejoined, " you have just now uttered a sheer 
 absurdity. ' Christians,' be it so; but 'spies,' 'revolutionists,' — 
 as if we were not known by everybody in your town for quiet 
 doctors, neither more nor less ! And then to talk about putting 
 me to death ! You cannot, and you dare not." 
 
 "But I can and dare," answered 'Abd-Allah, "and who shall 
 prevent me % you shall soon learn that to your cost." 
 
 " Neither can nor dare," repeated I. " We are here your 
 father's guests and yours for a month and more, known as such, 
 received as such. What have we done to justify a breach of the 
 laws of hospitality in Nejedl It is impossible for you to do 
 what you say," continued I, thinking the while that it was a 
 great deal too possible after all; "the obloquy of the deed 
 would be too much for you." 
 
 He remained a moment thoughtful, then said, "As if any one 
 need know who did it. I have the means, and can dispose of 
 you without talk or rumour. Those who are at my bidding can 
 take a suitable time and place for that, without my name being 
 ever mentioned in the affair." 
 
 The advantage was now evidently on my side ; I followed it 
 up, and said with a quiet laugh, " Neither is that within your 
 power. Am I not known to your father, to all in his palace ? to
 
 332 Court Intrigues of RV ad [Chap. x 
 
 your own brother Sa'ood among the rest? Is not the fact of 
 this my actual visit to you known without your gates % Or is 
 there no one here ]" added I, with a glance at Mahboob, "who 
 can report elsewhere what you have just now said ? Better for 
 you to leave off this nonsense ; do you take me for a child of 
 four days old ? " 
 
 He muttered a repetition of his threat. " Bear witness, all 
 here present," said I, raising my voice so as to be heard from 
 one end of the room to the other, " that if any mishap befalls 
 my companion or myself from Ri'ad to the shores of the Persian 
 Gulf, it is all 'Abd-Allah's doing. And the consequences shall 
 be on his head, worse consequences than he expects or dreams." 
 
 The prince made nD reply. All were silent; Mahboob kept 
 his eyes steadily fixed on the fireplace ; 'Abd-el-Lateef looked 
 much and said nothing. 
 
 •' Bring coffee," called out 'Abd-AUah to the servants. Be- 
 fore a minute had elapsed, a black slave approached with one 
 and only one coffee-cup in his hand. At a second sign from 
 his master he came before me and presented it. 
 
 Of course the worst might be conjectured of so unusual and 
 solitary a draught. l]ut I thought it highly improbable that 
 matters should have been so accurately prepared ; besides, his 
 main cause of anger was precisely the refusal of poisons, a fact 
 which implied that he had none by him ready for use. So I 
 said, " Bismillah," took the cup, looked very hard at 'Abd- 
 Allah, drank it off", and then said to the slave, *' Pour me out a 
 second." This he did ; I swallowed it, and said, " Now you may 
 take the cup away." 
 
 The desired effect was fully attained. 'Abd-Allah's face 
 announced defeat, while the rest of the assembly whispered 
 together. The prince turned to 'Abd-el-Lateef and began 
 talking about the dangers to which the land was exposed from 
 spies, and the wicked designs of infidels for ruining the king- 
 dom of the Muslims. The Kadee and his companions chimed 
 in, and the story of a pseudo-1 )ar\veesh traveller killed at Derey- 
 'eeyah, and of another (but who he was I cannot fancy; i)erhaps 
 a Persian, who had, said 'Abd-AIIah, been also recognized for 
 an intriguer, but had escaped to Mascat, and thus baffled the 
 penalty due to his crimes), were now brought forward and 
 commented on. Mahboob now at last spoke, but it was to
 
 Chap. X] Court Iiitrigiics of Ri ttd 333 
 
 ridicule such apprehensions. "The thing is in itself unhkely," 
 said he, "and were it so, what harm could tlrey do V alluding 
 to my companion and myself. 
 
 On this I took up the word, and a general conversation 
 ensued, in which I did my best to explode the idea of spies and 
 spymanship, appealed to our own quiet and inoffensive conduct, 
 got into a virtuous indignation against such a requital of evil 
 for good after all the services which we had rendered court and 
 town, and quoted verses of the Coran regarding the wickedness 
 of ungrounded suspicion, and the obligation of not judging ill 
 without clear evidence. 'Abd-Allah made no direct answer, 
 and the others, whatever they may have thought, could not 
 support a charge abandoned by their master. 
 
 What amused me not a little was that the Wahhabee prince 
 had after all very nearly hit the right nail on the head, and 
 that I was snubbing him only for having guessed too well. 
 But there was no help for it, and I had the pleasure of seeing, 
 that though at heart unchanged in his opinion about us, he 
 was yet sufficiently cowed to render a respite certain, and our 
 escape thereby practicable. 
 
 This kind of talk continued awhile, and I purposely kept my 
 seat, to show the unconcern of innocence, till Mahboob made 
 me a sign that I might safely retire. On this I took leave of 
 'Abd-Allah and quitted the palace unaccompanied. It was 
 now near midnight, not a light to be seen in the houses, not 
 a sound to be heard in the streets, the sky too was dark and 
 overcast, till, for the first time, a feeling of lonely dread came 
 over me, and I confess that more than once I turned my head 
 to look and see if no one was following with " evil," as Arabs 
 say, in his hand. But there was none, and I reached the quiet 
 alley and low door where a gleam through the chinks announced 
 the anxious watch of my companions, who now opened the 
 entrance, overjoyed at seeing me back sound and safe from so 
 critical a parley. 
 
 Our plan for the future was soon formed. A day or two we 
 were yet to remain in Ri'ad, lest haste should seem to imply 
 fear, and thereby encourage pursuit. But during that period 
 we would avoid the palace, out- walks in gardens or after night- 
 fall, and keep at home as much as possible. Meanwhile 
 Aboo-'Eysa was to get his dromedaries ready, and put them in
 
 334 Court hitrigiics of Riad [Chap. x 
 
 a courtyard immediately adjoining the house, to be laden at a 
 moment's notice. 
 
 A band of travellers was to leave Ri'ad for Hasa a few days 
 later. Aboo-'Eysa gave out publicly that he would accompany 
 them to Hofhoof, while we were supposed to intend following 
 the northern or Sedeyr track, by which the Na'ib, after many 
 reciprocal farewells and assurances of lasting friendship, should 
 we ever meet again, had lately departed. Mobeyreek, a black 
 ser\'ant in Aboo-'Eysa's pay, occupied himself diligently in 
 feeding up the camels for their long march with clover and 
 vetches, both abundant here; and we continued our medical 
 avocations, but quietly, and without much leaving the house. 
 At the palace all were busy about the departure of the IJareek 
 contingent, which now set out on its 'Oneyzah way by Shakra', 
 but marched, contrary to expectation, without 'Abd-Allah, that 
 prince reserving himself for the arrival of the artillery, which 
 was daily expected from Hasa, under the charge of Mohammed 
 es-Sedeyree. Amid all this movement and bustle no particular 
 enquiry was made after us ; the tempest had been followed by a 
 lull, and it was ours to take advantage of this interval before a 
 new and a worse outburst. 
 
 During the afternoon of the 24th we brought three of Aboo- 
 'Eysas camels into our courtyard, shut the outer door, packed 
 and laded. We then awaited the moment of evening prayer ; 
 it came, and the voice of the Mu'eddineen summoned all good 
 Wahhabees, the men of the town-guard not excepted, to the 
 different mosques. When about ten minutes had gone by, and 
 all might be supposed at their prayers, we opened our door. 
 Mobeyreek gave a glance up and down the street to ascertain 
 that no one was in sight, and we led out the camels. Aboo-'Eysa 
 accompanied us. Avoiding the larger thoroughfares, we took 
 our way by bye-lanes and side passages towards a small town- 
 gate, the nearest to our house, and opening on the north. A 
 late comer fell in with us on his way to the Mesjid, and as he 
 passed summoned us also to the public service. But Aboo-'Eysa 
 unhesitatingly replied, " We have this moment come from 
 ]jrayers,'' and our interlocutor, fearing to be himself too late 
 and thus to fall under reprehension and punishment, rushed off 
 to the nearest oratory, leaving the road clear. Nobody was in 
 watch at the gate. We crossed its threshold, turned south-east,
 
 Chap. X] Couvt 1 Jitvigucs of RV ad 335 
 
 and under the rapid twilight reached a range of small hillocks, 
 behind which we sheltered ourselves till the stars came out, 
 and the *' wing of night," to quote Arab poets, spread black over 
 town and country. 
 
 We drew a long breath, like men just let out of a dungeon, 
 and thanked heaven that this much was over. Then, after the 
 first hour of night had gone over, and chance passers-by had 
 ceased, and left us free from cliallenge and answer, we lighted 
 our camp-fire, drank a most refreshing cup of coffee, set our 
 pipes to work, and laughed in our turn at 'Abd-Allah and 
 Feysul. 
 
 So far so good. But further difficulties remained before us. It 
 was now more than ever absolutely essential to get clear of Nejed 
 unobserved, to put the desert between us and the Wahhabee 
 court and capital ; and no less necessary was it that Aboo-'Eysa, 
 so closely connected as he was with Ri'ad and its government, 
 should seem nohow implicated in our unceremonious departure, 
 nor any way concerned with our onward movements. In a 
 word, an apparent separation of paths between him and us was 
 necessary, before we could again come together and complete 
 the remainder of our explorations. 
 
 In order to manage this, and while ensuring our own safety 
 to throw a little dust in Wahhabee eyes, it was agreed that 
 before next morning's sunrise Aboo-'Eysa should return to the 
 town, and to his dwelling, as though nothing had occurred, and 
 should there await the departure of the great merchant caravan, 
 mentioned previously, and composed mainly of men from 
 Hasa and Kateef, now bound for Hofhoof under the guidance 
 of Aboo-Dahir-el-Ghannam. This assemblage was expected to 
 start within three days at latest. Meanwhile our friend should 
 take care to show himself openly in the palaces of Feysul and 
 'Abd-Allah, and if asked about us should answer vaguely, with 
 the off-hand air of one who had no further' care regarding us. 
 We ourselves should in the interim make the best of our way, 
 with Mobeyreek for guide, to Wadi Soley', and there remain 
 concealed in a given spot, till Aboo-'Eysa should come and pick 
 us up. 
 
 All this was arranged; at break of dawn Aboo-'Eysa took his 
 leave, and Barakat, Mobeyreek, and myself, were once more 
 high perched on our dromedaries, their heads turned to the
 
 336 Court Inirigncs of Ri'ad [Chap. x 
 
 south-east, keeping the hillock range between us and Ri'ad, 
 which we saw no more. Our path led us over low undulating 
 ground, a continuation of Wadi Haneefeh, till after about four 
 hours' march we were before the gates of Manfoohah, a con- 
 siderable town, surrounded by gardens nothing inferior in ex- 
 tent and fertility to those of Ri'ad ; but its fortifications, once 
 strong, have long since been dismantled and broken down by 
 the jealousy of the neighbouring capital. In point of climate 
 this town is preferable to Ri'ad, because situated on higher 
 ground, and above the damp mists which often gather in the 
 depths of the Wadi; but in a military view it is inferior to the 
 capital, because in a more exposed and less easily guarded 
 l)Osition. Passing Manfoohah without entering it, our road 
 dipped down again, and we found ourselves in Wadi Soley', a 
 long valley, originating in the desert between Hareek and 
 Yemamah, and running far to the north. 
 
 After winding here and there, we reached the spot assigned 
 by Aboo-'Eysa for our hiding-place. It was a small sandy 
 depth, lying some way off the beaten track, amid hillocks and 
 brushwood, and without water: of this latter article we had 
 taken enough in the goat-skins to last us for three days. Here 
 we halted, and made up our minds to patience and expectation. 
 
 Two days passed drearily enough. We could not but long 
 for our guide's arrival, nor be wholly without fear on more than 
 one score. Once or twice a stray peasant stumbled on us, and 
 was much surprised at our encampment in so droughty a 
 locality. Sometimes leaving our dromedaries crouching down, 
 and concealed among the shrubs, we wandered up the valley, 
 climbed the high chalky cliffs of Toweyk, to gain a distant 
 glimpse of the blue sierra of Hareek in the far south, and the 
 white ranges of Toweyk north and east. Or we dodged the 
 numerous nor over-shy herds of gazelles, not for any desire of 
 catching them, but simply to pass the time, and distract the 
 mind weary of conjecture. So the hours went by, till the third 
 day brought closer expectation and anxiety, still increasing 
 while the sun declined, and at last went down; yet nobody 
 appeared. But just as darkness closed in, and we were sitting 
 in a dispirited group beside our little fire, for the night air blew 
 chill, Aboo-'Eysa came suddenly up, and all was changed for 
 question and answer, for cheerfulness and laughter.
 
 Chap, x] Joumcy to HofJioof 33/ 
 
 He now related, amid many jokes and congratulations, how 
 on the very day he had left us, he had called on 'Abd-AUah, and 
 to his question, " What is become of those two Christians % " 
 had answered by a gratuitous supposition of our being some- 
 where on the road to Zobeyr; how Mahboob had also enquired 
 after us, and met with a similar answer; how comments had 
 been passed on us, some favourable, others unfavourable ; what 
 wild suppositions had circulated concerning our origin and our 
 puiposes ; how some had opined us to be envoys from Constan- 
 tinople, and some from Egypt (good luck that no one hit on 
 Europe), with much of like tenor, now matter of mirth. Dahir- 
 el-Ghannam was halting a little farther on with his band ; we 
 were to join them next morning. 
 
 Early on November 28th we resumed our march through a 
 light valley-mist, and soon fell in with our companions of the 
 road. They were numerous, but I spare my reader a minute 
 description, since they presented nothing very different from 
 what we have already met. 
 
 The first day led us out of Wadi Soley'. We traversed the 
 outskirting plantations of Salemee'yah, a large fortified village. 
 Here is the ordinary abode of Sa'ood, our former friend, and 
 second son of Feysul, when not absent, which is often the case, 
 in Hootah and the Hareek. The country around is the most 
 fertile of the Yemamah, and the paradise of Nejed ; but the 
 vegetation, trees, or plants, differ little from that of Wadi Ha- 
 neefah, except in greater continuity of extent and depth of 
 green. Cotton alone by its frequency forms an exception to 
 the uniformity of palm-groves, maize, and millet, more than 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Much to my regret, our caravan passed on without halting, 
 and soon after, turning a little to the north, we entered a long 
 gorge cleft in the limestone wall of Toweyk, and mounted for 
 about three hundred feet till we came on a high broad steppe, 
 where a scanty pasturage, just enough to brown the chalky soil 
 here and there, maintained a few herds of sheep-like goats, or 
 goat-like sheep; while the dreary ascents and descents reminded 
 me of scenes in Scotland, save that fir and pine were here 
 wanting. ^Ve were long in traversing this waste, until towards 
 evening we came on a patch of greener soil, and a cluster of 
 
 z
 
 338 Journey to H of hoof [Chap. x 
 
 wells, the Lakey'yat by name, and here we encamped for a 
 very cold night. 
 
 Next morning the whole country, hill and dale, trees and 
 1)ushes, was wrapped in a thick blanket of mist, fitter for Surrey 
 than for Arabia. So dense was the milky fog, that we fairly 
 lost our way, and went on at random, shouting and hallooing, 
 driving our beasts now here, now there, over broken ground 
 and amid tangling shrubs, till the sun gained strength, and the 
 vapour cleared off, showing us the path at some distance on 
 our right. Before we had followed it far, we saw a black mass 
 advancing from the east to meet us. It was the first division 
 of the Hasa troops on their way to Ri'ad ; they were not less 
 than four or five hundred in number. Like true Arabs, they 
 marched with a noble contempt of order and discipline — walk- 
 ing, galloping, ambling, singing, shouting, alone or in bands, as 
 fancy led. AVe interchanged a iQ.\s words of gi-eeting with these 
 brisk boys, who avowed, without hesitation or shame, that 
 they should much have preferred to stay at home, and that en- 
 forced necessity, not any military or religious ardour, was taking 
 them to the field. We laughed, and wished them Zamil's 
 head, or him theirs, whereon they laughed also, shouted, and 
 passed on. 
 
 Whilst hereabouts, we caught a magnificent southward view of 
 the Hareek, to which we were now opposite, though separated 
 from it by a streak of desert. Its hills lie east and Avest in a 
 ragged and isolated chain, which was apparently sixty miles or 
 more in length. Thus girdled by the desert, Hareek must 
 needs be a very hot district ; indeed, its name (literally, " burn- 
 ing") implies no less, and the dusky tint of its inhabitants con- 
 firms lie fact. We could not at such a distance distinguish any 
 towns or castles in particular ; only the situation of the capital, 
 Hootah, was pointed out to us by the knowing ones of our 
 band. It was curious also to see how suddenly, almost ab- 
 ruptly, Djebel Toweyk ended in the desert, going down in a 
 rapid series of precipitous steps, the last of which plunges sheer 
 into the waste of sand. Toweyk is here mainly limestone, but 
 in some .spots iron-ore is to be found., in some copper ; Aboo- 
 I-vsa pointed out to us a hill, the api)earance of which pro- 
 mised the latter metal, with the remark that Europeans, were 
 the^' here, wrjuld make good use of it.
 
 Chap. X] Journcy to HofJioof 339 
 
 On we went, but through a country of much more varied 
 scenery than what we had traversed the day before, enjoying 
 the " pleasure situate in hill and dale," till we arrived at the foot 
 of a high white cliff, almost like that of Dover ; but these crags, 
 instead of having the sea at their foot, overlooked a wide valley 
 full of trees, and bearing traces of many violent winter torrents 
 from east to west; none w-ere now flowing. Here we halted 
 and passed an indifferent night, much annoyed by " chill No- 
 vember's surly blast," hardly less ungenial here than on the 
 banks of Ayr, though sweeping over a latitude of 25°, not 56°. 
 
 Before the starlight had faded from the cold morning sky, 
 we were up and in movement, for a long march was before us. 
 After a little parleying, so to speak, with the mountain, we 
 climbed it by a steep winding path, hard of ascent to the 
 camels, of whom Arabs report that when asked which they like 
 best, going up hill or going down, they answer, "A curse light 
 on them both." At sunrise we stood on the last and here 
 the highest ledge of Toweyk, that long chalky wall which 
 bounds and backs up Nejed on the east; beyond is the desert, 
 and then the coast. The view now opened to us was very ex- 
 tensive, and the keen air made all the more sensible our eleva- 
 tion above the far-off plains, that hence showed like a faintly- 
 ribbed sea-surface to the west. Neither man nor beast, tree 
 nor shrub, appeared around ; marl and pebbles formed the 
 plateau, all dry and dreary under a cold wind and a hot sun. 
 
 After about three hours of level route we began to descend, 
 not rapidly, but by degrees, and at noon we reached a singular 
 depression, a huge natural basin, hollowed out in the limestone 
 rock, with tracks resembling deep trenches leading to it from 
 every side. At the bottom of this crater-like valley were a dozen 
 or more wells, so abundant in their supply that they not unfre- 
 quently overflow the whole space and form a small lake; the 
 water is clear and good, but no other is to be met with on 
 the entire line hence to Hasa. At these wells (whose geogra- 
 phical position has earned them the name of Oweysii. the 
 diminutive of Owset, or centre) meet several converging roads ; 
 the last being the eastward path, leading to Ha.«a and Hofhoof, 
 bv which we were now to travel. All the flocks and herds of 
 the adjoining mountain region resort hither to drink. 
 
 We now rested awhile, prepared a cup of coftee, filled our
 
 340 Journey to Hofhoof [Chap. x 
 
 water-skins almost to bursting, and then with the briskness of 
 men who have made up their minds to a hard pull, remounted 
 our dromedaries and emerged from the crater by its eastern 
 outlet. For the rest of the day we continued steadily to descend 
 the broad even slope, whose extreme barrenness and inanimate 
 monotony reminded me of the pebbly uplands near Ma'an on 
 the opposite side of the Peninsula, traversed by us exactly seven 
 months before. The sun set, night came on, and many of the 
 travellers would gladly have halted, but Aboo-'Eysa insisted on 
 continuing the march. We were now many hundred feet lower 
 than the crest behind us, and the air felt warm and heavy, when 
 we noticed that the ground, hitherto hard beneath our feet, was 
 changing step by step into a light sand that seemed to encroach 
 on the rocky soil. It was at first a shallow ripple, then deep- 
 ened, and before long presented the well-known ridges and un- 
 dulations characteristic of the land ocean when several fathoms 
 in depth. Our beasts ploughed laboriously on through the 
 yielding surface ; the night was dark, but starry ; and we could 
 just discern amid the shade a white glimmer of spectral sand- 
 hills rising around us on every side, but no track or indication 
 of a route. 
 
 It was the great Dahna, or "Red Desert," the bugbear of even 
 the wandering Bedouin, and never traversed by ordinary way- 
 farers without an apprehension which has too often been justi- 
 fied by fatal incidents. So light are the sands, so capricious the 
 breezes that shape and reshape them daily into unstable hills 
 and valleys, that no traces of preceding travellers remain to those 
 who follow ; while intense heat and glaring light reflected on 
 all sides combine with drought and weariness to confuse and 
 bewilder the adventurer, till he loses his compass and wanders 
 up and down at random amid a waste solitude which soon 
 becomes his grave. Many have thus perished ; even whole 
 caravans have been known to disappear in the Dahna without 
 a vestige ; till the wild Arab tales of demons carrying off wan- 
 derers, or ghouls devouring them, obtain a half credit among 
 many accustomed elsewhere to laugh at such fictions. However, 
 will they, nill they, merchants, travellers, messengers, armies — 
 in a word, all who pass to and fro between the populous Hasa 
 and the imperial Nejed — must cross this desert, and that by one 
 especial line, for in all other directions the Dahna is, with
 
 Chai x] Journey to Ho/hoof 341 
 
 hardly any exception, impracticable. On either side, indcti!, 
 of this sand-river, the roads are clearly indicated nor liable to 
 mistake ; the whole difficulty consists in the intermediate space. 
 To lessen its risks, Aboo-'Eysa, with a degree of public spirit 
 very rare in the East, had two years before laden several camels 
 with a prodigious quantity of large stones, which he had thus 
 conveyed midway across the sands, and there piled them up in 
 what Arabs call a " Rejm," namely, a stone-heap, or rough 
 pyramid, between twenty-five and thirty feet high, forming a most 
 desirable landmark in the pathless desert. The changes effected 
 in the sand by winds and tempests are seldom enough to over- 
 whelm so large a pile ; and should it even be covered up for a 
 day or two, a second gale soon blows the light mantle off again 
 from the stony nucleus. Many a blessing had been bestowed 
 on Aboo-'Eysa for his Rejm, and much aid had been thereby 
 afforded to travellers. Better still, Aboo-Dahir-el-Ghannam, the 
 same in whose company we now were, and whose business often 
 obliged him to cross this dreary space, had been seized by an 
 honourable emulation, and had constructed a second stone- 
 heap farther on, known by the name of Rejmat-el-Ghannam, 
 as the former by that of Rejmat Abee-'Eysa. But, in spite of 
 these rude direction-posts, the way of the Dahna continues 
 always a hazardous one, and our own caravan was not far from 
 adding another page to the long chapter of accidents. 
 
 For, after about three hours of night travelling, or ratlier 
 wading, among the sand-waves, till men and beasts alike were 
 ready to sink for weariness, a sharp altercation arose between 
 Aboo-'Eysa and El-Ghannam, each proposing a different direc- 
 tion of march. We all halted a moment, and raised our eyes 
 heavy with drowsiness and fatigue, as if to see which of the 
 contending parties was in the right. It will be long before I 
 forget the impression of that moment. Above us was the deep 
 black sky, spangled with huge stars of a brilliancy denied to all 
 but an Arab gaze, while what is elsewhere a ray of the third 
 magnitude becomes here of the first amid the pure vacuum of 
 a mistless, vapourless air; around us loomed high ridges, shut- 
 ting us in before and behind with their white ghost-like outlines; 
 below our feet the lifeless sand, and everywhere a silence that 
 seemed to belong to some strange and dreamy world where 
 man might not venture. Aboo-'Eysa stretched his arm to point
 
 342 yonrncy to Ho/hoof [Cmap. x 
 
 out one way, El-Ghannam another, and either direction appeared 
 equally devoid of pass or outlet. After awhile, however, Aboo- 
 'Eysa cut the matter short by raising his voice, shouting to all 
 to follow him, and, spite of the resistance which Ghannam per- 
 sisted in making, led us all off at a sharp angle on the left, till 
 at last we floundered down into a sort of valley where a few- 
 bushes diversified the sand, and dismounted for a few hours of 
 repose; warmer at any rate than that of the preceding night. 
 
 Next morning we resumed our course, but now under the 
 sole guidance of Aboo-'Eysa, to whom our band, confiding in 
 his superior conversance with this wild region, had unanimously 
 agreed to entrust themselves till we should reach the opposite 
 bank. How our leader contrived to direct his steps would be 
 hard to tell ; the faculty of keeping one's nose in the right 
 direction when neither eyes nor ears can afford any assistance, 
 is, I suppose, one of the many latent powers of human nature, 
 only to be brought out by circumstance and long exercise. 
 When not far from the midmost of the Dahna, we fell in with 
 a few Bedouins, belonging to the AalMorrah clan, sole tenants 
 of this desert ; they were leading their goats to little spots of 
 scattered herbage and shrubs which here and there fix a pre- 
 carious existence in the hollows of the sands. The flocks 
 themselves can, by special privilege of endurance, pass four or 
 five days at a time without watering ; and when at last even 
 they must drink, their shepherds conduct them to the Oweysit 
 or some other brackish well on the verge of Toweyk, unknown 
 to ordinary mortals. More savage-looking beings than these 
 Aal-Morrah Bedouins I never saw; their hair was elf-locks, their 
 dress rags, their complexion grime, their look wildness per- 
 sonified. But in speech, that distinctive countersign of the 
 human animal, they proved themselves not only men, but men 
 of eloquence also. The Aal-Morrah are a very wjdely spread 
 tribe; a small portion of them only acknowledge the \\'ahhabee 
 influence by an occasional tribute and a mangled prayer; the 
 greater number pass for sheer infidels, and in general bearing 
 much resemble our old friends the Sherarat, as they figure in 
 tke first chapter of this work. Their duskiness verges almost 
 on blackness ; their weapons spears and knives, for the musket 
 has made little progress among them. Eloquence alone remains 
 to them of all the heritage of Kahtan; in other respects they
 
 Cmap. X] jonnu-y to Ilafhoof 343 
 
 are mere savages, but not barbarous; I found them even good- 
 natured, though impudent and predatory, like all their Bedouin 
 brethren. 
 
 Theirs is the great desert from Nejed to Hadramaut. Not 
 that they actually cover this immense space, a good fourth of 
 the Peninsula; but that they have the free and undisputed range 
 of the oases which it occasionally offers, where herbs, shrubs, 
 and dwarf-palms cluster round some well of scant and briny 
 water. These oases are sufficiently numerous to preserve a 
 stray Bedouin or two from perishing, though not enough so to 
 become landmarks for any regular route across the central 
 Dahna, from the main body of which runs out the long and 
 broad arm which we were now traversing. 
 
 From our Aal-Morrah friends Aboo-'Eysa now took indica- 
 tions for the way we Jiad to follow, and thus procured us five 
 minutes of standing still, but without alighting from our camels. 
 About an hour after, we came in sight of his Rejm, the work of 
 so much labour and cost. Reassured by its eloquent silence 
 that we were certainly on the right track, we hastened on, very 
 weary from the intense heat, yet unwilling to halt in this region 
 of danger. When the afternoon was somewhat advanced, we 
 saw coming up from the east, and not far on our left, what 
 seemed a troop of black ants ; it approached, and we discerned 
 in it the main army of Hasa, slowly dragging along with them 
 through the sands two heavy guns sent from Kateef for the 
 siege of 'Oneyzah. 
 
 After sunset we reached the second cairn, Rejmat-el-Ghan- 
 nam. Here the desert-scene began to change ; the sands were 
 henceforth mixed with gravel, and gave firmer footing to our 
 beasts. We alighted for supper; I might entitle it breakfast, 
 for we had taken nothing all day. Every one rejoiced at our 
 leaving the Dahna in our rear. But the success of Aboo-'P^ysa, 
 who had piloted the caravan better than their original leader, 
 aroused in the breast of El-Ghannam and his partisans the 
 feeling which " does merit as its shade pursue," and nowhere 
 more than in Arabia. Hence an open rupture now took place 
 between the rival chiefs, and as the rest of the way was easy 
 to find, Ghannam could all the better afford the quarrel Some 
 travellers sided with the one, some with the other; high words 
 were interclianged, and we seemed on the point of having a
 
 344 yourncy to Ho/hoof [Chm'. x 
 
 regular " Yowm " or " day," as Arabs term a fight. Whereon 
 Barakat and I interposed, by suggesting to Aboo-'Eysa that he 
 had best push on with us and whoever else might choose to 
 follow, and by arriving the first at Hofhoof complete his tri- 
 umph over El-Ghannam. Detto, fatto, and off we started with 
 two or three in our suite, leaving our mortified competitors to 
 their coffee and humiliation. 
 
 The ground, for it now deserved that name, being about equal 
 parts of pebble, marl, and sand, sloped down to the east, and 
 glistered to the far horizon in barren whiteness, interrupted 
 here and there by dark streaks of low and thorny thicket. 
 Sheltered by one of these clusters, we snatched a few hours of 
 brief rest, followed by another day of most monotonous plain, 
 in level and character just like that of the preceding evening. 
 A few travellers whom we met coming up from Djoon in Hasa, 
 and who took us for robbers and almost died of fear, so fierce 
 did we look, made the sole variety for fourteen hours of road. 
 Villages, shade, and wells, of course there were none; fortu- 
 nately the heat was much more supportable here than it had 
 been amid the sand. 
 
 Another night's bivouac, and then again over the white down- 
 sloping plain. At last a change ensued, abruptly chalky hills 
 and narrow gorges bounded our way, till at the bottom of a 
 hollow we came on a large solitary tree with more thorns than 
 leaves, and in hermit loneliness. " Here," said Aboo-'Eysa, 
 " Ibraheem Basha caused a well to be sunk for at least sixty feet 
 in depth, in hopes of finding water, but to no purpose." The 
 dry pit, now half filled up with stones and sand, remained a 
 witness of the attempt. Had it succeeded, the difficulty of the 
 communications between Nejed and the eastern coast would 
 have been much alleviated. 
 
 A litde farther on we entered the great valley, known by the 
 name of Wadi Farook, which, like all other leading geographical 
 features of this region, whether mountain or plain, runs from 
 north to south ; its general type resembles the Dahna, of which 
 it is in a manner a parallel offshoot. We descended into this 
 valley about noon, crossed it not altogether without anxiety, 
 and near sunset climbed the opposite bank, and began to thread 
 the coast-range of Ha.sa. These hills attain, after my very 
 rough observations, about fourteen hundred feet above the se:i-
 
 CriAr. X] Journey to Hofhoof ' 345 
 
 level, and about four hundred above the desert on the west, 
 which would thus be itself about a thousand feet higher than 
 the coast. Their sides are often eaten out into caverns, and 
 their whole look is fanciful and desolate in the extreme. 
 
 It was now three days and a half since our last supply of 
 water, and Aboo-'Eysa was anxious to reach the journey's end 
 without delay. Similar reasons had acted no less powerfully on 
 El-Ghannam and his companions, who by dint of forced marches 
 here overtook us ; we all made peace, and pushed on together 
 over hills that shone like gold in the rich mellow rays of the 
 setting sun. As darkness closed around we reached the further- 
 most heights. Hence we overlooked the plains of Hasa, but 
 could distinguish nothing through the deceptive rays of the 
 rising moon; we seemed to gaze into a vast milky ocean. 
 After an hour's halt for supper, we wandered on, now up, now 
 down, over pass and crag, till a long corkscrew descent down 
 the precipitous sea-side of the mountain for a thousand feet or 
 near it, placed us fairly upon the low level of Hasa, and within 
 the warm damp air of the sea-coast. 
 
 The ground glimmered white to the moon, and gave a firm 
 footing to our dromedaries, who by their renewed agility seemed 
 to partake in the joy of their riders, and to understand that rest 
 was near. We were, in fact, all so eager to find ourselves at 
 home and homestead, that although the town of Hofhoof, our 
 destined goal, was yet full fifteen miles to the north-east, we 
 pressed on for the capital. And there, in fact, we should have 
 all arrived in a body before day-dawn, had not a singular occur- 
 rence retarded by far the greater number of our companions. 
 
 Soon after, the crags in our rear had shut out, perhaps for 
 years, perhaps for ever, the desert and Central Arabia from our 
 view, while before and around us lay the indistinct undulations 
 and uncertain breaks of the great Hasa plain, when on a sloping 
 bank at a short distance in front we discerned certain large 
 black patches, in strong contrast with the white glister of the soil 
 around, and at the same time our attention was attracted by a 
 strange whizzing like that of a flight of hornets, close along the 
 ground, while our dromedaries capered and started as though 
 struck with sudden insanity. The cause of all this was a vast 
 swarm of locusts, here alighted in their northerly wanderings 
 from their birthplace in the Dahna; their camp extended far
 
 34^5 yonnwv to Flo/hoof [Chap. x 
 
 ;ind wide, and we had alread)- disturbed their outposts. These 
 insects are wont to settle on the ground after sunset, and there, 
 half stupefied by the night chill, to await the morning rays, 
 which warm them once more into life and movement. This 
 time our dromedaries did the work of the sun, and it would be 
 hard to say which of the two were the most frightened, they or 
 the locusts. It was truly laughable to see so huge a beast lose 
 his wits for fear at the flight of a harmless, stingless insect; of 
 all timid creatures none equal the "ship of the desert" for 
 cowardice. 
 
 But if the beasts were frightened, not so their masters; I 
 really thought they would have gone mad for joy. Locusts are 
 here an article of food, nay, a dainty, and a good swarm of them 
 is begged of Heaven in Arabia no less fervently than it would 
 be deprecated in India or in Syria. This difference of sentiment 
 is grounded on several reasons ; a main one lies in the diversity 
 of the insects themselves. The locust of Inner Arabia is very 
 imlike whatever of the same genus I have seen elsewhere. 
 Those of the north are small, of a pale green colour, and re- 
 semble not a little our own ordinary grasshoppers. They are 
 never, to my knowledge, eaten by the Bedouins or villagers of 
 Syria, Mesopotamia, and Trak, nor do I believe them eatable 
 under any circumstances, extreme hunger perhaps alone ex- 
 cepted. Like bees, they have a queen, whose size is propor- 
 tioned to her majesty ; but, like bees in this point also, locust 
 queens do not lead the swarms, but keep retired state. The 
 locust of Arabia is, on the contrary, a reddish-brown insect, 
 twice or three times the size of its northern homonym, re- 
 sembling a large prawn in appearance, and as long as a man's 
 little finger, which it equals also in thickness. Among these 
 locusts I neither saw nor heard of any queen, a deficit which 
 tends to class them with the species " Arbah " of the Bible, as 
 flescribed in the penultimate chaj)ter of the Proverbs. When 
 boiled or fried they are said to be delicious, and boiled and fried 
 accordingly they are to an incredible extent. However, I could 
 never persuade myself to taste them, whatever invitations the 
 inhabitants of the land, smacking their lips over large dishes 
 full of entomological " delicatesses " could make me to join 
 them. Barakat ventured on one, and one only, for a trial ; he
 
 Cha;. X] Journey to HofJioof 347 
 
 pronounced it oily and disgusting; it is caviare to unaccustomed 
 palates. 
 
 The swarm now before us was a thorough godsend for our 
 Arabs, on no account to be neglected. Thirst, weariness, all 
 was forgotten, and down the riders leapt from their starting 
 camels ; this one spread out a cloak, that one a saddle-bag, a 
 third his shirt, over the unlucky creatures destined for the 
 morrow's meal. Some flew away whirring across our feet, 
 others were caught and tied up in cloths and sacks ; Cornish 
 wreckers at work about a shattered EastTndiaman would be 
 beaten by Ghannam and his companions with the locusts. 
 However, Barakat and myself felt no special interest in the 
 chase, nor had we much desire to turn our dress and accoutre- 
 ments into receptacles for living game. Luckily Aboo-'Eysa 
 still retained enough of his North Syrian education to be of our 
 mind also. Accordingly we left our associates hard at work, 
 turned our startled and still unruly dromedaries in the direction 
 of Hof hoof, and set off full speed over the plain. 
 
 Thirteen or fourteen miles we rode on together, and passed 
 the little village of 'Eyn-Nejm, or Fountain of the Star, where 
 the shadows of its houses darkened the moonshine on the white 
 cliffs under Ghoweyr. Here was not long since a hot and sul- 
 phurous spring, in popular belief, a panacea for all ruined con- 
 stitutions. An open cupola had been erected by former genera- 
 tions over the source, and bath receptacles constructed around. 
 Hither crowds repaired, and often found the health they sought, 
 till the place became a point of resort and meeting for all around, 
 and attracted the suspicious attention of the Ri'ad government. 
 Order was given in consequence, about three years before the 
 date of our visit, to destroy the cupola and the baths, and to 
 choke up the mouth of the fountain with stones, lest, to quote 
 the words of Feysul's orthodox firman, "the people should learn 
 to put their trust in the waters rather than in God, which would 
 be idolatry." The imperial decree was executed, and the ruins 
 of the " Kubbah" or dome, with the hot stream that yet escapes 
 from between the piles of rubbish, remain to attest the bounty 
 of the Creator, the stupid narrow-mindedness of the Wahhabee, 
 and the ill fortune of a land governed by bigots. It is an old 
 tale, and not peculiar to Arabia.
 
 348 Journey to HofhoOj [Chap. X 
 
 It was not till near morning that we saw before us in indis- 
 tinct row the long black lines of the immense date-groves that 
 surround Hofhoof. Then, winding on amid rice-grounds and 
 cornfields, we left on our right an isolated fort (to be described 
 by daylight), passed some scattered villas with their gardens, 
 approached the ruined town walls and entered the southern 
 gate, now open and unguarded. Farther on a few streets 
 brought us before the door of Aboo-"E)sa's house, our desired 
 resting-place.
 
 Ill'" 
 
 PLAN OT HORHOOF. 
 
 ,0
 
 349 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 From Hofhoof to IjLatef.f 
 
 Hardly the place of such antiquity 
 
 Or note, of these great monarchies we find ; 
 
 Only a fading verbal memory ; 
 
 An empty name in writ is left behind. 
 
 Fletcher 
 
 Aboo-'' Eysa s Home — General Character of the Inhabitants of Hasa — Our 
 Lodgings at Hofhoof- — Description of the Town — The Kot — The Keysaree- 
 yah — 77ie Rifyeeyah- -The Na^dthar- — Fortifications — The Khotcym--- 
 Neighbourhood of Hofhoof- — Hot Springs — Earthquakes — Nature of this 
 District — Vegetation — Decline of Agriculture, Manufacture, and Com- 
 merce — Climate — Nabtce Versification — Litei-ature in Hasa — Dress — 
 Ornament — Pleasure Parties of Moghor — Our oxvn Life at Hofhoof — ■ 
 Evenitigs in Society — A Fair at Hofhoof — Visit to A/ebarraz — The Castle 
 and Towfi — Interior of a House — Visit to Omm-sabad — Description of 
 the Fountain — An Arab Picnic — The Waters of Hasa — Women — 
 Aral) Currency- — The Hasa Coinage— Pla7is for Visiting "'Oman — De- 
 parture frotn Hofhoof- — An Incidait—Kcldbceyah — The A\vtk H^sa Road 
 — Character of the Country — '' Azmiah — Hills of Kateef — The Plain —An 
 Aqueduct — Totvn of Kateef— -The Castle — The Sea — Description of the 
 Harbour — Feysuts Navy — Farhdt, Governor of Kateef — Palace of Ko*"- 
 ■moot — FarhdCs Khdwah — Neighbourhood of Kateef- — Ruins — A Setni- 
 Persian Supper — We Embark for Maharrek. 
 
 It was still night. All was silent in the street and liouse at the 
 entrance of which we now stood ; indeed, none but the master 
 of a domicile could think of knocking at such an hour, nor was 
 Aboo-'Eysa expected at that precise moment. With much 
 difficulty he contrived to awake the tenants ; next the shrill 
 voice of the lady was heard within in accents of joy and welcome, 
 the door at last opened, and Aboo-'Eysa invited us into a dark 
 passage, where a gas-light would have been a remarkable 
 improvement, and by this ushered us into the K'hawah. Here
 
 350 Life ai U of hoof tchap. xi ' 
 
 we lighted a fire, and after a hasty refreshment all la)' down to 
 sleep, nor awoke till the following forenoon. 
 
 Our stay at Hofhoof was very pleasant and interesting, not 
 indeed through personal incidents and hairbreadth escapes — of 
 which we had our fair portion at Ri'ad and elsewhere — but in 
 the infonnation here acquired, and in the novel character of 
 everything around us, whether nature, art, or man. Aboo-'Eysa 
 was very anxious that we should see as much as possible of the 
 countr}', and procured us all means requisite for so doing, while 
 the shelter of his roof, and the precautions which he adopted 
 or suggested, obviated whatever dangers and inconveniences 
 we had experienced in former stages of the journey. Besides, 
 the general disposition of the inhabitants of Hasa is very dif- 
 ferent from that met with in Nejed and even in Shomer or 
 Djowf, and much better adapted to make a stranger feel him- 
 self at home. A sea-coast people, looking mainly to foreign 
 lands and the ocean for livelihood and commerce, accustomed to 
 see among them not unfrequently men of dress, manners, and 
 religion differing from their own, many of them themselves tra- 
 vellers or voyagers to Basrah, Bagdad, Bahreyn, 'Oman, and 
 some even farther, they are commonly free from that half- 
 wondering, half-suspicious feeling which the sight of a stranger 
 occasions in the isolated desert-girded centre ; in short, expe- 
 rience, that best of masters, has gone far to unteach the lessons 
 of ignorance, intolerance, and national aversion. 
 
 In Hasa also, independently of the external and circum- 
 stantial causes just alluded to, the character of the inhabitants 
 themselves is little predisposed to exclusiveness and asperity. 
 Wahhabeeism exists indeed, but only among the few who form 
 the dominant and hated class; while its presence serves by 
 natural reaction to render the main bulk of the inhabitants yet 
 more averse from a system whose evils they know not only by 
 theor)', but more by frequent and bitter experience. 
 
 On awaking to an excellent breakfast of — O luxury unheard 
 of since Gaza — roasted fowl, rice, and pastry, prepared by our 
 Abyssinian hostess, Aboo-'Eysa's wife, a good-natured thought- 
 less dame, like most of her countrywomen, we began to look 
 about us, and found ourselves in a comfortable dwelling, well 
 adapted to the quiet tenor of life which we projjosed here to 
 lead for a few weeks. The K'hawah was small and snug, not
 
 Cum. XI] Life at HofJioof 351 
 
 admitting above twenty guests at a time ; alongside was a 
 second and larger apartment, set apart by Aboo-'Eysa for our 
 more especial habitation, and opening on the courtyard ; two 
 spacious rooms communicated with this on either side; the one 
 was at our disposal, the other answered the purposes of a nur- 
 sery, and was the ordinary abode of the dusky lady, with her 
 mulatto son and heir. A kitchen and two secluded chambers, 
 into which the rougher sex might not indiscriminately venture, 
 completed the ground storey; while above were three empty and 
 unfurnished rooms, and a large extent of flat roof, whereon it was 
 very pleasant to sit morning and evening. And in the courtyard 
 below we might at our leisure contemplate " the patient camels 
 ruminate their food," as Southey has it in a well-known poem 
 where the vivacity of the author's imagination almost retrieves 
 his want of personal experience in many an Eastern scene. 
 
 Hofhoof, whose ample circuit contained during the last 
 generation about thirty thousand inhabitants, now dwindled to 
 twenty-three or twenty-four thousand, is divided into three quar- 
 ters or districts. The general form of the town is that of a large 
 oval. The public square, an oblong space of about three hundred 
 yards in length by a fourth of the same in width, occupies the 
 meeting point of these quarters ; the Kot lies on its north-east, 
 the Rifey'eeyah on the north-west and west, and the Na'athar 
 on the east and south. In this last quarter was our present 
 home ; moreover, it stood in the part farthest removed from 
 the Kot and its sinister influences, while it was also sufticiently 
 distant from the over-turbulent neighbourhood of the Rifey'- 
 eeyah, the centre of anti-Wahhabee movements, and the name 
 of which alone excited distrust and uneasiness in Nejdean 
 minds. 
 
 The Kot itself is a vast citadel, surrounded by a deep trench, 
 with walls and towers of unusual height and thickness, earth- 
 built with an occasional intermixture of stone, the work of the 
 old Carmathian rulers ; it is nearly square, being about one- 
 third of a mile in length by one-quarter in breadth. Three 
 sides of this fortress are provided each with a central gate; on 
 the fourth or northern side a small but strong fortress forms a 
 sort of keep ; it is square, and its towers attain more than forty 
 feet in elevation, or about sixty, if we reckon from the bottom 
 of the outer ditch. Within dwells the Nejdean governor, for-
 
 352 L ifc at Iloflioof IChap. xi 
 
 merly Mohammed-esSedeyree, but at the present day a negro 
 of Fcysul's, Belal by name, a good slave and a barl ruler, if 
 the disaffection of the town say true. Here too is the model 
 orthodox Mesjid, where all is done after the most correct 
 ^^'ahhabee fashion ; here abide the Metow'waa's and Zelators 
 sent hither from Ri'ad, and other Nejdeans of 'Aared, Woshem, 
 and Yeniamah. Widiin the Kot dwells also a population in 
 number between two and three thousand souls; for the whole 
 space, even up to the inner line of the walls, is thickly inha- 
 bited; it is divided by rectangular streets running from gate to 
 gate, and from side to side. 
 
 The towers, fifteen or sixteen on eacli side of the Kot, are 
 mostly round, and provided with winding stairs, loopholes, and 
 machicolations below the battlements ; the intervening walls 
 have similar means of defence. The trench without is for the 
 greatest part dry, but can be filled with water from the garden 
 wells beyond when occasion requires ; the portals are strong 
 and well-guarded. 
 
 On the opposite side of the square, and consequently belong- 
 ing to the Rifey'eeyah, is the vaulted market-place or "Keysa- 
 reeyah." a name by which constructions of this nature must 
 henceforth be called up to Mascat itself, though how this Latin- 
 ism found its way across the Peninsula to lands which seem to 
 have had so little commerce with the Roman or Byzantine em- 
 pires, I cannot readily conjecture. This Key.sareeyah is in form 
 a long barrel-vaulted arcade, with a portal at either end ; the 
 folding doors that should protect the entrances have here in 
 Hofhoof been taken away, elsewhere they are always to be 
 found. The sides are composed of shops, set apart in general 
 for wares of cost, or at least what is here esteemed costly; thus 
 weapons, cloth embroidery, gold and silver ornament, and ana- 
 logous articles, are the ordinary stock-in-hand in the Keysa- 
 reeyah. Around it cluster several alleys, roofed with palm-leaves 
 against the heat, and tolerably symmetrical ; in the shops we 
 may see the merchandise of Bahreyn, 'Oman, Persia, and India 
 exposed for sale, mixed with the manufactured produce of the 
 country; workshops, smithies, carpenters' and shoemakers' stalls, 
 and the like, are here also. In the open square itself stand 
 <:uuntless booths for the sale of dates, vegetables, wood, salted 
 locusts, and small ware of many kinds. Tobacco, however, once
 
 Chap. XI] Lift at HofJioof 3^3 
 
 a common article of purchase, is now proscribed by Wahhabee 
 disciplinarians, and no longer oftends the eye ; its store and 
 traffic are in private, where, after the over-true principle that 
 " stolen waters are sweet," the sup])lies are copious and the 
 purchasers active. Public auctions are frequently held in the 
 square; here too barbers ply their trade, and smiths and shoe- 
 makers abound, though these latter callings number also many 
 followers in other parts of the town. 
 
 The Rifey'eeyah, or noble quarter, covers a considerable ex- 
 tent, and is chiefly composed of tolerable, in some places of 
 even handsome dwellings. The comparative elegance of domes- 
 tic architecture in Hofhoof is due to the use of the arch, Avhich 
 after the long interval from INIa'an to Hasa now at last reap- 
 pears, *nd gives to the constructions of this province a lightness 
 and a variety unknown in the monotonous and heavy piles of 
 Nejed and Shomer. Another improvement is that the walls, 
 whether of earth or stone, or of both mixed as is often the case, 
 are here very generally coated with fine white plaster, much re- 
 sembling the "chunam" of Southern India; ornament too is 
 aimed at about the doorways and the ogee-headed windows, 
 and is sometimes attained. The streets of the Rifey'eeyah 
 are, for a hot countrj-, wide and very clean; those of Damas- 
 cus and even of Beyrouth are not one quarter so well kept. 
 This quarter is very healthy; it stands on a slightly rising 
 ground, implied by its name "Rifey'eeyah," or "elevation," and 
 is exposed to the sea-breeze, here distinctly perceptible at times. 
 
 The Na'athar is the largest quarter; it forms indeed a good 
 half of the town, and completes its oval. In it every descrip- 
 tion of dwelling is to be seen — for rich and poor, for high and 
 low, palace or hovel. Here too, but near the Kot, has the pious 
 policy of Feysul constructed the great mosque, where Moresco 
 arches, light porticoes, smooth plaster, and a mat-spread floor, 
 presented an appearance much surpassing in decency the naked 
 cathedral, so to speak, of Ri'ad. In this quarter, however, the 
 Wahhabee sect, as such, numbers but few partisans. Many mer- 
 chants, traders, and men of business here reside ; here strangers 
 from Persia, 'Oman, Bahreyn, from Hareek also, and Katar, take 
 up their dwelling; here weavers and artisans live and carry on 
 their business. 
 
 The fortifications of the town were once strong and high, but 
 
 A A
 
 354 Life at Hof hoof [Chap. xi 
 
 are now little better than heaps of ruins, of broken towers and 
 winding stairs that lead to nothing. Without the walls lie the 
 gardens and plantations, stretching away north and east as far 
 as the eye can reach ; on the south and west they form a nar- 
 rower ring. At no great distance from the southern gate stands 
 the isolated fortress wliich we had passed on the night of our 
 arrival ; it is a small but well-constructed building, and placed 
 so as eftectually to command and check all entrance from the 
 south and west; its name, the " Khoteym," or " Bridle-bit," im- 
 plies its object and its character. This fort is recent; the chief 
 of Hofhoof erected it during the last centur}- to serve as a 
 " bridle " to the impetuous onset of the Wahhabees, when the 
 hordes of Nejed poured down through the passes of Ghoweyr, 
 and approached the capital of the province in this direction. It 
 now stands dismantled, a page from past politics, like the Dra- 
 chenfels or Conway Castle. 
 
 Another smaller fort, a watch-tower in fact, rises close by. 
 Like the Khoteym it is built of unbaked bricks, hardened by 
 process of time into the semblance of stone. For seventy or 
 eighty years these unroofed walls have braved winter rains and 
 spring blasts without losing an inch of their height or opening a 
 fissure in their sides. 
 
 Hence due south the view extends over a waste and desert 
 space, interposed between the province of Hasa and that of 
 Katar, a natural boundary dispensing with artificial limits be- 
 tween the rival domains of Nejed and 'Oman. Turning west- 
 ward, we have before us a multitude of water-courses, no longer 
 the wells of Nejed, but living running streams amid deep palm- 
 groves, and a vegetation of that semi-Indian type peculiar to 
 this part of Arabia. Many little villages stud the plain, till at 
 a north-westerly distance of five or six miles the cavernous 
 clifiFs of Djebel-el-Moghazee, or " Mountain of military expe- 
 <lilions," close in the prospect. North and east of Hofhoof is 
 one green mass of waving foliage, save where occasionally the 
 overflowing water-channels present that phenomenon specially 
 dear in reminiscences to an east-country Englishman, namely, a 
 real genuine marsh, with reeds, rushes, and long-legged water- 
 fowl. Heaven bless them all! I cannot say how glad I was 
 to see them after so long a separation; while around the rim of 
 the swamps and pools rise stately palm-trees, laden with the
 
 Chap. XI] Life at HofJioof 355 
 
 choicest dates of Arabia, or rather of the entire world. A 
 soUtary conical hillock, the freak of nature, rises alone on the 
 north-east from the level of this well-watered plain ; its summit 
 bears the vestiges of Carmathian fortification. These details 
 have, I trust, given my readers a tolerable idea of the town of 
 Hofhoof and its immediate neighbourhood. Its general aspect 
 is that of a white and yellow onyx, chased in an emerald rim ; 
 the name of " Hofhoof," like the Winchester of our own island, 
 implies glitter and beauty. 
 
 But perhaps my reader, after accompanying me thus far, may 
 feel thirsty, for the heat, even in December, is almost oppressive, 
 and the sky cloudless as though it were June or July. So let 
 us turn aside into that grassy plantation, where half-a-dozen 
 buffaloes are cooling their ugly hides in a pool, and drink a 
 little from the source that supplies it. When behold ! the water 
 is warm, almost hot. Do not be surprised, all the fountain 
 sources and wells of Hasa are so, more or less; in some one 
 can hardly bear to plunge one's hand ; others are less above the 
 average temperature, while a decidedly sulphurous taste is now 
 and then perceptible. In fact, from the extreme north of this 
 province down to its southernmost frontier, this same sign of 
 subterranean fire is everywhere to be found. The rocks, too, 
 are here very frequently of tufa and basalt, another mark of 
 igneous agency. Lastly, the inhabitants informed me that 
 slight shocks of earthquake — a phenomenon wholly unknown, 
 so far as I could gather, to the historical records or the living 
 tradition of Upper Nejed — are here nowise uncommon. One 
 of unusual severity, and to which the rents and clefts in the 
 high walls and the upper storeys of several houses in the town 
 yet bore witness, was said to have taken place about thirty 
 years before. Perhaps it was coincident with the well-known 
 catastrophe which in 1836 buried the inhabitants of Safed under 
 the ruins of their town, rolled the huge stones of Kela'at-Djish 
 (Djiscala) down the valley, and shook the strong castle-walls of 
 Aleppo. In fact IJasa, in its littoral position alongside of the 
 Persian Gulf, belongs to that great valley which, partly sunk 
 beneath the waters of the Gulf itself, partly rising to form the 
 bed of the Tigris and the Euphrates, reaches from the shores of 
 Beloochistan and 'Oman up to Kara Dagh and the mountains of 
 Armenia, and at the upper extremity of which earthquakes are
 
 356 Life at H of hoof [Ckai. xi 
 
 only too common. The continuity of this long valley is further 
 attested by the remarkable uniformity of its climate ; it forms 
 a huge hot-air funnel, the base of which is on the tropics, while 
 its extremity reaches 37 degrees of northern latitude. Hence it 
 comes that the Semoom, unknown in the far more southerly 
 regions of Syria and Palestine (my readers are, I trust, too well 
 informed to fall into the popular error of confounding the spe- 
 citic and gaseous Semoom with the Shilook or Sirocco of Syria, 
 Ivlalta, and even Italy), pays occasional visits to Mosoul and 
 Djezeerat 'Omar, while the thermometer at Bagdad attains in 
 summer an elevation capable of staggering the belief of even 
 an old Indian, at least from the Bombay side. 
 
 The products of Hasa are many and various ; the monotony 
 of Arab vegetation, its eternal palm and ithel, ithel and palm, 
 are here varied by new foliage, and gi-owths unknown to Xejed 
 and Shomer. True, the date-palm still predominates, nay, here 
 attains its greatest perfection. But the Nabak, with its rounded 
 leaves and little crab-apple fruit, a mere bush in Central Arabia, 
 becomes in Hasa a stately tree ; the papay too, so well known 
 in the more easterly Peninsula, appears, though seldom, and 
 stunted in growth, along with some other trees common on the 
 coast from Cutch to Bombay. Indigo is here cultivated, though 
 not sufficiently for the demands of commerce ; cotton is much 
 more widely grown than in Yemamah ; rice-fields abound, and 
 the sugar-cane is often planted, though not, I believe, for the 
 extraction of the sugar; the peasants of Hasa sell the reed by 
 retail bundles in the market-place, and the purchasers take it 
 iiome to gnaw at leisure in their houses. Corn, maize, millet, 
 vetches of every kind, radishes, onions, garlic, beans, in short, 
 almost all legumina and cerealia, barley excepted (at least I 
 neither saw nor heard of any), cover the plain, and under a 
 better administration might be multiplied tenfold. But a heavy 
 land-tax and arbitrary contributions have deeply discouraged 
 the agriculturist no less than the merchant. For centuries 
 Hasa had carried on a flourishing commerce with 'Oman, 
 Persia, and India on the right, and with Basrah and Bagdad 
 on the left, nay even with Damascus itself, in spite of political 
 hostility and local distance. For the cloaks of Hasa manu- 
 facture, and the embroidery which adorns them, are alike un- 
 rivalled ; such delicacy of work, such elegance of pattern, are
 
 Chap. XI] L ifc at Hoflwof 357 
 
 unknown save in Cachcmire alone. The wool employed is of 
 exquisite fineness, and, when skilfully intenvoven with silk, 
 forms a tissue alike strong to wear and beautiful to the eye; 
 while its borderings of gold and silver thread, tastefully inter- 
 mixed with the gayest colours, may be envied, but never 
 equalled, by Syria and Persia. In the workmanship of the 
 precious metals, in the adornment of a sword-hilt or a i)owder- 
 flask, of a dagger or a Nargheelah, the artisans of Hasa, though 
 inferior in this respect to those of 'Oman, have nothing to fear 
 from the competition of Damascus or Bagdad. In implements 
 of copper and brass, also, they well know how to combine ele- 
 gance with utility, and the coffee-pots of Hasa certainly outvie 
 any to be met with north of Basrah. All these and similar 
 objects were once regular articles of an advantageous exporta- 
 tion, and when added to the never-failing trade in those Khalas 
 dates, peculiar to this district, and which make all mouths water 
 from Bombay to Mosoul, besides a supplementary bale of sugar- 
 cane or the like, formed an excellent outport trade. Cloth of 
 more ordinary quality, cutlery, ironwork, swords, spears, crockery, 
 silk, gold thread, silver thread, and a hundred analogous articles, 
 came in return. Hence the great wealth of the Hasa merchants, 
 and consequently of the local governmeiit, and hence the monu- 
 ments whose relics yet attest that wealth. Now all is fallen 
 away; the Nejdean eats out the marrow and fat of the land; 
 while by his senseless war against whatever it pleases his fana- 
 ticism to proscribe, under the name of luxury — against tobacco 
 and silk, ornament and dress — he cuts off an important branch 
 of useful commerce, while he loses no opportunity of snubbing 
 and discouraging the unorthodox trader. To this praiseworthy 
 end, whenever an expedition is ordered, or a levy made, the 
 malignant policy of Mohanna, already mentioned in our chapter 
 on Kaseem, finds a yet wider application in Hasa, where the 
 first who receives the bidding to sling the musket and shoulder 
 the spear is the wealthy merchant, the busy shopkeeper, and 
 the hard-working artisan ; and all to the detriment prepense of 
 their affairs in hand. Such had been pre-eminently the system 
 adopted by Feysul in the actual war; and when we reached 
 Hofhoof we found full half of its better inhabitants thus forcibly 
 absent on a war whose only result could be to rivet the hated 
 Wahhabee yoke still more firmly on their own necks.
 
 358 L ifc at Ho/hoof [Chap. xi 
 
 The climate of Hasa, as I have already implied, is very- 
 different from that of the uplands, and not equally favourable 
 to health and physical activity. Hence a doctor, like myself, if 
 my readers will allow me the title, has here more work and 
 better fees ; this latter circumstance is also owing to the greater 
 amount of ready money in circulation, and the higher value set 
 on medical science by men whose intellects are much more 
 cultivated than those of their Nejdean neighbours. In appear- 
 ance the inhabitants of Hasa are generally good-sized and well- 
 proportioned, but somewhat sallow in the face, and of a less 
 muscular developement than is usual inland; their features, 
 though regular, are less marked than those of the Nej deans, 
 and do not exhibit the same half-Jewish type ; on the contrary, 
 there is something in them that reminds a beholder of the 
 Rajpoot or the Guzeratee. They are passionately fond of 
 literature and poetry, whether it be according to the known 
 Arabic rules and metre, or whether it follow the Nabtee, that 
 is, the Nabathaean versification. 
 
 This latter form of composition, occasionally met with even 
 in Nejed, but rare, becomes here common, more so indeed than 
 the Arabic, from which it differs in scansion, metre, and rhyme. 
 In Nabtee verses scansion goes by accent, not by quantity ; 
 the metre is variable, even in the same piece ; and the rhyme, 
 instead of being continuous, is alternate. In a word, this class 
 of poetry presents in form a strong resemblance to the ordinary 
 English ballad, and, like it, is the popular style of the country. 
 The standard of poetry in Hasa seemed to me decidedly higher 
 than in Nejed. On the other hand, the language of common 
 conversation is inferior in copiousness, purity, and flexibility to 
 that of the inner uplands. However, the inferiority of the 
 Hasa tongue is compensated by superiority of Hasa intellect ; 
 and in what may be called rational conversation and in con- 
 secutive reasoning the men of Hofhoof surpass by far the 
 inhabitants of Ri'ad and Ha'yel. Foreign intercourse, while 
 debasing their grammar, has refined their wits; perhaps, too, 
 their acuteness is intrinsic and hereditary, though favoured and 
 fostered by local and other circumstances. 
 
 The dress here worn presented an agreeable variety to our 
 eyes, wearied by the unparalleled monotony of costume, male 
 or female, from Djowf to Yemamah, In Hofhoof and the
 
 Chap. XI] Lifc at HofllOof 359 
 
 villages around, the wide white Arab shirt or smock is not 
 unfrequently replaced by the closer-fitting, saffron-dyed, silk- 
 embroidered vest of 'Oman, a garment which recalls to mind 
 the Anghee or Anghurka common in Western India; instead of 
 the eternal Kafee'yah, a turban, now large and white, now 
 coloured and of narrower folds, adorns many a head ; the light 
 red cloak, peculiar, I believe, to the eastern coast, diversifies 
 the blackness of the Arab mantle, while the shining red leather 
 and elegant shape of Bahreyn or 'Oman sandals protect the 
 feet better and with more grace than the coarse brown-yellow 
 productions of the Nejdean shoemaker. Lastly a crooked 
 dagger, silver-hilted and mounted, may here be occasionally 
 seen at the waist ; it becomes universal when we enter the 
 limits of 'Oman. 
 
 Before the subjection of Hasa to the Wahhabee, ornament 
 and display were the mode in the province, and even now silk 
 and embroidery appear far more frequently than is consistent 
 with complete orthodoxy. At the period of the great Ri'ad 
 reform in 1856, described in a previous chapter of this work, 
 certain zealous preachers visited Hofhoof, and, deeming it 
 highly probable that the iniquities of the inhabitants had borne 
 a share in the late visitation of the cholera, preached copiously 
 and emphatically against gay dresses and worldly vanity. But 
 finding the ramparts of sin proof against all the batteries of 
 pulpit eloquence, the hands of the missionaries achieved here 
 as elsewhere what their tongues could not; and while the 
 depraved wretches of Hasa yet hesitated to tear and cast aside 
 their unrighteous gewgaws, orthodox Nejdeans lent them their 
 friendly aid, till, as eyewitnesses assured me, torn silk and 
 unravelled embroidery literally bestrewed the streets. A fierce 
 campaign was of course simultaneously waged against tobacco, 
 which henceforth retired into private life. 
 
 Another evil practice, common among the upper classes, was 
 at this time somewhat subdued, though not entirely got under. 
 The merchants and traders of Hofhoof and Mebarraz, had from 
 time immemorial been in the custom of organizing pleasure- 
 parties especially during the days of vacation from ordinary 
 business. These intervals of social relaxation lasted often a 
 week or two at a time, and were generally allotted to the 
 autumn season. North-east of IJasa rises a long isolated ridge,
 
 360 Life at Hof hoof [Chap. xi 
 
 basalt and sandstone, about four hundred feet in height; its 
 cliffs are pierced in every direction by large natural caverns, 
 and their name, " Moghor," or " caves," has become synonym- 
 ous with the mountain itself. Within these caves the air is 
 cool, even during the hottest months of the year; and fresh 
 water flows in a perennial supply at the mountain foot. Hither 
 accordingly the merchants and business-men of Hasa would 
 repair when wearied of their accounts and ledger-books, and 
 pass together a few days in the caverns of Moghor, amid the 
 ease of familiar conversation, well-furnished tables, music, 
 dancing, and whatever like diversions even thinking men often 
 allow themselves when tired with hard and sedentary work. 
 Now the Nejdeans regarded the pleasure-parties of Djebel 
 Moghor with hardly less horror than what a fiddle heard in the 
 public streets on a Sunday would excite in Glasgow. Feysul 
 issued his orders to put down the abomination with a high hand ; 
 some of the culprits were arrested, others fined ; and what yet 
 remains of these diversions, for they continue even now, is 
 managed by stealth, or at least by only a small number, and 
 under due precautions. Our own stay at Hofhoof will furnish 
 an example. 
 
 I have already said tlmt our great endeavour in Hasa Avas to 
 observ^e unobserved, and thus to render our time as barren as 
 might be in incidents and catastrophes. Not that we went into 
 the opposite extreme of leading an absolutely retired and there- 
 fore uneventful life. Aboo-'Eysa took care from the first to 
 bring us into contact with the best and the most cultivated 
 families of the town, nor had my medical profession anpvhere 
 a wider range for its exercise, or better success than in Hoflioof. 
 Friendly invitations, now to dinner, now to supper, were of 
 daily occurrence ; and we sat at tables Avhere fish, no longer 
 mere salted shrimps, announced our vicinity to the coast; ver- 
 micelli too, and other kinds of pastry, denoted the influence of 
 Persian art on the kitchen. Smoking within-doors was general; 
 but the Nargheelah often replaced, and that advantageously, 
 the short Arab pipe ; perfumes are no less here in use than in 
 Nejed. I need hardly say that domestic furniture is here 
 much more varied and refined than what adorns the dwellings 
 of Sedeyr and 'Aared ; and the stools, low dinner-tables, cu]> 
 boards, shelves, and bedsteads, are very like the fittings-up of a
 
 Chap. XIJ Lift' at IlofJlOof 361 
 
 respectable Hindoo house at Baroda or Cambay. Wood-carving 
 is also common ; it finds its usual place on door-posts and 
 window-frames ; lastly, decorative figures painted on the walls, 
 though not absolutely equal to the frescoes of Giotto or Ghir- 
 landajo, yet suffice to give the rooms a more cheerful and, if I 
 may be allowed the expression, a more Christian look than the 
 unvarying brown and white daub of the apartments in 'Aared 
 and Kaseem. 
 
 What however gives to the houses of Hasa their most decided 
 superiority over those of Central Arabia, is the employment of 
 the arch, without which indeed there may be building, but hardly 
 construction. The Hasa arch, whether large or small, con- 
 tracted to a window or spanning the entire abode, is, I believe, 
 never the segment of one circle, but of two ; it is half-way 
 between the form peculiar to Tudor Gothic, and the " lancet " 
 of the Plantagenets. Neither did I witness here the horse- 
 shoe curve characteristic of what is called Moresco architecture ; 
 it is a simple, broad, but pointed arch, within which an equi- 
 lateral, sometimes an obtuse, but never an acute triangle, could 
 be inscribed. The arch brings other improvements with it ; the 
 entire house becomes here much more regular, its apartments 
 wider, its arrangement more symmetrical, light and air circulate 
 with greater abundance and facility ; while the roof, instead 
 ■of remaining a mere mass of heavy woodwork, supported mid- 
 way on clumsy pillars, assumes a something of lightness and 
 spring, very refreshing to the eye of a traveller just arrived from 
 Ri'ad. 
 
 We had passed about a week in the town when Aboo-'Eysa 
 entered the side-room where Barakat and I were enjoying a 
 moment of quiet, and copying out " Nabtee " poetry, and shut 
 the door behind him. He then announced to us, with a face 
 and tone of serious anxiety, that two of the principal Nejdean 
 agents belonging to the Kot had just come into the K'hawah, 
 under pretext of medical consultation, but in reality, said he, to 
 identify the strangers. We put on our cloaks — a preliminary 
 .measure of decorum equivalent to face and hand-washing in 
 Europe — and presented ourselves before our inquisitors with an 
 air of conscious innocence and scientific solemnity. Conversa- 
 tion ensued; and we talked so learnedly about bilious and san- 
 guine complexions, cephalic veins, and Indian drugs, with such.
 
 362 Life at Ho/hoof [Chap. XI 
 
 apposite citations from the Coran, and such loyal phrases for 
 Feysul, that Aboo-'Eysa was beside himself for joy; and the 
 spies, after receiving some prescriptions of the bread-pill and 
 aromatic-water formula, left the house no wiser than before. 
 Our friends too, and they were now many, well guessing what 
 we might really be, partly from our own appearance, and partly 
 from the known character of our host (according to old Homer's 
 true saying, Heaven ahaays leads like to like), did each and all 
 their best to throw sand into Wahhabee eyes, and everything 
 went on sociably and smoothly. A blessing on the medical 
 profession ! none other gives such excellent opportunities for 
 securing everywhere confidence and friendship. 
 
 A custom unknown in Shomer and in Nejed, but very common 
 in other parts of the East, fixes certain days of the week for 
 holding public fairs in such and such localities, whither the 
 inhabitants, and more particularly the villagers, of all the 
 neighbourhood round repair, to sell or to buy, while auctions, 
 games, recitations, races, and similar inventions of man's busy 
 levity, keep up the animation. 
 
 This usage has prevailed from time immemorial in the pro- 
 vince of Hasa. The weekly fair of Hofhoof is held on Thursday, 
 that of the great village of Mebarraz to the north on Monday, 
 and so on. Aboo'Eysa, who was very desirous to impress us 
 with a great idea of his adopted country, and to that end sought 
 occasions to show us the most and the best of it, took care to 
 let us know the whereabouts of the fair. We went thither, and 
 I)assed several hours of much amusement among the booths 
 erected on these occasions, chatting with townsmen and peasants 
 amid a scene the animation of which might almost rival that of 
 Epsom on the Derby-day, or Frankfort during a " Messwoche." 
 The place of meeting was on the open ground beyond the 
 northern gate, close under the outer walls of the Kot. The 
 vendors were mostly, if not entirely, villagers, and had brought 
 with them wares recommcndable by their cheapness rather than 
 their elegance : heavy sandals, coarsely-woven cloaks, old mus- 
 kets and daggers, second-hand brass utensils, besides camels, 
 dromedaries, asses, and a few horses. Others, wandering ped- 
 lars by profession, and never absent in crowds like these, 
 exposed in temporary booths glass bracelets, arm-rings, ankle- 
 rings, copper seals, and beads, with an occasional European
 
 Chap. XI] Lifc at HofJlOof 363 
 
 drinking-glass, imported through Koweyt or Basrah, and mirrors 
 whose distorted reflection might have saved any fair woman the 
 trouble of making mouths in them. The booths themselves 
 were arranged almost symmetrically, and formed streets and 
 squares ; in these latter were great heaps of vegetables and 
 dates piled up before male and female sellers, bags of meal and 
 flour, heaps of charcoal, faggots of firewood, with bundles of 
 sugar-cane for the sweet teeth of Hof hoof Around, asses were 
 tethered, foolish-looking camels stood neck in air, and half- 
 a-dozen youngsters of the town made an immense dust by 
 racing horses under pretence of trying them for purchase. 
 Jokes and laughter were heard everywhere, and Arab gravity 
 half forgot itself in this promiscuous out-of-doors assembly. 
 
 When Monday came we visited Mebarraz, performing the 
 journey thither on donkeys equipped with side-saddles — a cir- 
 cumstance for which I must apologise to my fair readers ; but 
 side-saddles are the fashion of Hasa for all donkey-riders, men 
 or women indifferently. Thus mounted we cantered off to the 
 village, if indeed a population of nigh twenty thousand souls 
 might not claim for Mebarraz the name of town. But it is 
 unwalled, and the fort belonging to it stands on an isolated 
 eminence at a little distance by the west. Near this fort the 
 fair was held; its resemblance to that just described at Hof- 
 hoof renders description unnecessary. The town is of very 
 irregular appearance ; it contains many handsome houses, inter- 
 mixed with wretched hovels. One of our party, 'Obeyd by 
 name, owned a kinsman among the townsfolk, and availed 
 himself of the circumstance to compass a dinner invitation, at 
 which I saw honey for the first time since many months. The 
 dwelling of our host was absolutely like a middle-class house 
 at Homs or Hamah, with small matted rooms, low windows, a 
 little courtyard, a well, and with that peculiar air of seclusion 
 and privacy, even in the midst of a street, which may have 
 struck my readers if they have ever entered the abode of a 
 friend (a native of course) in Syria, at Mosoul, or at Bagdad. 
 Hasa in fact already approximates to the mixed districts, 
 though the Arab element is yet predominant. 
 
 Almost the whole space between Hofhoof and Mebarraz, a 
 distance of about three miles, is filled up with gardens, planta- 
 tions, and rushing streams of tepid water. Here and for many
 
 $64. Life, at H of hoof [Cha!. xi 
 
 leagues around grow the dates entitled " Khalas," — a word of 
 which the literal and not inappropriate English translation is 
 " quintessence," — a species peculiar to Hasa, and the facile 
 princcps of its kind. The fruit itself is rather smaller than the 
 Kaseem date, of a rich amber colour, verging on ruddiness, and 
 semitransparent. It would be absurd to attempt by description 
 to give any idea of a taste; but I beg my Indian readers at 
 least to believe that a " Massigaum " mango is not more supe- 
 rior to a " Junglee," than is the Khalas fruit to that current in 
 Syrian or Egyptian marts. In a word, it is the perfection of the 
 date. The tree that bears it may by a moderately practised 
 eye be recognised by its stem, slenderer than that of the ordi- 
 nary palm, its less tufted foliage, and its smoother bark. Another 
 species, also limited to this province, is the Rekab ; it would 
 hold the first rank anywhere else. During my stay in Arabia 
 I counted a dozen kinds of date, each perfectly distinct from 
 the other; and I doubt not that a longer acquaintance might 
 have enabled me to reckon a dozen more. As to the Khalas 
 in particular, its cultivation is an important item among the 
 rural occupations of Hasa ; its harvest an abundant source of 
 wealth; and its exportation, which reaches from Mosoul on the 
 north-west to Bombay on the south-east, nay, I believe, to the 
 African coast of Zanjibar, forms a large branch of the local 
 commerce. 
 
 On another day Aboo-'Eysa proposed a ti-ip to Omm-Sabaa', 
 literally, " the Mother of Seven." My readers will naturally 
 suppose a call on some respectable matron with a large family; 
 she is, however, in reality a large hot spring, gushing up from 
 the depths of a natural basin, out of which seven streams, the 
 daughters of this fruitful ])arcnt, flow in different directions and 
 fertilize the land far and wide. The spot itself is about eight 
 miles distant from Hofhoof, due north. When the moment 
 came we assembled, a band of twelve in all ; our companions 
 were friends of some standing, and well inclined to be merry. 
 The muster-roll ran as follows : Barakat and myself, five gentle- 
 men (they deserved the name) of Hofhoof, two mulattoes or 
 half-castes, a negro, and a couple of lads. Aboo-'Eysa remained 
 to keep house at home; his wife's care had provided us with 
 boiled chickens, pastry, molasses, coffee, and other good things. 
 We mounted our donkeys and cantered off, but took care iiot
 
 Ghap. XI] Life at H of hoof 365 
 
 to pass through the town for fear of encountering some Nejdean 
 observer. Instead of keeping the streets we made a circuit 
 outside the city walls, amid tanks and fields, often at imminent 
 risk of falling off the narrow causeway on the back of some 
 buffalo weltering in the mud beneath, racing our beasts, and 
 ascertaining by actual experience that Arabs on a pleasure 
 party can rival all the freaks of Western schoolboys on an extra 
 half-holiday. We left Mebarraz on one side, and then went 
 three or four miles at full speed over a wide plain, where palm- 
 trees bordered the right, and the Ha?a mountain-range stretched 
 arid and fantastic on our left, while all along were ranged from 
 distance to distance watch-towers and isolated forts, now aban- 
 doned to decay. At last the rush of waters and a broad grass- 
 banked stream conducted us, as we followed its course, up to 
 Omm-Sabaa'. 
 
 This fountain rises in a circular hollow, about fifty feet in 
 diameter, and very deep, from whose centre well up waters so 
 hot that no bather dares venture on a plunge without first 
 inuring his feet and arms to the temperature by cautious de- 
 grees. The basin is brim-full from rim to rim, and from seven 
 apertures in the stony margin run out the seven streams whence 
 the fountain takes its name, broad and deep enough to turn as 
 many water-mills, were such placed on their course. Some of 
 the channels are natural, but the total number of seven has 
 evidently been completed by art; whether with any planetary 
 reference I do not venture to decide ; but an analogous ar- 
 rangement which we shall afterwards meet with in the cisterns 
 of the Persian coast, and which is undoubtedly also of analo- 
 gous origin, would somewhat incline me to think no less of 
 Omm-Sabaa'. The stonework that surrounds the pool is evi- 
 dently ancient, but there is no inscription or record of date, an 
 omission of which I have already remarked the universality in 
 Central and Eastern Arabia. All around palm-trees and Nabak 
 shade the grassy banks, and deep masses of vegetation shut out 
 the distant view. The waters of Omm-Sabaa' flow the same, 
 winter and summer. Fish, frogs, and other aquatic creatures 
 cannot live within the heated basin, or even in the streams 
 near their immediate source, but they abound a little farther 
 down the channels. 
 
 The sun now sat high and bright in his meridian tower; the
 
 ^66 Life at HofJwof [Chap. xi 
 
 breeze was delightful; we examined the fountain-head in all its 
 bearings, then bathed, swam, wrestled, drank coffee, chatted, 
 dined, smoked, slept, and bathed again. All went merry as a 
 marriage -bell till we discovered that, by one of the omissions 
 insei)arable from a pic-nic, no coffee-cups had been brought, a 
 circumstance which had remained unnoticed till the coffee itself 
 was ready, and nothing remained for us but to drink it out of 
 the sooty coffee-pot wherein it had been prepared. Luckily 
 one of the party, cleverer than the rest, rode over at a venture 
 to a neighbouring village, whence he soon returned with a 
 donkey-load of cups. Trivial circumstances these : I recount 
 them merely by way of counterpoise to the many stilted and 
 padded descriptions of Eastern life, and of Arab in particular. 
 Meanwhile the 'Asr came on ; by common consent prayers were 
 supposed to have been said, and we remounted our side-saddles 
 and galloped homewards; some of our companions got thrown 
 on the way, others stopped to pick them up ; at last we all ar- 
 rived safe at Hofhoof, rather late and tired, but in high spirits, 
 and well contented with our excursion. 
 
 I have described with tolerable minuteness two of the IJasa 
 hot fountains ; there are three hundred such, according to 
 Aboo-'Eysa's version, in the province. I would not warrant the 
 numerical precision of this statement ; but I can vouch for the 
 great frequency of these sources, having met with more than a 
 dozen within a very limited space ; one in particular, at about 
 three miles' ride eastward of Hofhoof, proved even more abun- 
 dant in its supply than Omm-Sabaa' herself, though of a more 
 supportable temperature. 
 
 Before we leave Hasa I must add a it.'N remarks to complete 
 the sketch given of the province and of its inhabitants; want of 
 a suitable opportunity for inserting them before, has thrown 
 them together at this point of my narrative. 
 
 My fair readers will be j^leased to learn that the veil and 
 other restraints inflicted on the gentle sex by Islamitic rigorism, 
 not to say worse, are much less universal and more easily dis- 
 ]jensed with in Hasa ; while in addition the ladies of the land 
 enjoy a remarkable share of those natural gifts which no insti- 
 tutions, and even no cosmetics, can confer ; namely, beauty of 
 face and elegance of form. Might I venture on the delicate 
 and somewhat invidious task of constructing a "beauty-scale '
 
 Chah. XI] Life at Hofhoof 367 
 
 ft>r Arabia, and for Arabia alone, the Bedouin women would on 
 this kalometer be represen-ted by zero, or at most i"; a degree 
 higher would represent the female sex of Nejed; above them 
 rank the women of Shomer, who are in their turn surmounted 
 by those of Djowf The fifth or sixth degree symbolizes the 
 fair ones of Hasa ; the seventh those of Katar ; and lastly, by a 
 sudden rise of ten degrees at least, the seventeenth or eighteenth 
 would denote the pre-eminent beauties of 'Oman. Arab poets 
 occasionally languish after the charmers of Hejaz; I never saw 
 any one to charm me, but then I only skirted the province. All 
 bear witness to the absence of female loveliness in Yemen; and 
 I should much doubt whether the mulatto races and dusky 
 complexions of Hadramaut have much to vaunt of. But in 
 Hasa a decided improvement on this important point is agree- 
 ably evident to the traveller arriving from Nejed, and he will 
 be yet further delighted on finding his Calypsos much more 
 conversible, and having much more too in their conversation 
 than those he left behind him in Sedeyr and 'Aared. 
 
 In a district hardly less agricultural than commercial, I 
 might be expected to say something about ploughs and harrows, 
 spades and flails. But the great Niebuhr in his account of Arabia 
 has so faithfully and so minutely described the instruments cus- 
 tomary in Arab tillage, and their use, that nothing is left for me 
 to add. Nor need I especially sketch the peasant, much the 
 same all the world over; nor the peasant-houses, generally mere 
 earth hovels or palm-leaf sheds ; the latter perhaps the more 
 numerous of the two in Hasa. But I should not pass over in 
 silence the increasing number of kine, all hunchbacked, Brah- 
 minee-buU fashion; they are often put to the plough, though 
 not exclusively, being at times replaced by asses ; by horses, I 
 need hardly say, never. Regarding the horse, I have only to 
 notice that the breed here resembles that of Shomer, namely, 
 a half-caste Nejdean. Dromedaries are many and cheap; they 
 yield the palm of excellence to those of 'Oman alone. 
 
 In Hasa only, throughout the whole course of my long 
 journey, did I meet with the genuine produce of an Arab mint. 
 In Djowf and Shomer the currency is Turkish or European, 
 identical in short with that of Syria, Egypt, and 'Irak, from one 
 or other of which three sources whatever coin circulates in the 
 Djowf is derived. In Nejed Proper, where Turkish money is
 
 368 Life at H of hoof [Chap. xi 
 
 no longer passable, nor have the French or German coinages, 
 francs or florins, found acceptance, the Spanish rial and the 
 English sovereign are privileged by retaining their monetary 
 value. For small change the inhabitants of Sedeyr, 'Aared, and 
 Yemamah avail themselves of what they call a " Djedeedah," or 
 " new coin," doubtless so entitled on the principle of Incus a 
 non iiicmdo, for it is in fact very old ; a piece of debased silver 
 about the size of a full-grown sixpence, and which, so far as the 
 faint vestiges of inscription and superscription can with pain 
 and labour be deciphered, though oftener not a vestige of them 
 remains, seems to have issued from the Egyptian mint at a date 
 far anterior to the INIoliammed-'Alee dynasty. The smallest 
 currency in Nejed bears the name of Khordah; it consists of 
 little in-egular copper bits, now square, now round, sometimes 
 triangular, often polygonal; these are the melancholy produc- 
 tions of the Basrah mint, at a date of two or three hundred 
 years back. The inscription, which gives the names of the 
 local governors who issued this coinage, is almost Cufic, so 
 coarse and angular are the letters. But Khordah or Djedeedah, 
 all is foreign; the Wahhabee government has not nor ever had 
 a mint of its own. 
 
 But in Hasa we find an entirely original and a perfectly 
 local coinage, namely, the " I'oweelah," or " long bit," as it is 
 very suitably called, from its form. It consists of a small 
 copper bar, much like a stout tack, about an inch in length, and 
 split at one end, with the fissure slightly opened; so that it 
 looks altogether like a compressed Y. Along one of its flat- 
 tened sides run a few Cufic characters, indicating the name of 
 the Carmathian prince under whose auspices this choice produc- 
 tion of Arab numismatics was achieved ; nothing else is to be 
 read on the Toweelah, neither date nor motto. This currency is 
 available in Hasa, its native place, alone; and hence the proverb, 
 " Zey' Toweelat-il-Hasa," " like a Hasa long bit," is often ap- 
 ]jlied to a person who can only make himself valuable at home. 
 Besides the Toweelah, this last monetary vestige of former inde- 
 jjendence, the Persian "Toman," gold or silver, and the Anglo- 
 Indian rupee, anna, and pice, are prevalent in Hasa. My 
 readers may rightly conjecture that throughout Arabia barter is 
 by far more fre(iuent among the villagers, and even the poorer 
 townsmen, than purchase; though in Hasa even a peasant can
 
 Chap XI] Life at HofJioof 369 
 
 not unfrequently count down silver Tomans and brass Towee- 
 lahs when occasion requires. But among Bedouins and even 
 villagers in Nejed, computation in an artificial medium sur- 
 passes the ordinary range of human faculties. 
 
 During our stay at Hof hoof, Aboo-'Eysa left untried no arts 
 of Arab rhetoric and persuasion to determine me to visit 
 'Oman, assuring me again and again that whatever we had 
 yet seen, even in his favourite Hasa, was nothing compared 
 to what remained to see in that more remote country. My 
 companion, tired of our long journey, and thinking the long 
 distance already laid between him and his Syrian home quite 
 sufficient in itself without further leagues tacked on to it, was 
 very little disposed for a supplementary expedition. Indeed, 
 considering the strong attachment that the inhabitants of Cen- 
 tral Syria bear to their native land, and the diiliculty that there 
 is in inducing them to quit it for anything like a serious jour- 
 ney, I might rather wonder that Barakat had come thus far, 
 than that he was umvilling to go farther. Englishmen, on the 
 contrary, are rovers by descent and habit ; my own mind was 
 now fully made up to visit 'Oman at all risks, whether Barakit 
 came with me or not. Meanwhile, we formed our plan for the 
 next immediate stage of our route. My companion and I were 
 to quit Hofhoof together, leaving Aboo-'Eysa behind us for a 
 week or two at Hasa, wjiilst we journeyed northwards to Kateef, 
 and thence took ship for the town of Menamah in Bahreyn. 
 In this latter place Aboo-'Eysa was to rejoin us by the route of 
 'Ajeyr, a seaport much nearer than Kateef to Hofhoof. Our 
 main reason for thus separating our movements in time and 
 in direction, was to avoid the too glaring appearance of acting 
 in concert while yet in a land under Wahhabee government 
 and full of Wahhabee spies and reporters, especially after the 
 suspicions thrown on us at Ri'ad. Ulterior arrangements about 
 'Oman were to be deferred till we should all meet again to- 
 gether at Menamah. Aboo-'Eysa's quality of pilgrim conductor 
 obliged him to visit Bahreyn anyhow, in order there to arrange 
 several affairs relative to the transport of his future companions. 
 From Bahreyn his way lay by sea to Aboo-Shahr, the customary 
 rendezvous of Persian pilgrims, and their starting-point for 
 Mecca. The ordinary allowance of time for a caravan from 
 Aboo-Shahr to Mecca, via Nejed, is about two months, inclu- 
 
 B E
 
 370 Joiiriicy through Ilasa iChap. xi 
 
 ding the sea-passage from the Persian to the Arabian coast ; 
 hence the pilgrims must all be assembled and ready at Aboo- 
 Shahr by the end of the first week in Show'wal (the month 
 succeeding Ramadhan) at latest. 
 
 Barakat and myself prepared for our departure; we pur- 
 chased a few objects of local curiosity, got in our dues of 
 medical attendance, paid and received the customary P. P. C. 
 visits, and even tendered our respects to the negro governor 
 Belal, where he sat at his palace door in the Kot, holding a 
 public audience, and looking much like any other well-dressed 
 black. No passport was required for setting out on the road to 
 Kateef, which in the eyes of government forms only one and 
 the same province with Hasa, though in many respects very 
 different from it. The road is perfectly secure, plundering 
 Bedouins or highway robbers are here out of the question. 
 ■However we stood in need of companions, not for escort, but 
 as guides. Aboo-'Eysa made enquiries in the town, and found 
 three men who chanced to be just then setting out on their 
 way for I^ateef, who readily consented to join band with us for 
 the road. Our Abyssinian hostess supplied us with a whole 
 sack of provisions, and our Hofhoof associates found us in 
 camels. Thus equipped and mounted, we took an almost 
 touching leave of Aboo-'Eysa's good-natured wife, kissed the 
 baby, exchanged an au revoir with its father, and set out on 
 the afternoon of December 19th, leaving behind us many plea- 
 sant acquaintances, from some of whom I received messages 
 and letters while at Balireyn. So far as inhabitants are con- 
 cerned, to no town in Arabia should I return with equal confi- 
 dence of finding a hearty greeting and a welcome reception, 
 than to Hofhoof and its amiable and intelligent merchants. 
 
 We quitted the town by the north-eastern gate of the Rifey- 
 'eeyah, where the friends, who, according to Arab custom, had 
 accompanied us thus far in a sort of procession, wished us a 
 prosperous journey, took a last adieu, and returned home. 
 After some hours, we bivouacked on a little hillock of clean 
 sand, with the dark line of the Hofhoof woods on our left, while 
 at some distance in front a copious fountain poured out its 
 rushing waters with a noise distinctly audible in the stillness of 
 the night, and irrigated a garden worthy of Damascus or An- 
 tioch. The niglu air was temperate— neither cold like that of
 
 Chap. XI] Joiimey tJivougJi Hasa 371 
 
 Nejed, nor stifling like that of Southern India; the sky clear 
 and Starr)'. From our commanding position on the hill I could 
 distinguish Soheyl or Canopus, now setting; and following 
 him, not far above the horizon, the three upper stars of the 
 Southern Cross, an old Indian acquaintance; two months later 
 in 'Oman I had the view of the entire constellation. 
 
 Next morning we traversed a large plain of light and sandy 
 soil, intersected by occasional ridges of basalt and sandstone. 
 Everywhere were indications of abundant moisture at a very 
 shght depth below the surface ; dwarf-palms, shrubs, nay, reeds 
 and rushes, sprang up at short intervals, and now and then we 
 passed a little pool in some sheltered hollow, fringed with over- 
 hanging bushes, while the ruins of two large villages, now 
 deserted like Auburn, witnessed to the decHne of the land 
 under Nejdean rule. Hundreds and hundreds of the inhabi- 
 tants have recently emigrated; a few families northward, the 
 greater number to the islands adjacent to Bahreyn, to the 
 Persian coast, and the kindred dominions of 'Oman. 
 
 We journeyed on all day, meeting no Bedouins and few 
 travellers. At evening we encamped in a shallow valley, near 
 a cluster of brimming wells, some sweet, some brackish, where 
 the traces of half-obliterated watercourses, and the vestiges of 
 crumbling house-walls indicated the former existence of a vil- 
 lage, now also deserted. We passed a comfortable night under 
 the shelter of palms and high brushwood, mixed with gigantic 
 aloes and yuccas ; and rose next morning early to our way. 
 Our direction lay north-east. In the afternoon we caught our 
 first glimpse of Djebel Mushahhar, a pyramidical peak some 
 seven hundred feet high and about ten miles south of Kateef, 
 and gradually mounted the broad low range of the Kateef hills, 
 having Djebel Mushahhar at a considerable distance on our 
 right. But the sea, though I looked townrds it and for it with 
 an eagerness somewhat resembling that of the Ten Thousand 
 on their approach to the Euxine, remained shut out from view 
 by a further continuation of the heights. Here we exchanged 
 the sands of Hasa for a rocky and blackish ground ; the air 
 blew cold and sharp, nor was I sorry when at evening we halted 
 near a cluster of trees, exactly at the boundary line of the 
 Kateef territory. Our dromedaries (beautiful creatures to look 
 at) were turned loose to graze, when lo ! they took advantage
 
 3/2 Journey through Hasa \z\\kv. xi 
 
 of the dusk to sheer off, nor were they recaptured without much 
 difficulty; thus giving us proof of what I had often heard, and 
 have mentioned in the first chapter of this work, that a camel 
 when once his own master, never dreams of coming home, 
 except under compulsion. 
 
 Next day we rose at dawn, and crossed the hills of Kateef by 
 a long winding path, till after some hours of labyrinthine track 
 we came in sight of the dark plantation-line that girdles Kateef 
 itself landwards. The sea lies immediately beyond ; this we 
 knew, but we could not obtain a glimpse of its waters through 
 the verdant curtain stretched between. 
 
 About midday we descended the last slope, a steep sandstone 
 cliff, which looks as though it had been the sea-limit of a former 
 period. We now stood on the coast itself. Its level is as nearly 
 as possible that of the Gulf beyond ; a few feet of a higher tide 
 than usual would cover it up to the cliffs. Hence it is a de- 
 cidedly unhealthy land, though fertile and even populous; but 
 the inhabitants are mostly weak in frame and sallow in com- 
 plexion. The atmosphere was thick and oppressive, the heat 
 intense, and the vegetation hung rich and heavy around ; my 
 companions talked about suffocation, and I remembered once 
 more the Indian coast. When arrived under the shade of the 
 tall close-set trees, we had to keep a causeway, narrow like that 
 of Bunyan's Valley of Desolation, but not equally straight, and 
 where " Christian " himself might have reasonably feared to slip 
 into the quagmire of mud and water on either side. Luckily 
 for us, instead of Apollyon and blasphemous fiends, we met at 
 every turn harmless peasants and artisans coming and going, 
 and still increasing as we approached the town. Another hour 
 of afternoon march brought us to Kateef itself, at its western 
 portal ; a high stone arch of elegant form, and flanked by walls 
 and towers, but all dismantled and ruinous. Close by the two 
 burial grounds, one for the people of the land, the other for the 
 Nejdean rulers and colony — divided even after death by mutual 
 hatred and anathema. Folly, if you will, but folly not peculiar 
 to the East. 
 
 The town itself is crowded, damp, and dirty, and has alto- 
 gether a gloomy, what for want of a better epithet I would call 
 a 7nouldy, look ; much business was going on in the market 
 and streets, but the ill-favoured and ver}- un-Arab look of the
 
 Chap. XI] Joiirncy tJivougJi IJasa i-j-i^ 
 
 shopkeepers and workmen confirms what history tells of the 
 Persian colonization of this city. Indeed the inhabitants of the 
 entire district, but more especially of the capital, are a mongrel 
 race, in which Persian blood predominates, mixed with that of 
 Basrah, Bagdad, and the 'Irak. 
 
 We urged our starting dromedaries across the open square 
 in front of the market-place, traversed the town in its width, 
 which is scarce a quarter of its length (like other coast towns), 
 till we emerged from the opposite gate, and then looked out 
 with greedy eyes for the sea, now scarce ten minutes distant. 
 In vain as yet, so low lies the land, and so thick cluster the trees. 
 But after a turn or two we came alongside of the outer walls, 
 belonging to the huge fortress of Karmoot, and immediately 
 afterwards the valley opening out showed us almost at our feet 
 the dead shallow flats of the bay. How different from the 
 bright waters of the Mediterranean, all glitter and life, where 
 we had bidden them farewell eight months before at Gaza ! 
 Like a leaden sheet, half ooze, half sedge, the muddy sea lay in 
 view waveless, motionless; to our left the massive walls of the 
 castle went down almost to the water's edge, and then turned 
 to leave a narrow esplanade between its circuit and the Gulf 
 On this ledge were ranged a few rusty guns of large calibre, to 
 show how the place was once guarded ; and just in front of the 
 main gate a crumbling outwork, which a single cannon-shot 
 would level with the ground, displayed six pieces of honey- 
 combed artillery, their mouths pointed seawards. Long stone 
 benches without invited us to leave our camels crouching on 
 the esplanade, while we seated ourselves and rested a little be- 
 fore requesting the governor to grant us a day's hospitality and 
 permission to embark for Bahreyn. 
 
 The castle of Kateef stands on the innermost curve of a little 
 bay, itself scolloped out in the base of a much laiger one; its 
 aspect is almost due east. To north and south run out two long 
 promontories, like advancing horns, tipped, the one by the 
 fortress of Dareem, the other by that of Daman. In the lesser or 
 inner bay before us rode at high water and stranded at ebb some 
 twenty or thirty Arab barks, varying in size from a small schooner 
 down to an open fishing boat, but all equipped with lateen sails, 
 the only rig here known. One large hull not far from land 
 attracted our notice, and we felt a suitable thrill of reverential
 
 374 Journey through Hasa [Chaiv xi 
 
 awe on learning that it was Feysul's navy, with which, sometimes 
 in Hne and sometimes in column (like the gallant soldier who 
 singly formed square to receive the charge of the enemy), Nejed 
 was to resist and conquer all the infidel fleets of Bahreyn, 
 'Oman, and England united, should they madly venture an 
 attack. This important vessel, squadron, or navy, was in size 
 equal to an ordinary Newcastle collier, and about as well fitted 
 for warlike manfjeuvres, judging by the exquisite clumsiness of 
 her build. However " the natives " looked on her with great 
 dread, and never mentioned her but in an undertone. She was 
 now getting her masts in, and completing her other fittings. 
 
 Barakat and I sat still to gaze, speculating on the difference 
 between the two sides of Arabia. But our companions, like 
 true Arabs, thought it high time for " refreshment," and accord- 
 ingly began their enquiries at the castle gate where the governor 
 might be, and whether he was to be spoken to. When, behold ! 
 the majesty of Feysul's vicegerent issuing in person from his 
 palace to visit the new man-of-war. My abolitionist friends will 
 be gratified to learn that this exalted dignitary is, no less than 
 he of Hofhoof, a negro, brought up from a curly-headed imp to 
 a woolly-headed black in Feysul's own palace, and now governor 
 of the most important harbour owned by Nejed on the Persian 
 Gulf, and of the town once capital of that fierce dynasty which 
 levelled the Ca'abah with the dust, and filled Kateef with the 
 plunder of Yemen and Syria. Farhat, to give him his proper 
 name, common among those of his complexion, was a fine tall 
 negro of about fifty years old, good-natured, chatty, hospitable, 
 and furnished with perhaps a trifle more than the average 
 amount of negro intellect. 
 
 Aboo-'Eysa, who had friends and acquaintances everywhere, 
 and whose kindly manner made him always a special favourite 
 with negroes high or low, had furnished us with an introductory 
 letter to Farhat, intended to make matters smooth for our future 
 route. But as matters went there was little need of caution. The 
 fortunate coincidence of a strong north wind, just then blowing 
 down the Gulf, gave a satisfactory reason for not embarking on 
 board of a Basrah cruiser, while it rendered a voyage to Bahreyn, 
 our real object, equally specious and easy. Besides Farhat 
 himself, who was a good easy-going sort of man, had hartlly 
 opened Aboo-'Kysa's note, than without more ado he bade us
 
 Chai'. XI] Joitnicy through Ilasa 375 
 
 a hearty welcome, ordered our luggage to be brouglit within 
 the castle precincts, and requested us to step in ourselves and 
 take a cup of coffee, awaiting his return for further conver- 
 sation after his daily visit of inspection to Feysul's abridged 
 fleet. 
 
 We now stood within the palace, a building ascribed by 
 tradition to Aboo-Sa'eed-el-Djenabee, or Karmoot, himself, 
 though I can hardly believe it to be in reality of so ancient a 
 date, and should rather assign it to the sixth or seventh century 
 of Islam. This appears from the style of architecture here 
 employed, much lighter and more elegant than what few relics 
 we possess of the third century after the Hejirah; and secondly, 
 from the great extent and lavish ornament of the edifice, more 
 accordant with the works of long-established power than with 
 the first years of a new and revolutionary dynasty, which had 
 yet everything to acquire and do. Perhaps part of the founda- 
 tions and the lower storey may be due to the Djenabee, while 
 his successors have completed the superstructure. 
 
 It is worth remarking, that although the arch is known and 
 is continually employed in 5asa, vaulting is not equally so, 
 except in its most simple or barrel form : the same may be .said 
 of the covered passages yet existing in the castle of Djowf ; they 
 too exhibit only barrel-vaulting. The palace of Karmoot was 
 accordingly the first building which we had seen, since our 
 departure from Gaza, in which cross or rib-vaulting appeared, 
 a decided advance in architectural science, and henceforward to 
 be met with repeatedly in Bahreyn, on the Persian coast, and 
 in 'Oman, In the two latter districts, a further progress in 
 constructive skill is signalized by the frequency of the dome or 
 cupola, formed by concentric ranges of brick or stone shaped 
 to the double curve ; all phenomena indicative of foreign art 
 and influence. For the Arabs when left to themselves appear 
 never to have been architects enough to put even a simple arch 
 together, much less a vault or a dome; and their unassisted 
 edifices in Shomer, Kaseem, and Nejed, whether ancient or 
 modern, afford sufficient proof of this strange ignorance or 
 neglect. But when once taught by the sight of Greek or Per- 
 sian building, they readily copied the superior models of Iran 
 and Syria, till they became themselves tolerable, but never first- 
 rate, constructors. The relics of Himyarite labour in Haclra-
 
 j/' 
 
 Journey tJirougJi IJasa [Cmap. xi 
 
 iiiaut, at Nakab-el-Hajjar for example, or elsewhere, belong to a 
 ilifterent race, namely, the Abyssinian. 
 
 Barakat and I were soon introduced into the K'hawah, and 
 seated there, while a blazing fire of palm-wood dispelled the 
 damp chill of these old ruins. The furniture was tolerably 
 good, and the coffee excellent. Farhat now came back from 
 his walk, and entered with us into animated discourse about 
 Ri'ad, Feysul, 'Abd-Allah, the siege of 'Oneyzah, and so forth. 
 
 A good supper was brought in, fish and flesh ; and after it 
 had been concluded in due form by coffee and fumigation, 
 Farhat, with a delicacy of politeness which almost surprised us, 
 said that our luggage had been already taken upstairs, into a 
 room prepared for our reception, and that, as we were doubtless 
 tired, we might perhaps wish to follow it. Nay, he took the 
 very civilized precaution of having us lighted up the steps — 
 a measure not in the least superfluous, considering the dilapi- 
 dated state of the staircase ; it was of stone, but ruinous and 
 neglected. 
 
 My readers may, like ourselves, be somewhat amazed at such 
 excess of courtesy from such a personage. But nothing happens 
 on earth without a reason, and there was a sufficient one for 
 this. My old patient Djowhar, after regaining his health, had 
 passed by Kateef when on his way to Bahreyn. Received with all 
 the honour due to a lord-treasurer, he had during his stay in the 
 castle indoctrinated his brother negro with so favourable an idea 
 regarding us, that Farhat would have done anything to please. 
 Indeed, he proceeded this very first evening to render us the 
 greatest service in his power, by having diligent enquiries made 
 whether any vessel or boat was shortly to sail for Bahreyn, pro- 
 mising us the first departure should be ours. We thanked him, 
 and followed the lamp up the winding stairs, where we found 
 our quarters. 
 
 The next day passed, partly in Farhat's K'hawah, partly in 
 strolling about the castle, town, gardens, and beach, making 
 meanwhile random enquiries after boats and boatmen. Kateef 
 offers what might almost be called a violent contrast to the 
 general features of Arabia. The rank luxuriance of its garden 
 vegetation suqjasses by much the best watered spots about 
 Hofhoof, and the heavy foliage drooping in the heavy air 
 aroused in me remembrances of a rainy season in the Concan,
 
 Chap. XI] Joumcy tJivougJi Ilasu T^yy 
 
 and sensations which had been sleeping for many a year. The 
 town itself, damp and dingy as it is, offers little to invite 
 visitors. 
 
 It was noon when we fell in with a ship-captain ready to sail 
 that very night, wind and tide permitting. Farhat's men had 
 spoken with him, and he readily offered to take us on board. 
 We then paid a visit to the custom-house officer to settle the 
 embarkation dues for men and goods. This foreman of the 
 Ma'asher, whether in accordance with orders from Farhat, or of 
 his own free will and inclination, I know not, proved wonderfully 
 ' gracious, and declared that to take a farthing of duty from such 
 useful servants of the public as doctors, would be " sheyn w' 
 khata'," " shame and sin." Alas, that European custom-house 
 officials should be far removed from such generous and patriotic 
 sentiments ! Lastly, of his own accord he furnished us with 
 men to carry our baggage through knee-deep water and thigh- 
 deep mud to the little cutter, where she lay some fifty yards 
 from shore. Evening now came on, and Farhat sent for us, to 
 congratulate us, but with a polite regret, on having found so 
 speedy conveyance for our voyage. Meanwhile he let us under- 
 stand how he was himself invited for the evening to supper with 
 a rich merchant of the town, and that we were expected to join 
 the party; nor need that make us anxious about our passage, 
 since our ship-captain was also invited, nor could the vessel 
 possibly sail before the full tide at midnight. 
 
 Accordingly, after sunset we all went in great state, the 
 governor at our head, to the house of our evening's entertainer. 
 It was a fine three-storeyed dwelling, where the furniture and 
 domestic arrangements, the small rooms, the profusion of carpets, 
 with little knick-knacks of childish ornament, bespoke a Persian 
 much more than an Arab taste. Nargheelahs stood ready in a 
 side-closet for whoever might require tlieni ; and while Farhat, 
 his principal retainers, and ourselves were seated on the cushioned 
 divan, we were drenched all round, " thrice and once," with rose- 
 water, and regaled with tea in pretty china cups presented by 
 Avell-dressed serving-lads with the grace of Shiraz and Ispahan. 
 The conversation was however dull — principally on bales of 
 cloth and sacks of rice ; the townsmen, who composed two- 
 thirds of the assembly, having little interest in the affairs of 
 Ri'ad and 'Oneyzah, except precisely what it was better to con-
 
 ^jS Journey t!iroit(^h Hasa [Cum-. xr 
 
 ceal than to display, while Farhat and his men observed the 
 gravity befitting true believers when in the presence of free- 
 thinkers and infidels. The supper was long in going by ; it 
 mustered four or five courses, with small Persian side-dishes 
 of sweet but unknown materials \ an endless circulation of tea- 
 cups complicated the business, and we did not rise till near mid- 
 night. Farhat then wished us a prosperous journey, and insisted 
 on receiving a letter from Basrah to assure him of our safe 
 arrival there. This letter I never sent, for the simple reason 
 that, more shame for me, I never once recalled to mind his 
 courteous request till this very moment, (July 20th, 1864) when, 
 seated on the shore of a German lake amid pines and beeches, 
 I am conjuring up to memory the muddy coast and dense palm- 
 groves of Kateef. "Tempora mutantur," and I may well add, 
 " et nos mutamur in illis." Be it so; the outer shell may vary, 
 but the kernel of human life is everywhere much the same. 
 
 From our town supper we returned by torchlight to the 
 castle ; our baggage, no great burden, had been already taken 
 down to the sea gate, where stood two of the captain's, men 
 waiting for us. In their company we descended to the beach, 
 and then with garments tucked up to the waist waded to the 
 vessel, not without difficulty, for the tide was rapidly coming 
 in, and we had almost to swim for it. At last we reached the 
 ship, and scrambled up her side ; most heartily glad was I to 
 find myself at sea once more on the other side of Arabia.
 
 379 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Bahreyn, Katar, and 'O.mAn 
 
 When the night is left behind 
 In the dim West, dim and blind, 
 And the blue noon is over us, 
 And the multitudinous 
 Billows murmur at our feet, 
 Where the Earth and Ocean meet; 
 And all things seem only one 
 In the universal sun. 
 
 Shelley 
 
 Islands of Bahreyn — Moharrek and Mendmah — Their Appearance — Land- 
 ing at Matdmah — Our First Day there — We take Lodgings — A Bahreyn 
 Dwelling — Aboo-'' Eysa Arrives — Scheme for Visiting 'Oman — Yoosef-ebn- 
 Khaftiees — A Separation — Passage to Moharrek — We Einbark for Katar — 
 Coasts of Bahreyn and Katar — Bedad} — Description of Katar — Its Fisheries 
 — Mendseer Bedouins — Watch-towers — AIohammed-ebn-Thdnee — His 
 Residence and Character — Departure from Katar — A Ship and Crew of 
 Barr-fdris — Sea Hospitality — A Gale — Landittg at Charak—A Visit to the 
 Chief — Latest JVews from ' Oneyzah — Subsequent Fate of that Town and of 
 Zdmil — A Walk about Charak — We Embark for Li7ija — Landing at 
 Linja — The Tozvn — Ddeyj and his House — Departure for Sharjah — Two 
 Days on Aboo-Moosa. 
 
 Having now reached regions which, though I cannot hope they 
 will be familiar to most of my readers, yet have been described 
 by other travellers, my narrative will move with a more rapid 
 pace. Our captain, Moleyk, welcomed us on board his craft, 
 and made up a round of coffee without delay. We inhaled our 
 pipes in the delightful assurance of being at last out of Wahha- 
 bee territory, and beyond the reach of all "no smoking allowed" 
 regulations, and then, in nautical phrase, " turned in " under 
 the shelter of a large deck-cabin near the stern, where we soon 
 fell sound asleep; undisturbed, at least for my part, by all the
 
 380 Bahrcyn and Katar [Chap xii 
 
 running, trampling, and shouting of the sailors getting our ship 
 under weigh. 
 
 Our voyage was delayed by twenty-four hours' detention off 
 the village of Soweyk, where we took in a young chief of the 
 El-Khaleefah family, on a visit to his uncle Mohammed, the pre- 
 sent governor of Bahreyn. But after some three days on board, 
 we came in sight of Bahreyn, and by evening were close under 
 the two islands which bear that name. The southern island 
 is much the larger, and is therefore often called Bahreyn to the 
 exclusion of its northern companion, which more commonly 
 bears the name of Moharrek, from the capital situated on its 
 southern side. This town lies like a long white strip on the shore 
 of the channel that separates it from the town of Menamah, 
 whose buildings occupy a corresponding position on the northerly 
 marge of the larger island. Thus these two seaports look each 
 other in the face, somewhat like Dover and Calais, though for- 
 tunately for them with friendlier feelings, since in case of war 
 no Boulogne fleet would be required to cross the Bahreyn 
 channel. Moharrek is far the prettier of the two to the eye, 
 with its white houses, set off by darker palm-huts (for the ex- 
 treme mildness of the climate renders this mode of habitation 
 very common, and almost desirable), the large low palaces of 
 the Khaleefah family, and two or three imposing forts close to 
 the sea-shore. 
 
 Menamah, though larger in extent than Moharrek, has a less 
 showy appearance ; it is a centre of commerce, as its vis-a-vis 
 is of government; and hence has fewer palaces to present, and 
 less display of defensive architecture. However, near its western 
 extremity, a large square mass of white building, with a few 
 cannon arranged battery-like in front, announces the residence 
 of 'Alee, brother of Mohammed, vice-governor of Menamah, and 
 wiser than his kinsman, if report be true. Little is to be seen 
 of the town itself on a sea approach ; the first range of dwell- 
 ings and warehouses shuts out the rest from view ; and, except 
 the palace of 'Alee, no other edifice of importance stands near 
 the water's edge. 
 
 Wearing slowly up with a side wind, we anchored before 
 Moharrek, a little after sunset. The arrival of strangers, many 
 or few, from north or south, is an every-hour occurrence here ; 
 and a passing look, or a chance " good-monow," was all the
 
 Chap, xii] Bakrcyii and Katav 381 
 
 notice taken of us by the many wlio thronged the landing- 
 place. Having hopes that Aboo-'Eysa might have preceded 
 us hither, we made for the nearest and largest coffee-house, 
 where, as in barbers' shops of old, news and new comers are of 
 right to be sought and found. It was now eight good months 
 since we had last sat in a public coffee-house, and that in the 
 suburbs of Ghazzah (or Gaza), of Palestine; the rest of our 
 journey having been through lands too backward in civilization 
 or too fonvard in bigotry, or both one and the other, to admit 
 of such establishments. But Bahreyn is beyond the Wahhabee 
 circle, and breathes the atmosphere, so to speak, of Basrah and 
 Persia. We gladly took our seats on the high matted benches, 
 amid turbaned townsmen and gaily-dressed shopkeepers, to 
 enquire about the latest arrivals from the port of 'Ajeyr, whence 
 Aboo-'Eysa was to embark, according to our parting agreement. 
 Meanwhile the white-vested waiter prepared and presented our 
 coffee, after filling the huge Nargheelahs here in use with the 
 strong 'Oman tobacco, the bugbear of Ri'ad ; but here 7ious 
 avons change tout cela. 
 
 No news was however to be learnt touching our friend ; and 
 we had now to think how and where to find a berth for passing 
 the time of our sojourn, till he should arrive from IJasa. This 
 was not an easy quest. Bahreyn, like most eastern localities, 
 has no inns properly speaking ; and the Khans, which here as 
 elsewhere apologize for that deficiency, had too unpromising 
 and insecure a look to allow the fixing our residence in any 
 one of them. For many hours we sought in vain where to 
 establish ourselves. At last we entered a pretty coffee-house, 
 much Hke a "Sailors' Home" in situation near the beach, 
 in size and style of customers. Its owner, a very civil man, 
 took our cause in hand, ordered his head man to supply 
 his place awhile, and went in quest of quarters for us. taking 
 Barakat along with him, while I remained behind to chat with 
 sailors and gaze at the sea through a disorganized telescope 
 fixed in the look-out. About nightfall, we were conducted to 
 the desired spot. Here we entered by a narrow door, and 
 found ourselves in a large open enclosure of palm-branches 
 about eight feet high, set in the ground side by side and closely 
 interwoven; within the enclosure, and divided from each other 
 by a little space, stood two long palm-leaf huts ; one for us, the
 
 382 Bahrcyii ajid Katar fchap. xii 
 
 other was the abode of our sailor and his family. Our dwelling 
 was about thirty feet in length by ten in breadth, with as much 
 to the top of the sloping thatch-roof; a hurdle-like screen 
 divided the interior into two unequal compartments; the lesser 
 served for a store-room, the greater for habitation. The floor 
 was strewn, the general custom here, with a thick layer of very 
 small shells; over this a large reed mat had been spread. We 
 made our preliminary arrangements for beautifying and fitting 
 up the apartment, and were soon honoured by the presence of 
 the proprietor himself, who from his pretty brick and plaster 
 house close by came to see us installed, while his servants 
 brought according to custom the introductory supper of rice, 
 fish, shrimps, and vegetables for the new guests. Of course we 
 invited our good-natured friends, to whose diligence we owed 
 this shelter, to partake of our meal; and we all passed together 
 a very pleasant evening, with a feeling of security and calm 
 such as Ave had hardly known since our first departure from 
 Jaffa. 
 
 Next morning we renewed our search after Aboo-'Eysa, but 
 to no purpose. Not a single arrival from 'Ajeyr for many days 
 past, and the north wind still prevailed, and precluded all chance 
 so long as it should last. It was now the 28th December, 
 1862, and we were destined to wait in daily hope and daily dis- 
 appointment till the 8th January following. 
 
 During the twelve days that we awaited the arrival of Aboo- 
 'Eysa, we passed most of our time in the various coffee-houses, 
 and especially in that called a few pages back the " Sailors' 
 Home," whose owner had so obligingly aided us at our first 
 arrival, where our hours Avent by less tediously than they often 
 do with strangers in a foreign land. From the maritime and in 
 a manner central position of Bahreyn, my readers may of them- 
 selves conjecture that the profound ignorance of Nejed regarding 
 Europeans and their various classifications is here exchanged 
 for a partial acquaintance with those topics ; thus, " English " and 
 " French," disfigured into the local " Ingleez" and " PYansees," 
 are familiar words in Menamah, though Germans and Italians, 
 whose vessels seldom or never visit these seas, have as yet no 
 place in the Bahreyn vocabulary ; while Dutch and Portuguese 
 seem to have fallen into total oblivion. But Russians, or 
 " Moscop" (that is, Muscovites), are alike know-n and feared,
 
 Chap. XII] Baknyu and Katar 383 
 
 thanks to Persian intercourse and the instinct of nations. Be- 
 side, the pohcy of Constantinople and Teheran are freely and 
 at times sensibly discussed in these coffee-houses, no less 
 than the stormy diplomacy of Nejed and her dangerous en- 
 croachments ; ship news, commerce, business, tales of foreign 
 lands, and occasionally literature, supply the rest of the con- 
 versation. 
 
 Of the local governor and the men of state we saw little; in- 
 deed we avoided them as much as possible, and even declineil 
 a chance invitation from 'Alee to his palace ; thinking it enough 
 knowledge of the Bahreyn El-Khaleefahs to hear " their evil 
 report;" nor do I imagine that a nearer acquaintance with them 
 would have brought us to a more favourable opinion. 
 
 At last, on the 6th of January, 1863, the wind veered to the 
 south, and on the 9th of the month our long-expected Aboo- 
 'Eysa arrived, with a squadron of retainers. Schemes were 
 formed and discussed, rejected or revised, till at last we agreed 
 on adopting a plan sketched out by our friend while with us in 
 his Hofhoof retirement, and in furtherance of which a large 
 part of the wares he now brought with him had been purchased. 
 This plan was not a bad one, though circumstances beyond the 
 reach of ordinary calculation concurred to render its success 
 less complete than it might otherwise have been. 
 
 Aboo-'Eysa had procured above twenty loads of the best 
 Hasa dates, the genuine Khalas, well packed in oblong rush- 
 cases, and at the same time he had given order for four hand- 
 some mantles of Hofhoof manufacture, woven and embroidered 
 by the most skilful hands : three for presentation to an equal 
 number of chiefs whose domains lay between Bahreyn and 
 Mascat; the fourth and costliest garment for the Sultan of 
 'Oman himself, in acknowledgment of patronage afforded our 
 friend on a former occasion. Meantime I was to accompany 
 the gifts and their bearer under the scientific character of a 
 deep-read physician, on the look-out for I know not what herbs 
 and drugs, which I was to suppose discoverable in the south- 
 eastern regions ; and when, under covert of the introduction 
 thus obtained, and the good will likely to ensue, I had succeeded 
 in sufficiently examining the land and the people, I was to 
 return to Aboo-Shahr, where I should find Ixirakat arrived long 
 before with Aboo-'Eysa. For diis latter had about three months
 
 3 84 Bahrcyn and Katar [Chap. xii 
 
 to pass at the above-mentioned town, while getting his pilgrims 
 together, and preparing for their journey across Arabia to 
 Mecca. Barakat, so said Aboo-'Eysa, could not safely accom- 
 pany me ; much less could he take my place. 
 
 Yoosef-ebn-Khaniees, for that was the name of my destined 
 associate, was a ver)'- curious individual, and not unlike some of 
 Shakespeare's supplementary characters. He was a native of 
 Hasa, half a jester and half a knave ; witty, reckless, hare- 
 brained to the last degree, full of jocose or pathetic stories, of 
 poetry, traditions, and fun of every description, whether coarse 
 or delicate. But he had one sterling quality, which in an affair 
 like the present more than counterbalanced whatever weighed 
 in the opposite scale, namely a boundless attachment, a real de- 
 votion to Aboo-'Eysa, not inferior to that of Evan Maccombich 
 to Fergus, or of Caleb to Ravenswood. The origin of this 
 feeling was not however in kith and kin ; it was due simply to 
 Aboo-'Eysa's singular kindheartedness and liberality, which had 
 rescued Yoosef from utter poverty, and had maintained him 
 for a considerable time past in a decent and even honourable 
 position. He was now about thirty-six years of age, tall, and 
 (notwithstanding a slightly comical turn of features) handsome, 
 with a little black beard where some prematurely grey hairs, the 
 result of horror on seeing an unlucky comrade killed by his side 
 in the Bahreyn battle, contrasted oddly with his youthful appear- 
 ance, and gave occasion to many a jest of others against him, 
 and of him against himself For Yoosef, like Falstaff of old, 
 was " not only witty in himself, but the cause that wit was in 
 other men ; " although in physical conformation he was the 
 very reverse of our own jovial knight, being remarkably slim 
 and slender in form. 
 
 Matters having been arranged on this footing, we awaited 
 a favourable occasion for putting to sea. But the wind was 
 adverse, and day by day dragged on till the 23rd of January, when 
 a southerly breeze and a good ship combined to carry off Aboo- 
 'Eysa and his retainers, with Barakat, to Aboo-Shahr, while 
 Yoosef and I were to cross the channel next day for Moharrek, 
 and there embark for the port of Bedaa' on the coast of Katar, 
 where resided Mohammed-ebn-Thanee, the first and nearest of 
 the chiefs to whom our visit and our presents were addressed. 
 
 One of those presentiments which are not so uniformly ex-
 
 Chap. XII] Bohrcyn aud K atar 385 
 
 plicable as frequently experienced by human creatures, regard- 
 ing the sliipwreck which in fact lay before me, led me to entrust 
 Barakat with the keeping of all my papers, notes, and Avhatever 
 I had of any value, except a small stock of money to meet the 
 emergencies of the journey. 
 
 It was a fair and sunshiny afternoon when, after many good 
 wishes for a speedy meeting, and mutual recommendations, as 
 wont among parting friends, we separated — Aboo-'P^ysa, accom- 
 panied by his retainers and Barakat, going on board their 
 schooner for Aboo-Shahr, while Yoosef-ebnKhamees and my- 
 self remained to keep house, and passed the evening in compa- 
 rative silence. I felt uncommonly lonely ; but the hope of an 
 interesting and well-occupied journey, followed by a prompt 
 and successful return, went far to console me. Yoosef too, 
 though as melancholy as " a gib-cat or a lugged bear " at the 
 departure of his patron, beguiled his fancy by prognosticating 
 a prosperous voyage for Aboo-'Eysa, without sea sickness or 
 danger. But hope deceived us both. 
 
 Next morning we took a small boat, and crossed over to Mo- 
 liarrek. Just off the Casde-point lay our bark, ill-built, ill-rigged, 
 and ill-manned; but these defects mattered little, as we did not 
 intend to take her farther than Katar, a short sail; besides, any • 
 ship, however slight, if but guided by a knowing pilot, may ven- 
 ture almost fearlessly on the quiet waters of this bay, to which 
 the Arabs have given the name of " Bahr-ul-Benat," or "the 
 Girls' Sea ; " whether from visions of mermaids — here, no less 
 than the "Cacquets" of Brest, the object of popular credulity; 
 or perhaps from the gentle, peaceful, and smiling character of 
 the bay itself We put our goods and chattels on board, recom- 
 mended them to the care of the captain, an " old old man, with 
 beard," which should have been "as white as snow" had it but 
 been better washed and combed; and after receiving his assur- 
 ance that all would be ready for sailing next morning at sunrise, 
 we returned to the town. Here a storm (from which Aboo- 
 'Eysa, as we learnt near three months later, suffered greatly) 
 delayed us. On the morning of the 26th we went on board. 
 Our ship, in size equal to a small brig, was full of live stock ; 
 jiassengers of all ages and sexes, but of low condition, bound 
 ior Katar, six or eight sailors, and some scores of sheep to keep 
 us company. (N.B. No cabin.) Yoosef and I took possession 
 
 c c
 
 386 BaJircyn and Katar [CuAr. xii 
 
 of the highest and most dignilied post, that on deck near the 
 stem, and a little before noon we got under weigh. The sea 
 was still roughish, and my companion sea-sick — Nelson was so 
 occasionally, I believe ; for myself, I enjoyed an immunity from 
 that annoyance, purchased by many voyages and much rough 
 weather on the ocean. 
 
 On the 29th we entered Bedaa', the principal town of Katar 
 at the present day, and the miserable capital of a miserable 
 province. To have an idea of Katar, my readers must figure 
 to themselves miles on miles of low barren hills, bleak and 
 sun-scorched, with hardly a single tree to vary their dry mono- 
 tonous outline : below these a muddy beach extends for a 
 quarter of a mile seaward in slimy quicksands, bordered by a 
 rim of .sludge and seaweed. If we look landwards beyond the 
 hills, we see what by extreme courtesy may be called pasture 
 land, dreary downs with twenty pebbles for every blade of 
 grass ; and over this melancholy ground scene, but few and far 
 between, little clusters of wretched, most wretched, earth cot- 
 tages and palm-leaf huts, narrow, ugly, and low ; these are the 
 villages, or rather the "towns" (for so the inhabitants style 
 them), of Katar. Yet poor and naked as is the land, it has 
 evidently something still poorer and nakeder behind it, some- 
 thing in short even more devoid of resources than the coast 
 itself, and the inhabitants of which seek here by violence what 
 they cannot find at home. For the villages of Katar are each 
 and all carefully walled in, while the downs be)'ond are lined 
 with towers, and here and there a castle " huge and square " 
 makes with its little windows and narrow portals a display of 
 strength hardly less, so it might seem, superfluous than the 
 Tower of London in the nineteenth century. But these castles 
 are in reality by no means superfluous, for Katar has wealth in 
 plenty, and there are robbers against whom that wealth must 
 be guarded. 
 
 Whence comes this wealth amid so much apparent poverty, 
 and in what does it consist % What I have just described is, so 
 to speak, nothing but the heaps of rubbish and the rubbishy 
 miners' huts about the shaft's mouth ; close by is the mine 
 itself, a rich and never-failing store. This mine is no other than 
 the sea, no less kindly a neighbour to the inhabitants of Katar 
 than their dry land is a niggard host. In this bay are the
 
 Chap xii] Bakrcyii and Katar 387 
 
 best, the most copious pearl-fisheries of the Persian Gulf, and 
 in addition an abundance almost beyond belief of whatever 
 other gifts the sea can offer or bring. It is from the sea ac- 
 cordingly, not from the land, that the natives of Katar subsist, 
 and it is also mainly on the sea that they dwell, passing amid 
 its v\'aters the one half of the year in search of pearls, the other 
 half in fishery or trade. Hence their real homes are the count- 
 less boats which stud the placid pool, or stand drawn up in long 
 black lines on the shore; while little care is taken to ornament 
 their land houses, the abodes of their wives and children at 
 most, and the unsightly strong-boxes of their gathered treasures. 
 " We are all from the highest to the lowest slaves of one master. 
 Pearl," said to me one evening Mohammed-ebn-Thanee, chief 
 of Bedaa' ; nor was the expression out of place. All thought, 
 all conversation, all employment, turns on that one subject ; 
 everything else is mere by-game, and below even secondary 
 consideration. 
 
 But if the people of Katar have peace Avithin, they are 
 exposed on the land side to continual marauding inroads from 
 their Bedouin neighbours, the Menaseer and Aal-Morrah. 
 Hence the necessity for the towers of refuge w^hich line the 
 uplands : they are small circular buildings from twenty-five to 
 thirty feet in height, each with a door about half-way uj) the 
 side and a rope hanging out; by this compendious ladder the 
 Katar shepherds, when scared by a sudden attack, clamber up 
 for safety into the interior of the tower, and once there draw in 
 the rope after them, thus securing their own lives and persons 
 at any rate, whatever may become of their cattle. For to scale 
 a wall fifteen feet high is an exploit beyond the ingenuity of 
 the most skilful Bedouin. 
 
 On landing at Bedaa' we went right to the castle, a donjon- 
 keep, with outhouses at its foot, offering more accommodation 
 for goods than for men. Under a mat-spread and mat-hung 
 shed within the court sat the chief, Mohammed-ebn-Thanee, a 
 shrewd wary old man, slightly corpulent, and renowned for 
 prudence and good-humoured easiness of demeanour, but close- 
 fisted and a hard customer at a bargain ; altogether, he had 
 much more the air of a business-like avaricious pearl-merchant 
 (and such he really is), than of an Arab ruler. Round him 
 v.ere placed many sallow-featured individuals, their skins sod-
 
 S8 Bahrcyn and Katar fchap. xii 
 
 dened by frequent sea-diving, and their faces wrinkled into 
 computations and accounts. However, Ebn-Tlianee, though 
 eminently a " practical " man, had thus far put his sedentary 
 habits to intellectual profit, that by dint of study he had ren- 
 dered himself a tolerable proficient in literary and poetical 
 knowledge, and took great pleasure in discussing topics of this 
 nature. Nay, he even pretended to have some medical skill, 
 and did I think really possess about the same amount of it that 
 many an old woman may boast of in a country village of Lan- 
 cashire or Essex. Besides, he liked a joke, and could give and 
 take one with a good grace. 
 
 He enquired about my journey. I replied that I had no spe- 
 cial business on hand for Katar, and that I was merely on my 
 way to Mascat in search of herbs and drugs. He apologized 
 for want of room to lodge us suitably in the palace itself I cast 
 a look round its narrow precincts and loop-holed stone walls, 
 and fully accepted the excuse. Ebn-Thanee had by anticipa- 
 tion caused a warehouse close by to be emptied of the dates it 
 held, and fitted up in Katar style for our reception ; that is, mats 
 were spread, and nothing more. We of course expressed due 
 thanks for hospitality here regarded as munificent, drank coffee, 
 talked awhile, and retired. 
 
 It was ten days before we could arrange to quit Bedaa'. Some 
 excursions to neighbouring places helped me to fill up the time, 
 and enlarge my acquaintance with the district. Having decided 
 to go by sea, and thus make direct for Sharjah, the first consi- 
 derable town situated within the territory of 'Oman Proper, a 
 worthy young sea-captain, native of Charak, on the opposite 
 Persian coast, offered us his ship and services. We made our 
 parting arrangements, and on February 6, while a lovely evening 
 promised a fair morrow, and a light west wind seemed to ensure 
 IS a good and speedy passage to Sharjah, we took our leave of 
 Mohammed-ebn-Thanee, who had now become very intimate 
 in his way, said adieu to three or four other friends acquired at 
 Bedaa', and entrusted ourselves to a little boat, wherein Faris, 
 to give our captain his proper name, with his younger brother 
 Ahmed and two of the crew, had come to fetch us off to the 
 schooner. She was large and well built, provided with an ele- 
 gant captain's cabin, a fore-cabin, and other nautical arrange- 
 ments; in fine, she was infinitely superior to the miserable craft
 
 Chap. XII] Bahvcyn mid Katar 389 
 
 in which we had left Bahreyn. She was built for quick sailing, 
 with two masts, large lateen sails, and a jib; her stern and prow 
 were prettily carved; indeed the latter surmounted the waves 
 with a sea-nymph figure-head ; a token of non-compliance witli 
 the Islamitic prohibition, which excludes the representation of 
 whatever has life from the sphere of ornamental art. 
 
 When we got on board, the crew, all of them cousins to each 
 other seventh remove, and relations of the captain himself, re- 
 ceived us very heartily. It is the custom on most Gulf ships 
 that passengers, of high or low degree, no matter, are looked 
 upon as the captain's own guests for the voyage, and as such 
 have a right to his table and fare, free of extra charge. My 
 readers will have remarked long before this, that in the East 
 the relative position of travellers, whether by land or sea, and 
 of those who conduct them, has a very intimate, nay almost a 
 family character ; all are considered as forming one moving 
 household during the journey or voyage. Nor are the links 
 thus united wholly broken by separation at the journey's end ; 
 the title of a special friendship and fellowship remains for years, 
 and may be claimed afresh by either party whenever need or 
 good will suggests, nor can such claim be decently rejected. 
 The reasons of this are too obvious for explanation; railways 
 and other wholesale means of communication do away with 
 these feelings, by removing the causes which produce them in 
 uncivilized countries, 
 
 A violent south-easter soon seized us ; we drove before it, and 
 when morning dawned over the tossing waves we were far away 
 from the direction of Sharjah, and had entered on the deep 
 waters known by the name of "Ghubbat-Faris," or the "Persian 
 depth," beyond die prospect of returning to Katar, or of reach- 
 ing 'Oman, and on the contrary rapidly approaching the northern 
 coast. Our captain attempted many nautical manoeuvres to 
 bring the ship about, but in vain, and he was at last obliged to 
 give up the trial, and to make straight for Barr-Faris. After 
 some hours the huge rounded outline of Djebel Atranjah, or 
 " the Citron mountain," which overtops the bay of Charak 
 itself, rose before us, and soon we had the whole line of the 
 Persian coast in view. 
 
 It contrasts strongly with the Arabian. Its mountains are 
 lofty, often two thousand feet in height, rough in outline, }et
 
 390 Bahrcyn and Katar [CuAr. xii 
 
 less barren tlian the Arab coast-range. In some places the crags 
 come right down to the sea ; in others a shore strip, ploughed 
 up by violent winter torrents, but with no perennial stream to 
 water it, extends two or three miles back towards the inte- 
 rior, till it is lost within the mountain gorges. One wide and . 
 romantic-looking pass, a little to the east, behind Charak, leads 
 to Shiraz; and by this road the invading armies of Persia have 
 often descended on Barr-Faris. The mountain sides are thinly 
 sprinkled with fig-trees, orange-trees, and other wood vegeta- 
 tion ; here and there is a streak of scanty tillage ; in the plain 
 below are palm-groves, but meagre and unproductive, with 
 just enough of otlier cultivation to keep the inhabitants from 
 famine. 
 
 Next morning the wind proved still unfavourable, and pre- 
 cluded saiHng. To pass the time, Faris took us in his company 
 to pay a visit of politeness to the local chief, 'Abd-el-'Azeez-el- 
 Meteyree. We found him highly excited by good news fresh 
 come from 'Oneyzah. For the first time since our departure 
 from Ri'ad, we now got hold of important tidings respecting 
 that fated town. I will here relate what 'Abd-el-'Azeez told us, 
 and then take occasion to add a brief recital of the events 
 which followed soon after ; events melancholy in themselves, 
 and precursors of much mischief 
 
 Having at last gathered together his forces, about the middle 
 of December, Feysul gave the signal, and 'Abd-Allah set out, 
 leading with him the entire force of Hasa, besides the troops 
 of 'Aared, and whatever else remained behind from the central 
 and southern provinces ; thus mustering a body of fifteen 
 thousand men or near it ; a force which, when added to the 
 besieging army already in the field, must have amounted to 
 twenty-three or twenty-four thousand regular troops at least, 
 besides four or five thousand Bedouins, who after long wavering 
 which side to take, now prudently determined to join the certain 
 winner. 'Oneyzah was thus left to her own unaided resources, 
 which might come up to four thousand fighting men at the 
 utmost. 
 
 After much skirmishing, a decisive batde was fought in 
 January. Zamil and I«7i-Khey'yat are said to have performed 
 prodigies of valour, and 'Abd-Allah was near being surrounded 
 and killed, as it is much to be regretted that he was not in good
 
 Cii.\r. XII] Bahrcy)i and Katar 391 
 
 earnest. But where the combatants are in the respective pro- 
 portions of five to one, a drawn battle is for the less numerous 
 party hardly better than a defeat ; and the men of 'Oneyzali, 
 now fully aware of the overwhelming superiority of the enemy, 
 and that they themselves could in consequence but ill affoui 
 the loss of a single man, shut themselves up within their walls, 
 and were blockaded in form. 
 
 So stood affairs when 'Abd-el-'Azeez gave us what was then 
 the latest information. The rest I learnt in April, when on the 
 point of leaving the confines of Arabia for Bagdad. After more 
 than a month of close siege, the outer walls first, and then the 
 inner, gave way before the Wahhabee artillery, and the town 
 was taken by assault. The inhabitants fought to the last; when 
 all hope was over, Zamil and Khey'yat cut their way through 
 the assailants, and escaped to a southern refuge in Wadi Nejran, 
 where they are believed to be yet concealed from the vengeance 
 of the conqueror. But seven hundred from among the princij^al 
 citizens of 'Oneyzah were slaughtered on the spot, besides a 
 promiscuous massacre of the common people : and the fated 
 town was plundered and utterly ruined, not to rise again so 
 long as the Wahhabee should be master of the land. 
 
 We drank coff'ee and left the audience. Faris, with much 
 politeness and a certain feeling of good taste not common in 
 the East, proposed to take me a walk about the town, and to 
 show me whatever in it was worth the seeing. This was not 
 much ; however, my cicerone pointed out to me the broken 
 traces of the old outer walls, and indicated their course amid 
 fields and trees, with all the interest of the Antiquary at the 
 Pr^etorium of Kaimprunes. Hence he led me to the foot of 
 the small marly cone on whose summit frowns a dismantled 
 round tower, a rival of our own Norfolk Caistor Castle in form 
 and size. 
 
 The rest of the day passed in enquiries how to continue our 
 journey. Little traffic exists between Barr-Faris and Sharjah, 
 whither we now desired to direct our course, and we were in 
 consequence advised to take passage on board a ship of Chiro, 
 then lying in the Charak harbour. Putting to sea next day, 
 February loth, about midnight we were in the bay of Linja or 
 Linya, where countless lights gleaming from the shore cheered 
 the darkness, and made me long for the discoveries of dawn.
 
 392 BaJirryn and Katar [Chap. xii 
 
 Day came at last, and showed us anchored at some two 
 hundred yards from land ; between it and us lay a mass of 
 shipping, large and small ; a theatre of white houses amid trees 
 and gardens lined the coast far away on either side of the 
 harbour. 
 
 On the morning of February i ith we came ashore. Since the 
 epoch when Sultan Sa'eed made this place his own, and rendered 
 it a free port, exempt from all custom-house exactions, a slight 
 harbour-duty alone excepted, Linja has rapidly risen in impor- 
 tance, and has of late years attained five times the size of its 
 former self under Persian misgovepiment and extortion. Another 
 source of its actual prosperity is the wise toleration which, in 
 accordance with the principles of 'Omanee administration, has 
 replaced Shiya'ee narrow-mindedness, and attracted numerous 
 residents. In consequence, new houses, indicating by their 
 lighter construction recent well-being, run far east and west 
 along the bay, or reach back towards the mainland, till it requires 
 an hour or more to walk at an even pace from one end of their 
 range to the other. Opposite the dock rises a jutting rock, 
 almost the only one hereabouts ; it is crowned by an old castle 
 and tower of mediaeval look, now ungarrisoned, for Thoweynee 
 sensibly trusts rather to wooden than to stone walls for the de- 
 fence of his sea-ports. The palace of the 'Omanee governor, a 
 lad of twenty or thereabouts, by name Seyf, and native of the 
 "Batinah, stands farther east; it forms a large square, four storeys 
 high, with ogive windows and much Persian ornament; its 
 general effect reminded me of some old town-halls on the Con- 
 tinent, particularly in Belgium and Flanders. Faither on are 
 several shipwright yards, where many vessels are in active pro- 
 gress of construction ; some of them were of large size, and, so 
 far as I could reduce the computations of this country to En- 
 glish measure, of about a hundred and fifty to two hundred tons 
 burden. The shipwrights themselves are often Indians from 
 the Bombay side. 
 
 Yoosef went to look out for a lodging for both of us, and I 
 remained awhile seated at the foot of the old ruined tower 
 already mentioned, to contemplate the first scene of unmixed 
 I^rosperity that I had beheld since my first entrance on Central 
 Arabia and to long for the return of my companion, with tidings
 
 Chap. XII] Bakrcyii and Katar 393 
 
 of a lodging and a breakfast. These he brought at last; and witii 
 him came apug-noscd, thickset, good-natured young fellow, whose 
 grimed hands and soot-stained dress announce him for a black- 
 smith. Do'eyj, for such is his name (identical by the way with 
 the Doeg of David's time, so little does the East change), is a 
 native of Hasa, but long since established here in his honest and 
 profitable calling. He purposes to have us both to board and 
 lodging, and now comes to present his compliments in person, 
 and invite me to accompany him to his Vulcanian abode. Here 
 we passed three days, waiting for a change of wind to bear us 
 to Sharjah. There was neither necessity nor thought of calling 
 on the governor Seyf ; Linja is a commercial town, a sea-port, 
 part and parcel of the great world where everyone comes and 
 goes for himself, and no one seeks acquaintance with others, 
 except for some special reason and purport. In the enchanted 
 circle of Arabia, where all dance on since four thousand years 
 at least in the same magic ring, never overstepping its limits, 
 nor enlarging it to admit a foreign measure, chiefs, sultans, 
 governors, and the other " dons " of the land, are not to be 
 passed by without receiving the honour of a salutation, and 
 without conferring in return the ostentatious tokens of their 
 greatness in the form of hospitality; a very "patriarchal" but 
 nowise business-like proceeding. Once without that magic 
 circle, we, like the rest, followed the world's tide, which carries 
 everyone forward on his own line, straight be it or crooked, but 
 unblended with the track of those around, except where the 
 eddy of pleasure or profit whirls them for the hour together. 
 
 On the 1 6th of the month we made sail a little after noon, 
 in a ship bound for Sharjah. At dawn we were off the rocky 
 island of Aboo-Moosa (mutilated into Bomosa in many maps — 
 a fair example of what Arab words become in the mouths of 
 English sea-captains), and here our skipj)er resolved to anchor, 
 for the waves ran high, and to continue our voyage would have 
 compromised the lives of the fleecy survivors. We sought out 
 a little creek, and there anchored to await calmer weather. 
 
 A high conical peak five or six hundred feet in elevation and 
 of volcanic appearance, some ridges of basaltic rock, and the 
 rest of the island composed of ups and downs covered with 
 grass and brushwood — such is Aboo-Moosa; its total length
 
 394 Eahrcyii and Katar [Chah. xii 
 
 being about five miles, and its breadth between two and three. 
 At its south-western corner are found a itw brackish wells; 
 thus provided, Aboo-Moosa is not an unfrequent shelter and 
 temporary abode for crews in sea-chances like our own, though 
 the only regular inhabitants of the island are wild-fowl and 
 conies. The eastern side of the island, on which we had cast 
 anclior, presents many points of retreat; the western is iron- 
 bound, and the waves now broke on it in white foam. Far 
 off over the sea to the south-west we could just distinguish 
 a dim dream of rocks belonging to Seer, an island in the 
 Pearl Bay. 
 
 The comparative solitude of the place produced a great effect 
 on the imaginative mind of my companion Yoosef, unaccustomed 
 to such loneliness ; and he observed, -wath a melancholy laugh, 
 " Were all our friends ashore to guess where we are at this 
 moment, would any one of them hit on Aboo-Moosa 1" This 
 he said while standing on the shore ; for, finding that our stay 
 might be a long one, we had after consultation agreed to swim 
 to land ; inasmuch as our craft was moored at some distance 
 from the beach, and had not the advantage of a jolly-boat, or 
 " Djaliboot," as Arabs call it, with a slight modification of the 
 English name. So a jib-sail is here a " Djeeb," a main-mast 
 " Meyanah," a brig " Breek," &c. We carried each on his 
 head, one a carpet, one the coffee-pots, another the cooking 
 utensils, and so forth, till we had enough to establish a complete 
 land encampment high up on the beach opposite the ship. 
 
 Two days we made Aboo-Moosa our abode, awaiting a lull 
 in the gale, now favourable, but too strong. To kill the time, 
 we clnmbered up crags, made friends with the herdsmen and 
 the fishermen, who were no less desirous than ourselves to find 
 some one to talk to, and explored the island from one end to 
 another; while Yoosef, unaware that all that glitters is not 
 gold, collected large bits of spar, here in great plenty, con- 
 ceiving them to be something very precious. Nay, though it 
 was now mid-February, the mildness of the atmosphere encou- 
 raged us to repeated feats of swimming, though we little ex- 
 pected that within a few weeks we should have occasion to 
 Ijring it to a more serious trial. 
 
 '• How happily the days of Thalaba went by" in such amicable
 
 Chap. XII] BaJircyv and Katar 395 
 
 society, and amid such varied amusements ! I at any rate had 
 here no business on hand, m.edical or otlier, and felt lazily glad 
 when I heard the roar of the breakers announcing from hour 
 to hour the impossibility of leaving our Arab Patmos. How- 
 ever, all things on earth or sea must have an end, and on the 
 evening of the i6th, the sea had calmed into a ripple, under 
 the drooping westerly breeze ; we swam on board again, and 
 before sunset Aboo-Moosa was fadine. perhaps for ever, from 
 our retrospective view.
 
 396 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 The Coasts of 'Oman — A Shipwreck — Finis 
 
 Ves, I remember well 
 
 The land of many hues, 
 Whose charms what praise can tell, 
 Whose praise what heart refuse ? 
 Sublime, but neither bleak nor bare, 
 Nor misty are the mountains there ; 
 Softly sublime, profusely fair. 
 Up to their summits clothed in green. 
 And fruitful as the vales between, 
 
 They lightly rise 
 
 And scale the skies. 
 And groves and gardens still abound ; 
 
 For where no shoot 
 
 Could else take root. 
 The peaks are shelved and terraced round. 
 
 H. Taylor 
 
 Arrival at Sharjah — Its Khcnvr or Harbour — Dispositiotis of the People — 
 Embarkment on a Ship of Sozaeyk for Sohdr — We arrive at Ormitz — The 
 Island — The Portuguese Fort — Pharos-Towo- — Passing Cape Mesandum 
 — Leyniah — Scenay and Village — ICalhat — The Bdtinah — Landijtg at 
 Sohdr — Our Host '' Eysa — His House — Domestic Architecture in ''Oman — 
 We embark for Alascat — Coast of the Bdtinah — C^-nu atid Passengers — 
 Barka — Sowddah Islands — A Sudden Stortn — Driving before the Wind 
 — The Ship Founders — Some Escape in the Boat and on a Plank — Further 
 Incidents of the Night — Several more are Drowned — A Desperate Pcsolu- 
 tion averted — We make for Shore — Loss of the Boat — A IIa7-d Swim — 
 Nine come to Land — Their Conduct — Our Whereabouts — A Dreary 
 Alornittg — We set out for the Sultan'' s Palace at Bat hat — Farzah — Palace 
 of the Bathah — Thoweynee a7id his Court — Reception^Good IVeatmatt — 
 Our Boat — Alms Received — Meeting with Two Albanians — Their Story — 
 Details regarding Thoweynee— Our Own Position — Departure from the 
 Bathah — Matrah — Arrival at Alascat — Our Host — A Friend in Need — 
 A Ko7veyt Ship — Departure from Alascat — Constellations — Return up the 
 Persian Gulf — A Typhoid Frver — Arrival at Aboo-Shahr — At Basrah — 
 Kind Reception on an Eftglish Steamer — Arrival at Bagdad — Meeting 
 with Barakdt — Return to Syria — Conclusion. 
 
 On the morning of the i6th Fel)ruary, 1863, we sighted the 
 'Onianee coast — long, low, and sandy, but well lined with palm-
 
 Chap. XI h] TJic Coasts of 'Oiiiiv' ^gy 
 
 groves and villages ranged along the glistering shore. Far in 
 the distance like a cloud rose the heights of liereyniah or Djebel- 
 'Okdah; and to the north, another blue day-vision indicated 
 the peaks of Ro'os-el-Djebal, and Cape Mesandum. Our course 
 lay for Sharjah ; and, after some tacking and veering, we worked 
 up to the entrance of its harbour, a narrow creek, opening out 
 at right angles into the sea, and then, after some forty yards, 
 turning sharp to run inland, parallel with its parent ocean, for a 
 league and more, much like the line followed by the Yare from 
 Gorleston to Yarmouth — but here the resemblance stops. At 
 the harbour entrance is a bar, to cross which requires skill 
 and experience; beyond the water is perfectly calm, and not 
 very deep ; enough indeed for fishing boats and 'long-shore 
 cruisers, but a large ship would not find wherewithal to float 
 her. 
 
 Here for the first time we were in what is properly called 
 'Oman. Putting foot on shore I was strongly reminded of 
 India, and that in more than one particular. A mild mellow- 
 ness of climate, very different from the brisk air of Toweyk or 
 Shomer, no less than from the heavier atmosphere of Hasa and 
 Kateef ; a style of house-building not unlike that of Baroda and 
 Cambay; the dress of the inhabitants, a broad white or fringed 
 cloth wrapped round their loins and reaching down to the 
 knees, a light turban or a coloured Indian handkerchief knotted 
 round the head; their dusky complexion, slim forms, and easy 
 gait — all this, and other peculiarities of nature and art too 
 minute for description, suggested the idea of Guzerat and Cutch 
 rather than of Arabia, and contributed to explain and justify 
 the distinction drawn by the 'Omanees between their countr)' 
 and the rest of the Peninsula. 'Abbas, the sheep-merchant, 
 had constituted himself our host; his house lay amid a laby- 
 rinth of lanes and byways, and though withm the city walls was 
 constructed of wood and thatch only. But the inside was well 
 furnished and cheerful, and if any deficiencies existed, they were 
 covered by an almost lavish hospitality. 
 
 Our hours went by here in a peculiarly friendly manner, m 
 visits, dinners, and suppers ; for the natives of Sharjah seemed 
 anxious to make us experience the truth of what I had often 
 heard elsewhere regarding their sociable disposition. The guest 
 in this town finds a much greater variety in the fare set before
 
 398 The Coasts of 'Oman [Chai. xiii 
 
 him than m Arabia Proper and among Arabs : fish, flesh, })ravvns, 
 eggs, vermicelH, rice, sweetmeats of all kinds, honey, butter, 
 dates, good leavened bread, and other eatables are placed before 
 him — not piled up in one huge platter after Nejdean fashion, 
 but each placed in its separate dish ; while the repeated invita- 
 tions to vigorous trencher-work might seem excessive in number 
 and urgency even to a starving man. 
 
 On the fourth day we sailed in a small vessel, belonging to a 
 man of Soweyk, to take our chance of fair gales to round Me- 
 sandum and reach the Batinah. We bade a friendly farewell 
 to 'Abbas and others who had accompanied us down to the 
 water's edge, and embarked. It was now near noon, the 20th 
 of P'ebniary, the flood was in ; '• a light wind blew from the 
 gates of the South," and out we danced into the green sea. 
 
 On the third evening of our north-easterly course we were 
 driven close under Larej, a dreary-looking island, rock-girt and 
 scantily inhabited. Neither landing-place nor safe anchorage 
 was here to be had, so the crew managed to get the ship round 
 Larej, and we now ran before the wind for Ormuz; the sailors 
 showed more skill in managing the little canvas we could bear 
 than I had given them credit for. 
 
 I was not at all sorry to have an opportunity for visiting an 
 island once so renowned for its commerce, and of which its 
 Portuguese occupants used to say, that were the world a golden 
 ring, Ormuz would be the diamond signet. The general appear- 
 ance of Ormuz indicates an extinguished volcano, and such I 
 believe it really is ; the circumference consists of a wide oval 
 wall formed by steep crags, fireworn and ragged ; these enclose 
 a central basin, where grow .shrubs and grass; the basaltic 
 slopes of the outer barrier nm in many places clean down 
 into the sea, amid sjilinter-like pinnacles and fantastic crags of 
 many colours, like tho.se which lava often assumes on cooling. 
 Between west and north a long triangular promontory, low and 
 level, advances to a considerable distance, and narrows into a 
 neck of land which is terminated by a few rocks and a strong 
 fuilress, the work of Portuguese builders, but worthy of taking 
 rank amid Roman ruins — so solid are the walls, so compact the 
 masonry and well-cemented brickwork, against which three long 
 « enturies of sea-storm have broken themselves in vain. The 
 greater part of the jjromontory itself is covered with ruins; here
 
 Chap. XIII] Tlic Coasts of ' Oiudii 399 
 
 stood the once thriving town, now a confused extent of desolate 
 heaps, amid which the vestiges of several fine dwellings, of 
 baths, and of a large church may yet be clearly made out. A 
 solitary Pharos-tower of octangular form, like that of Sharjah, 
 but of more graceful construction, rises at about a hundred yards 
 from the land's end : it is built of brick and stone arranged in 
 herring-bone patterns. From what 1 have seen of analogous 
 constructions elsewhere, and particularly between Bagdad and 
 Kerkook, I should think this tower was originally the minaret 
 of a Persian mosque, and that it was subsequently applied by 
 the Portuguese to the purposes of a lighthouse. Close by the 
 fort cluster a hundred or more wretched earth-hovels, the abode 
 of fishermen or shepherds, whose flocks pasture within the crater ; 
 one single shed, where dried dates, raisins, and tobacco are ex- 
 posed for sale, is all that now remains of the trade of Ormuz. 
 The storm that had driven us on Ormuz lasted three days, 
 during which period it was impossible to put out. At last the 
 breeze came, and on the morning of the 27th we were once 
 more at sea, and running due south, till we came down oppo- 
 site to the outer entrance of the Bab or Gate of Mesandum, 
 through which we had now no longer need to pass. We wore 
 slowly on under the pillar-like rocks (I bethought me of prints 
 seen long since of Fingal's Cave and the Giant's Causeway), 
 and early next morning we put in for an hour or so into a shel- 
 tered recess, an inland lake were it not for the very narrow 
 ribbon of water connecting it with the sea. 
 
 Next morning dawned for us on a very pretty scene. It was 
 a low shingly beach, behind which a wooded valley stretched 
 fiir back between the mountains, and ended in deep gorges, 
 also clothed with trees, though the rough granite crags peeped 
 out here and there ; on our right the village of Leymah, house 
 above house, and row above row, clomb up the hill-side, like 
 many a hamlet seen by me in the happy days of boyhood within 
 the Swiss canton of Ticino, or — but in later and less rosy times 
 — on the slopes of Lebanon. Further up were herds of goats 
 cUnging to the mountain ledges, and shepherds loitering among 
 them; below in the valley, bands of blue-dressed peasant women 
 moved in quest of water from the wells; while on the beach 
 were boats large and small, drawn up, or ready for the chances 
 of the fishery.
 
 400 Tlic Coasts of 'Oman [Chap. xiii 
 
 In the afternoon we went on board again, and for the rest of 
 the evening skirted the rocky coast of Kalhat or Kalhoot. 
 Next morning we were off the Gulf of Debee, a magnificent 
 bay, scarcely inferior in beauty to that of Naples; many small 
 villages are jotted ort its shores, and behind it circles a pan- 
 orama of mountains worthy of Sicily. 
 
 Before evening we came opposite to a high precipitous peak, 
 situated at a distance of ten to twelve miles from the coast. 
 Hence, southwards, begins the Batinah, following the coast as 
 far as Barka, and reaching inland to the slope of Djebel-Akhdar. 
 This is by much the richest though not exactly the most 
 important province of 'Oman. Placed with the sea on one 
 .side, and the high range of Djebel-Akhdar or " the green 
 mountain" on the other, it is better watered than any other 
 district soever of Arabia. The number of towns and villages 
 in the Batinah is said to surpass a hundred ; from what I saw, 
 I can readily believe it. At least the coast is one continuous 
 line of gardens and habitations, from Cape Kornah, where the 
 ])rovince commences, down to Barka, where it ends ; far as the 
 eye can reach nothing appears but cultivation and houses, with 
 a deep background of green and foliage. 
 
 At night the breeze dropped, and we lay-to close on shore. 
 With the bright glitter of Venus, welcomed by our sailors under 
 the oft-questioned name of Farkad, the land wind blew, and on 
 we glided smoothly, steadily, by the coast, while the captain 
 and Zeyd pointed out to me village after village, and town after 
 town. Early next morning before sunrise we had reached the 
 roadstead of Sohar, where Yoosef and I determined to land for 
 good, and to pursue the rest of our way by land ; pity tliat we 
 did not subsequently keep to our resolution ! Bidding a reluc- 
 tant farewell to Zeyd and his companions, we went ashore. 
 Our first enquiries were after the chief, Fakhar by name, and a 
 man of great importance. But he was unluckily absent, and 
 we decided to try the hospitaHty of an old 'Omiinee acquaint- 
 ance of 'Ebn-Khamees. 
 
 The house of 'Eysa, for so he was styled, was itself of brick- 
 work, but provided with wooden and thatched out-rooms, a 
 l)leasant arrangement for passing the hotter hours of the day, 
 and common in 'Oman, where even at this time of year the 
 weather is very warm : indeed, all in all, the climate is that of
 
 Chap. XIII] Tkc CoclStS of ' OllldU 401 
 
 Bombay ; and though che latitude is some degrees to the north, 
 the temperature, from local causes, is not a whit less. A pecu- 
 liar feature of 'Omanee domestic architecture, and one which 
 has its significance, is the absence of any attempt at privacy, I 
 mean the privacy of the harem. In Nejed, and even in Ha^a, 
 Shomer, and the Djowf, we have seen that a distinction is 
 aimed at between the men's and the women's apartments — not 
 indeed so rigorously as in Syria and Egypt, yet enough to indi- 
 cate a degree of jealousy, at least an unwillingness to admit a 
 guest into the family life, or to allow him a glimpse into its 
 private mysteries. But in 'Oman the mutual footing of the 
 sexes is almost European, and the harem is scarcely less open 
 to visitors than the rest of the house ; while in daily life the 
 women of the family come freely forward, show themselves, and 
 talk, like reasonable beings, very different from the silent and 
 muffled statues of Nejed and Ri'ad. Hence it follows that the 
 ground-plan of an 'Omanee dwelling differs very materially from 
 that of an ordinary Arab abode, the apartments being often 
 all on a line, and communicating together, not shut off into 
 separate courts ; while the K'hawah or sitting-room, instead of 
 settling near the gate, takes up its post towards the interior, or 
 even in the heart of the habitation. 
 
 Yoosef and I intended setting off that same evening, or at 
 furthest next morning, on our land journey for Mascat; we 
 should thus have had eight or ten days of road before us. 
 But, to our great good fortune as we imagined, and to our great 
 ill-luck in reality, at the very moment that we were discussing 
 our route and dinner Avith 'Eysa, a sea captain, bound for 
 Mascat, came in, and promised to take us in his ship, saying 
 that a two days' voyage would land us in the desired port, that 
 tlie wind was favourable, and that all promised a pleasant and 
 speedy passage. We had already lost so much time in cioiising 
 about Mesandum and Ormuz, that Ave thought the opportunit}- 
 too good to be neglected. 'Eysa was of the same opinion, and 
 we ended by accepting the captain's offer. 
 
 On the third day our captain, who had from the first engage- 
 ment carried off our baggage on board (a measure Avhich effec- 
 tually prevented our breaking with him, as we had more than 
 once thought of doing), came to 'Eysa's house and announced 
 sailing time. It was the 6th of March, and we embarked. A 
 
 D D
 
 402 The Coasts of 'Oman [Chap. xiii 
 
 vague presentiment of ill, though there seemed as then no special 
 reason for it, made me " sad as night " on quitting our Sohar 
 friends who had accompanied us down to the beach ; the same 
 feeling was, curiously enough, shared by our host 'Eysa, and he 
 showed it by repeated and pressing requests that we should not 
 fail to write to him on our safe arrival at Mascat and give him 
 good news. Yet no cause appeared for fear, the wind was 
 favourable, the sea quiet, the ship a large one — so large indeed 
 that she had been obliged to anchor a long way out, and we 
 had nearly half an hour's pull in the boat before reaching her. 
 
 Our course now lay along the remaining coast of the Batinah, 
 from Sohar to Barka. I was glad to find that our pilot, like 
 most Asiatic navigators, kept the vessel close along shore, so 
 that the fact of our being at sea made us lose but little of any- 
 thing worth observing on the coast itself. The crew was very 
 interesting. The captain, his nephew, and his men, amounting 
 to nine in all, were partly natives of Soweyk on the coast, partly 
 from neighbouring villages — Biadeeyah of course. Besides 
 these we had on board ten other fellow-passengers : two from 
 Djebel-'Okdah, Sonnees but not Wahhabees ; they belonged to 
 one of those old Nejdean clans which are scattered through 
 different parts of 'Oman, and most numerous in the Dahirah. 
 Both were of amiable manners and well-read in Arab lore ; very 
 ready too to make friends with all around them ; the ultimate 
 destination of their journey was Mecca, which they proposed 
 reaching by the sea and Djiddah, thus circumnavigating about 
 two-thirds of the Peninsula. Fate had in store for one of them 
 a much shorter cruise. 
 
 A third passenger was a Nejdean, born at Manfoohah (my 
 readers will remember the town close to Ri'ad) in 'Aared ; he 
 was an ill-conditioned youth, who having, by his own account, 
 quarrelled with his papa, had fled from the paternal roof, and 
 was now, like some refractory lads elsewhere, seeking his for- 
 tune in the wide world. The seven remaining seafarers were 
 natives of the Batinah, all men of the lower classes, but cheerful 
 and talkative like most of their countrymen. The Nejdean 
 alone was ill-tempered and ugly; I should hardly think that 
 his family shed many tears over his absence. In less than an 
 hour we were " Hail fellow, well met !" with all ; the ship was 
 large and roomy, a two-master; plenty of provisions and Nar-
 
 ckap. XIII] Coast Scenes 403 
 
 gheelahs at disposal were on board ; we hoped for a pleasant 
 and an expeditious voyage. 
 
 Our vessel glided on, passing Soham, Soweyk, and I\Ie.f naa', 
 till on the 8th of the month we were close off Barka. Thus 
 far the coast had been uniform and level, fringed with palm and 
 cocoa-nut trees, and glistering with whitewashed villages, amid 
 which the pretty castles of the local chiefs shone out to the 
 sun. But near Barka a range of barren iron-red rocks, at first 
 low, but soon rising in height, appeared lining the shore, and 
 extending eastward all the way to Mascat. A land breeze arose 
 this day, and took us out to sea, till in the afternoon we got 
 among the Sowadah islands — low barren reefs, about three 
 leagues from land; and there we remained for a few hours, in 
 a dead calm of ominous import. 
 
 Towards evening a light south-westerly breeze sprung up, 
 and we spread our sails, hoping by their aid, though the wind 
 was not precisely from the right quarter, to find our way, after 
 some tacking and wearing, into Mascat harbour. But the 
 breeze rapidly gi-ew till it became a strong gale, and in half an 
 hour's time it was a downright storm, baffling all nautical man- 
 oeuvres. One of our sails was blown to rags, the others were 
 with difficulty got in, and when night closed we were driving 
 under bare poles before a fierce south-wester over a raging sea, 
 while the sky, though unclouded, was veiled from view by a 
 general haze, such as often accompanies a high storm. The 
 passengers were frightened, but the sailors and I rather enjoyed 
 the adventure, knowing that we were by this time far off the 
 coast, clear of all rocks, and in short anticipating nothing Avorse 
 than a day or two extra at sea before getting round to Mascat. 
 The moon rose, she was in her third quarter, and showed us a 
 weltering waste of waters, where we were scudding entirely 
 alone ; some other vessels which had been in sight at sunset 
 had now totally disappeared. The passengers, and Yoosef-ebn- 
 Khamees among the number, dismayed by the mad roll of the 
 ship, no longer steadied by a stitch of canvas, by the dashing 
 of the waves, and all the confusion of a storm, sat huddled 
 below in the aft-cabin, while the helmsman, the captain, and 
 myself, held on to the ropes of the quarter-deck, and so kept 
 our places as best we might; the two Sonnees with the Nejdean 
 recited verses out of the Coran ; the 'Omanee sailors laughed, 
 
 D D 2
 
 404 -^ SJiij^ivrcck [Chap. xiii 
 
 or tried to laugh, for some of them too began to think the matter 
 serious; no one however anticipated the sudden catastrophe 
 near at hand. 
 
 It may have been, to judge by the height of the moon above 
 the horizon, about ten of the night or a httle earher, when we 
 remarked that the ship, instead of bounding and tossing over 
 the waves as before, began to drive low in the water, with a 
 heavy lurch of a peculiar character. One of the sailors ap- 
 proached the captain and whispered in his ear; in reply the 
 captain directed them to sound the hold. Two men went 
 to work and found the lower part of the vessel full of water. 
 Hastily they removed some side boardings, and saw a large 
 stream pouring into the hold from sternwards : a plank had 
 started. 
 
 The captain rose in despair full length, and called out 
 " Imioo," " throw overboard," hoping that lightening the ship 
 of her cargo might yet save her. In a moment the hatchways 
 midships were removed, and all hands busy to execute the last 
 and desperate duty. But no more than three bales had been 
 cast into the deep when a ripple of blue phosphoric light crossed 
 the main deck ; the sea was already above board. No chance 
 remained. " Ikliamoo," " plunge for it," shouted the captain, 
 and set the example by leaping himself amid the waves. All 
 this passed in less than a minute; there was no time for de- 
 liberation or attempt to save anything. 
 
 How to get clear of the whirl which must follow the ship's 
 going down was my first thought. I clambered at once on the 
 (juarter-deck, which was yet some feet raised above the triumph 
 of th * lashing waves, invoked Him who can save by sea as well 
 as by land, and dived head foremost as far as I could. After a 
 few vigorous strokes out, I turned my face back towards the 
 ship, whence a wail of despair had been the last sound I had 
 lieard. There I saw amid the raging waters the top of the 
 mizen-mast just before it disappeared below with a spiral 
 movement while I was yet looking at it. Six men — five pas- 
 sengers and one sailor — had gone down with the vessel. A 
 minute later, and boards, mats, and spars were floating here 
 and there amid the breakers, while the heads of the surviving 
 swimmers now showed themselves, now disappeared, in the 
 moongleam and shadow.
 
 Chap. XIII] A SJnpzvrcck 405 
 
 So rapidly had all this taken place that I had not a moment 
 for so much as to throw oft' a single article of dress ; though 
 the buff"eting of the waves soon eased me of turban and girdle. 
 Nor had I even leisure for a thought of deliberate fear; though 
 I confess that an indescribable thrill of horror which had come 
 over me when the blue glimmer of the water first rii)pled over 
 the deck, though scarce noticed at the time, haunted me for 
 months after. But at the actual moment the struggle for life 
 left no freedom for backward-looking considerations, and I was 
 already making for a piece of timber that floated not far off, 
 when on looking around more carefully I descried at some 
 distance the ship's boat; she had been dragged after us thus 
 far at a long tow, Arab fashion, though who had cut her rope 
 before the ship foundered was what no one of us could ever 
 discover. She had now drifted some sixty yards oft", and was 
 dancing like an empty nutshell on the ocean. 
 
 Being, like the Spanish sailors in " Don Juan," " well aware 
 That a tight boat will live in a rough sea, Unless with breakers 
 close beneath her lee," I gave up the plank, and struck out for 
 the new hope of safety. By the time I reached her, three of the 
 crew had already established themselves there before me ; they 
 lent me a hand to clamber in ; others now came up, and before 
 long nine men, besides the lad, nephew of the captain, were in 
 her, closely packed. So soon as I found myself in this ark of 
 respite, though not of safety, I bethought me of Yoosef, Avhoni 
 I had not seen since the moment of our wreck. He was not 
 along with us ; but while, scarce hoping, I shouted out his name 
 over the waters to give him a chance of a signal, " Here I am 
 master, God be praised !" answered the dripping head; and we 
 hauled him in to take his fortune with the rest. 
 
 We were now twelve — namely, the captain, his nephew, the 
 pilot, and four of the crew; the remaining five consisted of one 
 of the passengers from 'Okdah — for the other had gone down 
 in the ship, the runaway scapegrace of Manfoohah, and a 
 native of Soweyk, besides Yoosef and myself Three others at 
 this moment came swimming up, and wished to enter. But the 
 boat, calculated to contain eight or nine at most, was already 
 over-loaded, especially for so mad a sea, and to admit a new 
 burden was out of the question. However the poor fellows got 
 hold of a spare yard-arm which had floated up from the sunken
 
 406 A Sliipzvrcck [Chap. xiii 
 
 vessel ; this we made fast to the boat's stern by a rope, and thus 
 took the three in tow cUnging to it, two passengers and a sailor. 
 
 Four oars were stowed in the boat, and her rudder, unshipped, 
 lay in the bottom, along with a small iron anchor and an extra 
 plank or two. The anchor was without delay heaved over- 
 board by the pilot and myself as a superfluous weight, and so 
 were the planks. Meanwhile some of the sailors proposed to 
 do as much for the passengers ; observing, not without a certain 
 show of reason on their side, that with so many on board there 
 could be remarkabl}- little hope of ever reaching shore, that the 
 boat was after all the sailors' right, and the rest might manage 
 on the beam astern as best they could. Fortunately during the 
 voyage I had become a particular friend of the captain and 
 pilot, besides earning the especial good will of a merry sturdy 
 young seaman now in the boat. So I addressed myself to them 
 tirst, and then to all the crew, and declared the expulsory 
 proposition to be utterly unjust, wicked, and not fit for discus- 
 sion ; and then, to cut short reply, I proceeded, aided by the 
 pilot, who seconded me manfully throughout, to distribute the 
 oars among the sailors ; as indeed it was high time to do in 
 order to steady the boat, over which every wave now broke, 
 threatening to send us to the bottom after her old companion. 
 The captain took post at the rudder, while the pilot and myself 
 set to baling out the water, partly with a leathern bucket which 
 one of the crew had kept the presence of mind to bring with 
 him from the ship (holding the handle between his teeth no less 
 cleverly than Cxsar did his sword off the Alexandrian Pharos), 
 and partly with a large scoop belonging to the boat ; both im- 
 ]>lements were in constant requisition, since ever)' bucketful or 
 scooj)ful of water thrown out was by the next wave repaid with 
 usury, so fiercely did the storm rage around. 
 
 The Sonnee of Djebel-'Okdah sat up in the boat, repeating 
 verses of the Coran ; the captain's nephew showed extraordinary 
 spirit for a boy of his age; the sailors managed their oars with 
 much skill and courage, keeping us carefully athwart the roll of 
 the sea; the rest, and I am sorrj' to say Yoosef-ebn-Khamees 
 for one, were so terribly frightened, that they had completely 
 lost their wits, and lay like dead men amid the water in the 
 boat's bottom, neither raising a head nor saying a word. 
 
 Indeed our position, though not wholly without a gleam of
 
 CiiAr. XIII] A SJiipwrcck 407 
 
 hope, seemed very nearly desperate. We were in an open over- 
 loaded boat, her movements yet further embarrassed by the beam 
 in tow, far out at sea, so far as to be quite beyond view of coast, 
 though the high shore hereabou'.s can be seen at a long distance 
 even by moonlight, with a howling wind, every moment on the 
 increase, and tearing waves like huge monsters coming on as 
 though with purpose to swallow us up — what reasonable chance 
 had we of ever reaching land % All depended on the steerage, 
 and on the balance and support afforded by the oars ; and even 
 more still on the providence of Him who made the deep] nor 
 indeed could I get myself to think that He had brought me 
 thus far to let me drown just at the end of my journey, and in 
 so very unsatisfactory a way too; for had we then gone down, 
 what news of the event off Sowadah would ever have reached 
 home? or when? — so that altogether I felt confident of getting 
 somehow or another on shore, though by what means I did not 
 exactly know. The Mahometans on board (they were two) — 
 so at least, poor fellows, their demeanour seenied to show, — 
 prayed as best they might; the Biadeeyah mostly kept silence, 
 or exchanged a few words relative to the management of the 
 boat, while the young sailor already mentioned cracked jokes as 
 coolly as though he had been in his cottage on shore, making 
 the rest laugh in spite of themselves, and thus keeping up their 
 spirits — the best thing just then to be done ; for to lose heart 
 would have been to lose all. 
 
 From an idea that so learned a man (in Arab estimation) as 
 I, ought, among other acquirements, to be better acquainted 
 with the chart than any one else, and perhaps, too, because I 
 seemed less thrown out of my reckonings than most of our 
 party, all referred to me for the direction of our hazardous 
 course. By the stars, a few of which were dimly visible between 
 mist and moonlight, I guessed the v/hereabouts of the shore. 
 It lay almost due south ; but the hurricane had now veered and 
 blew from bet^veen west and north ; hence we were obliged to 
 follow a south-easterly line, in order to avoid the certain de- 
 stmction of giving a broadside to the waves. Once sure of this 
 point, I made the men keep our boat's head steady on the tack 
 just explained, and for a long hour we pulled on, baling out the 
 water every moment, and encouraging each other to keep up 
 good heart ; that land could not be far off. At last I saw by
 
 4o8 A Shipzi'rcck iCha;'. xiii 
 
 the milky moonlight a rock which I remembered sighting on 
 the previous afternoon ; it was the rock of Djeyn, an outlying 
 point of the Sowadah group, and now at some distance on our 
 leeboard. "Courage!" I cried out, "there is Djeyn." "Say 
 it again; say it again ; God bless you !" they all exclaimed, as 
 though the repetition of the good news would make it of yet 
 better augury; but I percei\'ed that none of them had his senses 
 enough about him to see the black peak, which now loomed 
 distinct over the sea. " Is it near?" asked he of Djebel-'Okdah. 
 " Close by," I answered, with a slight inaccuracy, which the 
 duty of cheering the crew might, I hope, excuse : " pull away ; 
 we shall soon pass it." But in my own individual thought I 
 much doubted the while whether we ever should, so rapidly 
 did the boat fill from the spray around, while a moment's mis- 
 steerage would have sent us all to the bottom. 
 
 Another hour of struggle : it was past midnight, or there- 
 abouts, and the storm, instead of abating, blew stronger and 
 stronger. A passenger, one of the three on the beam astern, 
 felt too numb and wearied out to retain his hold by the spar 
 any longer; he left it, and swimming with a desperate effort up 
 to the boat, begged in God's name to be taken in. Some were 
 for granting his request, others for denying ; at last two sailors, 
 moved with pity, laid hold of his arms Avhere he clung to the 
 boat's side, and helped him in. We were now thirteen toge- 
 ther, and the boat rode lower down in the water and with more 
 danger than ever; it was literally a hand's breadth between life 
 and death. Soon after another, Ibraheem by name, and also a 
 passenger, made a similar attempt to gain admittance. To 
 comply would have been sheer madness ; but the poor wretch 
 clung to the gunwale and struggled to clamber over, till the 
 nearest of the crew, after vainly entreating him to quit hold 
 and return to the beam, saying, " It is your only chance of life, 
 you must keep to it," loosened his grasp by main force, and 
 riung him back into the sea, where he disappeared for ever. 
 "Has Ibraheem reached you?" called out the captain to the 
 sailor now alone astride of the spar. " Ibraheem is drowned," 
 came the answer across the waves. " Is drowned," all repeated 
 in an undertone, adding, "and we too shall soon be drowned 
 also." In fact such seemed the only probable end of all our 
 endeavours. For the storm redoubled in Aiolencc : the baling
 
 Chap. XIII] A SJliplVVCck 4O9 
 
 could no longer keep up with the rate at which the waves 
 entered, the boat became waterlogged ; the water poured in 
 hissing on. every side ; she was sinking, and we were yet far out 
 in the open sea. 
 
 " Ikhamoo," " plunge for it," a second time shouted the 
 captain. " Plunge who may, I will stay by the boat so long as 
 she stays by me," thought I, and kept my place. Yoosef, 
 fortunately for him, was lying like a corpse, past fear or motion , 
 but four of our part}--, one a sailor, the other three passengers, 
 thinking that all hope of the boat was now over, and that 
 nothing remained them but the spar, or Heaven knows what, 
 jumped into the sea. Their loss saved the remainder ; the boat 
 lightened and righted for a moment, the pilot and I baled away 
 desperately, she rose clear once more of the water : those in 
 her were now nine in all — eight men and a boy, the captain's 
 nephew. 
 
 Meanwhile the sea was running mountains ; and during the 
 paroxysm of struggle, while the boat pitched heavily, the cord 
 attached from her stern to the beam snapped asunder. One 
 man was on the spar. Yet a minute or so the moonlight showed 
 us the heads of the five swimmers as they strove to regain the 
 boat; had they done it we were all lost; then a huge wave 
 separated them from us. " May God have mercy on the poor 
 drowning men," exclaimed the captain : their bodies were 
 washed ashore off Seeb three or four days later. We now 
 remained sole survivors — if indeed we were to prove so. 
 
 Our men rowed hard, and the night wore on ; at last the 
 coast came in full view. Before us was a high black rock, 
 jutting out into the foaming sea, whence it rose sheer like the 
 wall of a fortress ; at some distance on the left a peculiar 
 glimmer and a long white line of breakers assured me of the 
 existence of an even and sandy beach. The three sailors now 
 at the oars, and the man of 'Okdah who had taken the place 
 of the fourth, grown reckless by long toil under the momentary 
 expectation of death, and longing to see an end anyhow to this 
 protracted misery, were for pushing the boat on the rocks, 
 because the nearest land, and thus having it all over as soon 
 as possible. This would have been certain destruction. The 
 captain and pilot, well nigh stupefied by what they had under- 
 gone, offered no opposition. I saw that a vigorous effort must
 
 4IO A SJiipi^'vcck [CiiAi. XIII 
 
 be made ; so I laid hold of them both, shook them to arouse 
 their attention, and bade them take heed to what the rowers 
 were about, adding that it was sheer suicide, and that our only- 
 hope of life was to bear up for the sandy creek, which I pointed 
 out to them at a short distance. 
 
 Thus awakened from their lethargy, they started up, and 
 joined me in expostulating with the sailors. But the men dog- 
 gedly answered that they could hold out no more, that whatever 
 land was nearest they would make for it, come what might ; and 
 with this they pulled on straight towards the clirf. 
 
 The captain hastily thrust the rudder into the pilot's hand, 
 and springing on one of the sailors pushed him from the bench 
 and seized his oar, while I did the same to another on the 
 opposite side ; and we now got the boat's head round towards 
 the bay. The refractory sailors, ashamed of their own faint- 
 heartedness, begged pardon, and promised to act henceforth 
 according to our orders. We gave them back their oars, very 
 glad to see a strife so dangerous, especially at such a moment, 
 soon at an end ; and the men pulled for the left, though full 
 half an hour's rowing yet remained between us and the breakers, 
 and the course which we had to hold was more hazardous than 
 before, because it laid the boat almost parallel with the sweep 
 of the water : but half an hour ; — yet I thought we should never 
 coine opposite the desired spot. 
 
 At last we neared it, and then a new danger appeared. The 
 first row of breakers, rolling like a cataract, was still far off 
 shore, at least a hundred yards ; and between it and the beach 
 appeared a white yeast of raging waters, evidently ten or twelve 
 feet deep, through which, weary as \\t all were, and benumbed 
 with the night chill and the unceasing sjjlash of the spray over 
 us, I felt it to be very doubtful whether we should have strength 
 to struggle. But there was no avoiding it ; and when we drew 
 near the long white line which glittered like a witchfire in the 
 night, I called out to Yoosef and the lad, both of whom lay 
 plunged in deathlike stupor, to rise and get ready for the hard 
 swim, now inevitable. They stood up, the sailors laid aside 
 their oars, and a moment after the curling wave capsized the 
 boat, and sent her down as though she had been struck by a 
 cannon-shot, while we remained to fight for our lives in the sea. 
 
 Confident in my own swimming powers, but doubtful how
 
 Ci!AP. XIII] Escape 41 1 
 
 far those of Yoosef might reach, I at once turned to look for 
 him, and seeing him close by me in the water, I caught hold of 
 him, telling him to hold fast on, and I would help him to land. 
 But with much presence of mind he thrust back my grasp, ex- 
 claiming, " Save yourself, I am a good swimmer, never fear for 
 me." The captain and the young sailor laid hold of the boy, the 
 captain's nephew, one on either side, and struck out with him for 
 the shore. It was a desperate effort, every wave overwhelmed 
 us in its burst and carried us back in its eddy, while I drank 
 much more salt water than was at all desirable. At last, after 
 some minutes, long as hours, I touched land, and scrambled uj) 
 the sandy beach, as though the avenger of blood had been behind 
 me. One by one the rest came ashore — some stark naked, having 
 cast off or lost their remaining clothes in the whirling eddies ; 
 others yet retaining some part of their dress. Every one looked 
 around to see whether his companions arrived ; and when all 
 nine stood together on the beach, all cast themselves prostrate 
 on the sands, to thank Heaven for a new lease of life granted 
 after much danger and so many comrades lost. 
 
 Then rising, they ran to embrace each other, laughed, cried, 
 sobbed, danced. I never saw men so completely unnerved as 
 they on this iirst moment of sudden safety. One grasped the 
 ground with his hands, crying out, " Is this really land we are 
 on V another said, " And where are our companions V a third, 
 " God have mercy on the dead ; let us now thank Him for our 
 own lives ;" a fourth stood bewildered ; all their long and hard- 
 stretched self-possession quite gave way. Yoosef had lost his 
 last rag of dress ; I had fortunately yet on two long shirts (one 
 is still by me), reaching down to the feet, Arab fashion. I now 
 gave my companion one, keeping the other for myself; my red 
 scull-cap had also held firm on my head, so that I was as well 
 off or better than any. " We may count this day for the day of 
 our birth ; it is a new life after death," said the young 'Omanee 
 sailor. " There have been others praying for us at home, and 
 for their sake God has saved us," added the pilot, thinking 
 of his family and children. " True ; and more so perhaps 
 than you know of," replied I, remembering some yet further 
 distant. 
 
 While we were thus conversing, and beginning to look around 
 and wonder on what part of the coast we had landed, the distant
 
 412 Escape [Chap, XIII 
 
 sound of a gun was heard on the right. " That must be the 
 morning gun of Seeb," said the captain. Seeb, being a fortified 
 town, and often a royal residence, has the privilege of a garrison 
 and artillery ; now from the whereabouts of our wreck oppo- 
 site Sowadah we could not be very far thence. We were yet 
 discussing this point, when another gun made itself heard from 
 inland. " That must be from the palace at Bathat-Farzah " 
 (the valley of Farzah), said another. " Thoweynee is certainly 
 there, for the palace guns never fire except when the sultan is 
 in residence with his court." 
 
 It was now the first glimmer of doubtful dawn, and the wind 
 sweeping furiously along the beach rendered some shelter neces- 
 sar)' ; for we were dripping and chilled to the bone. So we 
 crept to leeward of a cluster of bushes, and there each dug out 
 for himself a long trench in the sand ; and after having thus 
 put ourselves in some degree under cover, we waited for the 
 morning, which seemed as though it would never come. At 
 last the moonlight faded away, and the sun rose, though his 
 rays did not reach us quite so soon as we should have desired, 
 for the creek where we had landed was bordered on either side 
 by high hills, shutting out the horizon. These hills ended in 
 precipices towards the sea ; on the left was the very rock on 
 which the despairing impatience of the crew had almost driven 
 us the night before ; it looked horrible. The wind yet blew 
 high, and we were shivering with cold in our scanty clothing. 
 Those who, like myself, had come on shore with more than what 
 was absolutely necessary for decency, had shared it with those 
 who had nothing. When the sunbeams at last struck over the 
 hill side on the right, we hastened to warm ourselves and to dry 
 our apparel — a task speedily performed with so slender a warcl- 
 robe. Next we reconnoitred the position, with which some of 
 the crew found themselves to be not wholly unacquainted; it 
 was a little to the east of Seeb; but between us and that town 
 was a high and broad range of rocks, on which our naked feet 
 had no great disposition to venture; on the west we were 
 hemmed in by a corresponding barrier. But landwards the 
 valley ran up sandy between the hills, and in that direction 
 Appeared an easier path, leading ultimately, so the sailors averred, 
 to the sultan's country palace— the same whence we had heard 
 the night gun, nor could it be very far off. Once at the palace,
 
 Chap. XIII] EscapC 4 1 3 
 
 all reckoned on the well-known liberality of Thoweynee for 
 obtaining assistance. Thither we resolved to go; yet before 
 setting out we turned back to look once more on the sea, still 
 raging in mad fury. Not a trace of our saviour boat appeared, 
 not a sail in sight, though the day before (a day that now 
 seemed a year ago) there had been many. Ten large vessels, 
 part belonging to the Persian coast, part to the 'Omanee, had 
 gone down besides our own, close to the Sowadah rocks, that 
 very night ; three, as I afterwards learned, perished with every 
 soul on board ; from one alone the entire crew escaped ; the 
 rest lost some more, some less: we had at any rate companions 
 in misfortune. Gazing on the ocean, every one made aloud the 
 ordinary resolution of shipwrecked sailors never to attempt the 
 faithless element again ; a resolution kept, I doubt not, as 
 steadily as most such — that is, for a fortnight or three weeks. 
 
 We then proceeded to toil southwards across sands and slopes 
 in quest of the king's residence. "A sorr}' plight," said I to 
 Yoosef, '' for us to present ourselves in before his majesty; were 
 the gifts along with us, our visit might be more to the puipose." 
 Yoosef sighed ; that part of our misadventure fell indeed mainly 
 on him. For myself, I had of course lost every article retained 
 since our parting from Aboo-'Eysa at Menamah. What annoyed 
 me more seriously was the loss of all my notes, taken from 
 January 23rd up to the present date, namely March loth, and 
 herein must lie my apology for a certain amount of omission 
 and incompleteness during the part of my story included between 
 those periods, perhaps even some involuntary inaccuracies. To 
 the disappearance of my cash in hand I was less sensible, thougli 
 in fact it was scarcely a joke to find oneself penniless with a 
 penniless and nearly naked companion, in a strange land, 
 and far from friends or resources. But all this was a trifle if 
 compared to the mishap of the captain — deprived of ship, cargo, 
 and everything except the shirt on his back ; the rest of the 
 crew were, in proportion, no better off. However, several had 
 lost what was far more essential, — their lives, and in comparison 
 with them we might well deem ourselves fortunate. 
 
 So we walked on, half merry, half sad, and all very feeble, till 
 an hour or so before noon. At last we crossed a ridge where 
 trees began to mingle with the low bushes of the coast, ami 
 suddenly had the Bathah full in view. It was a pretty and
 
 414 Escape [Chap. xiii 
 
 wooded hollow, amid high peaked granite hills ; below all was 
 green, save in one part of the valley, where a patch of clean sand 
 spread out over some extent. By the side of this, was the palace, 
 strikingly resembling a chateau of Louis XIII's time, such as 
 I have often seen in Central France. It consists of a central 
 pavilion with side wings symmetrically arranged, open balco- 
 nies running round the first storey, and steps leading up to the 
 principal entrance; in short, it is the most European-looking 
 construction that I have found in Arabia. This palace was 
 erected by Sultan Sa'eed, and, I believe, by Western builders 
 under his orders. Around stand long ranges of stables and 
 outhouses. Here, beneath a wing of the edifice and close by a 
 private entrance, sat Thoweynee himself, in the midst of his 
 court, enjoying the morning air in the shade; before him about 
 three hundred horsemen were engaged in the evolutions and 
 caprices of a mock fight. Tents were pitched here and there 
 among the trees ; all was life, cheerfulness, and security ; a very 
 different scene from that which we had so lately beheld and 
 shared in. 
 
 We halted awhile behind a screen of foliage, whence unseen 
 we could ourselves see the king and his attendants. Before 
 long the parade was over, and the cavaliers, after saluting their 
 sultan, rode off to quarters at a little distance. We then ad- 
 vanced ; after a io-w steps some of the bystanders perceived us, 
 and came up. " Doubtless you belong to one of last night's 
 wrecks," said they ; " we had just been talking about the pro- 
 bable loss of many ships in the storm, and here you are to 
 witness." After this greeting they led us without further preface 
 before Thoweynee. 
 
 I could scarcely keep from laughing at the figure I made ; 
 but it was perhaps fortunate for my incognito with Thoweynee, 
 whose royal eyes must have rested times out of number on 
 Europeans of different categories, and who might have likely 
 enough recognized the English traveller if under a better guise, 
 and in more seemly circumstances. But to pick out an English- 
 man from amid our barelegged castaway band would have re- 
 quired a conjuror ; and Thoweynee, whatever his mother may 
 be, is not that himself We now stood before him. He was 
 handsomely, even gorgeously, dressed in fine white robes, lightly 
 embroidered with a flowered pattern, and wearing a large and
 
 Chap. XIII] Tliozvcyucc ill tJic Couutry 415 
 
 white Cachemire turban, surmounted by a diamond, with a 
 magnificent golden dagger in his jewelled belt. His person is 
 stout, and his face handsome; its expression clever but dissi- 
 pated ; he looks like what he is, a genuine follower of Epicurus, 
 but one who might have been something much better had he 
 chosen. Shrewdness, good nature, and love of enjoyment make 
 up his whole face, manner, and, it appears, character too. By 
 his side sat a boy of dusky features, but splendidly dressed, his 
 cap set with precious stones ; this youth is his eldest son by an 
 Abyssinian concubine. Close by the king was the prime minis- 
 ter and several others of high rank and birth, all dressed in white 
 and gold; while numerous attendants, armed with swords and 
 daggers, stood or sat around. 
 
 Of course the captain acted for us the part of spokesman. 
 The king received us with an air of compassion, enquired after 
 the port to which our vessel had belonged, its cargo, its des- 
 tination ; how the ship had come to founder, how many had 
 perished, how we ourselves had escaped ; and then, after pro- 
 mising the unfortunate owner a compensation for his loss, gave 
 orders that we should be lodged and taken care of in the 
 palace. 
 
 I wished Yoosef to take the word next, and to say something 
 about the presents which he had been charged with, and by 
 whom. But my man wanted courage to come forward, and 
 feared that under the present circumstances he might be held 
 for an impostor, while for my part I thought it not prudent to 
 draw too much notice on myself, especially as I had perceived 
 some north-country looking faces among the attendants. So I 
 kept in the background, and awaited the result. Meanwhile 
 one of the guards came up to Yoosef and myself and offered to 
 be our host ; the sailors one after another were each claimed in 
 the same hospitable way. We followed our conductor to his 
 abode ; it was among the outbuildings of the palace, a large 
 apartment, and inhabited by half a dozen of the royal swordsmen. 
 Here all set about making us comfortable. I was soon provided 
 with a pair of light trousers and a turban. Yoosef fared equally 
 well; a blazing fire was lighted, and pipes and coffee prepared, 
 while more substantial fare was getting ready. During these 
 operations we had to relate our story over and over again ; 
 every one condoled, hoped, and what else is customary on such
 
 4i6 TJwwcyncc in the Cojiiitry [CuAr. xiii 
 
 occasions. We made a very hearty meal of meat, rice, and 
 saffron, along with raisins, dates, and whatever besides was at 
 hand, and then lay down for a sound nap, — the first since our 
 v/reck, for the cold had not permitted us to close our eyes 
 during the morning on the beach. 
 
 Two of the sailors made a return visit that very evening to 
 the beach, where they found the broken planks of our boat, 
 dashed to pieces by the surf. Of the ship we never heard or 
 saw more — where she lay, not five but seventy or eighty fathoms 
 deep, if the soundings of the Sowadah rocks be correct. 
 
 When I awoke the afternoon was far advanced. I found 
 Yoosef already up, and he proposed a walk to see the palace 
 and its neighbourhood. 
 
 We loitered about the Bathah till sunset, when one of the 
 palace attendants presented us and our comrades with a small 
 sum of money for immediate wants, and promise of more if we 
 chose to abide for a day or two the Sultan's leisure. Ebn-Kha- 
 mees and myself received in hand each a gold toman, value 
 somewhat under ten shillings English ; this would hardly suffice 
 for adventuring on an onward journey of any length, and we 
 thought of waiting and trying the further extent of Ebn-Sa'eed's 
 generosity, when a circumstance occurred which determined me 
 on quitting the vicinity of the palace and the Bathah without 
 delay. 
 
 We had just finished our supper, night had closed in, and we 
 were sitting guests and hosts round the fire at. coff"ee, when a 
 well-dressed negro came in, and, after due salutations, presented 
 me with his master's compliments and invitation to honour him 
 with my company. I rose and followed my black conductor, 
 who led me to a neat tent pitched at some distance. There I 
 found two ex-Turkish officers, for both had been in the great 
 Sultan's service, till for reasons best known to themselves they 
 had found the Ottoman army and territory too hot for them, 
 and had, in plain English, deserted. The one had come straight 
 to 'Oman ; the other had roamed the world far as Bombay, Cal- 
 cutta, and even Singapore and Malacca; his peregrinations had 
 jtrocured him a most extensive acquaintance with English, In- 
 dians, Malays, and all kind of people. He himself, though 
 once holding a commission in the Ottoman troop.s, was not of 
 Turkish but Albanian descent. " We noticed you," said he to
 
 Cii\r. xni] TJiiKvcynce i)i the Country 4:7 
 
 me in the broken Arabic peculiar to that class of men, and by 
 which they may readily be recognized, " and concluded from 
 your appearance that you do not, like your companions, belong 
 to this country." This was said with mu^ch politeness, and was 
 accompanied by the offer of a silver-mounted Navgheelah, with 
 other minutiae of Eastern courtesy, so that I found myself toler- 
 ably at ease, in spite of a remark evidently intended as a pro- 
 logue to further enquiry. We next entered on a long and lively 
 conversation, wherein I told him what I thought fit to tell, and 
 my new acquaintance, animated by libations of something better 
 than coffee, namely, good Cognac out of a black bottle, to which 
 he and his friend made frequent applications, and which I must 
 confess was not wholly declined by myself under the circum- 
 stances, recounted his own past history, his adventures by land 
 and flood, how he had come into Thoweynee's service, and so 
 on, with perhaps a little more fluency than exactness. " In vino 
 Veritas," — sometimes also the reverse. At last the lateness 
 of the hour and my own fatigue furnished me with a decent 
 pretext for retiring, and I took my leave, while my enter- 
 tainer assured me that next day he would not fail to return 
 the visit, and that we would then have further conversation. 
 
 However, I was veiy far from ambitious of the proposed 
 honour— not that I cared much at the moment whether Thowey- 
 nee, his minister (who, as I afterwards learnt, had really his 
 doubts about me, and who had probably given the password of 
 investigation to the Albanian), and all 'Oman too, from Cape 
 Mesandum to Ras-el-Hadd, knew who and what I was, feeling 
 sure from what I had already seen and heard, that such know- 
 ledge would breed no immediate harm or hindrance. But the 
 Meteyree and his Nejdeans were just now at court, and I feared 
 lest the news, with extensive Arab amplifications, might find its 
 way to Bereymah, and thence to Nejed, and have ill results, at 
 least for Aboo-'Eysa, who would in that case appear to have 
 been all along, directly and indirectly, by himself and by his 
 men, bear-leader and accomplice to that dreaded monster, a 
 spy. Besides I had yet on hand the appointment to meet Aboo- 
 'Eysa on the Persian coast; Barakat was still with him, and the 
 consequences of a premature detection might be very disagree- 
 able. So, without explaining to Yoosef matters which nowise 
 concerned him, I gave liim to know that it was my high will 
 
 E E
 
 4 1 3 Environs of Muscat [Ci.ap. xiii 
 
 and pleasure to leave the Sultan and his court to themselves, 
 and to start the very next morning for Mascat, where doubtless 
 something would turn up in our favour; adding many pertinent 
 sayings about the vanity of putting one's trust in princes, and 
 tlie like. Yooscf easily allowed himself to be persuaded; he 
 was, in fact, so unhinged by the preceding night, that it cost no 
 difficulty to lead him one way or another like a very child. 
 
 Accordingly next morning early we sought a pair of shoes, 
 for my feet did not at all relish the angular pebbles thick- 
 strewn over most of the ground in the Mascat district. But 
 shoes were none to be found, so off we started barefoot, leaving 
 our hosts engaged in their duties of morning parade, and Tho- 
 weynee probably asleep. On the second day we reached IMas- 
 cat, passing through the large to^^^l of Matrah. Mascat, or at 
 least its harbour, forts, and buildings, has been often and suffi- 
 ciently described. Niebuhr, Welsted, and many others have 
 made here, some a longer, and some a shorter stay; not to 
 mention that English steamers on their backward and forward 
 way between Bombay and Basrah, touch here regularly twice in 
 every month, though their anchorage is only for a itw hours. 
 I>et me here, therefore, cut a long tale short. The catastrophe 
 of my story has been passed ; little remains but, after the fashion 
 of Sir Walter Scott, to sum up the fortunes of the survivors, so 
 far as I can here tell them. The hospitality of a Hasa mer- 
 chant, Astar by name, and long since a settler in Mascat, pro- 
 \'ided Yoosef and myself with lodging, board, and raiment. 
 And one evening, while sauntering about the booths of the fair, 
 in quest of a more elegant dagger than that which at the time 
 adorned my waist, I met our old shipmates, the captain and 
 with him two of his crew, now well dressed and in good spirits, 
 having received from the Sultan's liberality enough to render 
 their past misfortune almost advantageous ; they were about to 
 return to Soweyk, and recommence afresh the gains and the 
 hazards of a sea life ; I trust under better auspices. 
 
 After about a week passed at Mascat I began to consider 
 seriously with Yoosef what was next to be done. But my 
 companion had now only one thought, namely, how to return 
 without delay to his patron at Aboo-Shahr ; the journey had 
 no longer any attracUons for him, either of profit or pleasure ; 
 while the terrors of the shipwreck and the hardships which
 
 Chap. XIII] Rcttim HoiUC 4 1 C) 
 
 followed had made him look ten years older than he had ap- 
 I^eared a fortnight before. For myself also I began to think 
 that we had done and suffered enough for this time, and that 
 the rest might fairly be left to a future occasion ; the more so 
 since the mere return from Mascat to Bagdad, and thence to 
 Syria, was a tolerably long prospect, above all in the summer 
 season now drawing on. In addition an indescribable feeling 
 of weariness and low spirits, for which I could not then account, 
 but which was in reality the " incubation " (to use a medical 
 term) of a bad typhoid fever, hung about me, and made me 
 still more indisposed to additional excursions. Thus I sur- 
 rendered the idea of investigating 'Oman. A sea-captain of 
 Koweyt, whose vessel was to sail with the first fair wind, 
 offered to carry us to Aboo-Shahr, while he refused to take 
 any passage-money in requital : saying that it avouM be a 
 shame to exact payment from men who had so lately suffered 
 shipwreck. 
 
 At last, on March 23rd, towards evening, we took leave of 
 our host A.star, and of other kind friends ; and while I walked 
 down to the harbour accompanied by Yoosefand by four or five 
 particular acquaintances, I felt that my steps were finally home- 
 ward bound in good earnest. Nor Avas that feeling wholly un- 
 mixed with regret, nor without a hope, however distant, of once 
 more revisiting these strange and pleasant lands. We embarked 
 in a negro canoe, and pulled for about two hours round cape 
 and headland till we sighted the ship's lantern and climbed up 
 her dark sides long after nightfall. That same night, while we 
 cleared out of the outmost harbour and stood for the open sea, 
 I watched the Southern Cross, the lower limb of which is here 
 four or five degrees above the horizon ; though had it been 
 down to the very water's edge, the clear atmosphere would have 
 rendered every star visible. It was an old friend, seen again for 
 a short space after an absence of many years, and soon to be 
 hidden from sight, not from remembrance. 
 
 The captain and his crew kept up from first to last the same 
 friendly and courteous ways of which they had given us a speci- 
 men at Mascat, nor was there reason for any complaint against 
 our numerous fellow-passengers, mostly Indians from Lucknow 
 and its neighbourhood. The ship was large, clean, and this 
 time at least, watertight ; well for us that she was so, for about 
 
 E E 2
 
 420 Rciiini Home [Chap. xiii 
 
 half way up the Gulf we encountered a tempest, worse perhaps 
 than that which sent our old 'Omanee craft to the bottom. But 
 I was now taking very little notice of good or bad around ; for 
 the fever which I had contracted at Mascat here declared itself 
 in full force. Nor was I the only sufferer in the ship ; one of the 
 Indians had taken it also while on shore, and died before we 
 reached our destination. Sailors and captain did their best to 
 nurse me; but beyond what relief sympathizing faces and kind 
 words can give, an Arab ship has little wherewithal to meet the 
 requirements of a sick man. At last we anchored before Aboo- 
 Shahr; the crew carried me, for I could no longer move, on 
 their shoulders, and Yoosef-ebn-Khamees led the way to the 
 residence of Aboo-'Eysa, who had in his own mind put us down 
 long since in the lengthy catalogue of others, men and vessels, 
 who had perished on the night of March 9th. Barakat had 
 already gone on to Basrah, and thence to Bagdad, where he was 
 awaiting me; Aboo-'Eysa, with his Persian convoy of pilgrims, 
 about a hundred and twenty in number, Avas in a few days to 
 leave Aboo-Shahr for Bahreyn, and so to Hasa. 
 
 Here I received the latest news regarding the fall of 'Oneyzah 
 and the triumph of the Wahhabees in the West. But the fever, 
 now at its height, left me small leisure to care for events near 
 or far; in fact, I was constantly, with few and doubtful intervals, 
 in that state of half-delirium so wearisome in typhoid illness. 
 The Indian steamer arrived on April loth, and took me to 
 Basrah, where some sailors put me on board a river steam-boat, 
 then commanded by Captain Selby of the Indian NaA'y. Here 
 generous and open-hearted kindness, that proper badge of an 
 Englishman and a sailor, supplied me with good treatment and 
 medical assistance of every sort, or my journey would probably 
 have ended, like the wanderings of many another traveller, in 
 quitting the v/orld altogether. Our voyage up the Tigris, now 
 swollen by spring inundations, lasted seven days; on the eighth 
 we landed at Bagdad, where the hospitality of Captain Selby and 
 other friends, English, Swiss, and French, went far to restore 
 me, if not to perfect health, at least to a favourable convales- 
 cence. Here, after a i^tw days, I met once more my old and 
 faithful companion Barakat ; his joy on seeing me again after 
 so many sinister reports, and fear outbalancing hope, may be 
 easier imagined than described. I should notice that news of
 
 Chap. XIII] RctumHoJIlC 421 
 
 the March storm had reached Bagdad, where many enquiries 
 awaited me regarding the loss or escape of sundiy vessels in 
 which the merchants of that town had a special interest. 
 
 Our return route lay by Kerkook, Mosoul, Mardeen, Diar- 
 Bekr, Orfah, and thence round to Aleppo and Syria. It was a 
 track new to Barakat and myself, and hence full of charm to us, 
 but might be less so to my readers ; — rendered, I doubt not, 
 sufficiently familiar with that part of the world by numerous 
 and better written narratives than mine. Indeed it is only the 
 apology of novelty that can excuse to myself what, remember- 
 ing the wealthy interest of the land, I must feel are at the best 
 but imperfect outlines of Central and Eastern Arabia, from 
 Ma'an to Mascat. Much, how much ! is left untold ; — reserved, 
 I trust, for some more fortunate traveller than he who now bids 
 the reader a hearty Farewell. 
 
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