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Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
 looking for some one in the plains. At last they turned in another
direction, towards some distant villages, and when we were
consoled by not seeing a living thing, we descended from our
perch, galloped twenty miles to Dhumayr, where we were well
received by faithful Druzes, whose Chief was Rashíd el Bóstají. We
were just in time. The Governor-General had mustered his bravos;
they missed us at Umm Nirán, at the Bir Kasam, and again upon the
direct road to Dhumayr, having been put out by our détour to
Dákwah. They were just a few hours too late everywhere; so, to
revenge themselves, they plundered, in the sight of six hundred
Turkish soldiers, the village of Suwáydah, belonging to my
dragoman Azar, whose life they threatened, and also Abbadáh and
Haraán el Awáníd. So we rode into Damascus, escaping by peculiar
good fortune a hundred horsemen and two hundred dromedary
riders, sent on purpose to murder me. I was never more flattered in
my life, than to think that it would take three hundred men to kill
me. The felon act, however, failed."

Rashíd Pasha's Intrigue with the Druzes—My Account from Damascus.

"I wish each man's forehead were a magic lantern of his inner self."

Rashíd's About this time the Druzes wrote and asked Richard to
Intrigue about come to the Haurán. He wished to copy Greek inscriptions
the Druzes.
and explore volcanoes. He was not aware that the Wali had
a political move in the Haurán, which he did not wish him to see. Mr.
Eldridge knew it, and encouraged him to go, as his leave would be
short. Richard knew that if he went to one man's house, he must go to
everybody, therefore he asked them all to meet him at the house of the
principal Shaykh. When the Wali was told by Richard that he was going,
his face fell, but he suddenly changed, and said, "Go soon, or there will
be no water." Mr. Eldridge, who never left Beyrout, and had at that time
never seen Damascus, had talked a great deal about going there; so
Richard wrote and asked him to go with him, but to that there was no
answer. It was providential that I was weak with fever and dysentery,
and could not ride, so that I was left at home. As soon as he was gone
the Wali wrote to me, and accused my husband "of having made a
political meeting with the Druze Chiefs in the Haurán, thereby doing
great harm to the Turkish Government." Knowing that Richard had done
nothing of the kind, I told him so, but I saw there was a new intrigue
on. The Wali had only let my husband go in order to be able to accuse
him of meddling, and by Mr. Eldridge's not answering I suspected he
knew it too. An old Druze from the Haurán came to our house, said he
had seen my husband, and began to praise him. I said, "Why, what is he
doing?" He replied, "Máshálláh! we never saw a Consul like him. He can
do in one day what the Wali-Pasha could not do in five years. We had a
quarrel with the Bedawi, and we carried off all their goats and sheep,
and the Government was going to attack us. Our Chiefs, when they saw
the Consul (Allah be praised!), told him the difficulty, and asked him
what we ought to do. He told us we ought to give back the goats and
sheep to the Bedawi, and to make up our quarrel, and submit to the
Government, for that the war will do us great harm. The Shaykhs have
consented, and now we shall be at peace. Máshálláh! there is nobody
like him!" I now began to wonder if the Wali had intended a little
campaign against the Druzes, and if my husband had spoilt it by
counselling submission. If he had intended to reduce the Druzes of the
Eastern Mountains, and if a campaign took place in Jebel Durúz Haurán,
the inhabitants would have been joined by the fighting men of the
Lebanon, Anti-Lebanon, and Hermon. The country is eminently fitted for
defence, and the Druzes, though badly armed, are brave, and animated
by the memories of past victories. In short, the same disgraceful defeat
of the Turkish Government would have taken place as that which
occurred in 1874, and which caused the Wali, Mustafa Beg, and nine
high officials to be dismissed.
The Wali then employed somebody—who I need not name—to inform
him what day my husband was coming back. On being questioned about
it, my suspicions were aroused; I immediately gave the wrong date (it
was God's own blessing that I had for once been unable to go with
him). I got the faithful old Druze to start at once, with a pretended
bottle of medicine. I wrote, in a cipher that my husband and I composed
and understood together, the whole history of the case, and I tied it
round the cork of the bottle, covering it with leather and a bit of oil-skin,
and sent my messenger straight out to meet him. It was just in time. He
noticed with his keen desert instincts the fresh spoor of one solitary
dromedary; the rider was bound like them from Shakkah to the north-
east (where the Bedawi encamped), not for exploration, but with a
message. He divined the ill-omened foot-prints which he saw twice in
different localities, and so soon as the medicine bottle reached him, with
what Ouida would call "a quiet low laugh under his moustache," he
altered his course, and from a concealed shelter in the rocks was able to
watch the progress of a hundred horsemen and two hundred Redifs—
dromedary riders, two in each saddle—beating the country and looking
for some one. Now, these were not real Bedawi, but the jackals who call
themselves Bedawi, who surround the Cities, and are to be hired like
bravos for any dirty work. They went off on a false scent, and he arrived
home all right. Now, the day of his arrival I had been obliged, more or
less officially, to attend a ceremony, where the Wali and Authorities and
the Consuls would be present with their wives. I was determined to go,
and to put on a perfectly calm exterior, though I felt very heart-sick, and
a well-known Greek in the Wali's pay said to me, with a meaning,
unpleasant smile, "I fancy there will be important news for you in a
short while." I felt very faint inside, but I said coolly, "Oh, will there?
Well, I suppose I shall get it when it comes." Almost immediately
afterwards, Richard's Afghan walked in, and saluting said, "The Consul
has returned and wants you." The faces of the Wali and his Greek were
a study. I saluted them all, went out, jumped on my horse, and rode
back. Had the Redifs fallen in with Richard, the verdict would have been,
"Fallen a prey to his wild and wandering habits in the desert." The Wali
then forged a letter from Richard to the Druzes, and forwarded it
through Mr. Eldridge to the Foreign Office. Here it is:—

Real Copy (translated) to the Shaykhs of the renowned Druze

Mountain.

"After the usual compliments we want to inform you that this time
the wish to visit you has moved us, and to take the direction of your
country.
"For which reason we will leave Damascus on the Wednesday, and
sleep at Hijaneh; the second day at Lahtah, and the third at
Kanawát.
 "We therefore hope that you will meet us in the above-mentioned
place, that we may see you."
This is a simple general return visit to the visits of the Druzes, not
to waste time in going to each man's house, nor to make jealousies
by singling out some and neglecting others.

False Copy (translated) and sent to England.

"Traduction d'une lettre addressée par le Consul Britannique, en

date du 22 Mai, 1871 (3 Jui), aux Cheikhs Druzes Haurán.
"'Après les compliments d'usage, je m'empresse de vous informer
que, animé du désir de m'entretenir avec vous, je quitterai Damas
mercredi pour vous rejoindre, et que j'arriverai ce jour même à
Hedjan, et le lendemain à Lahita, et le troisième à Finvate. Je
nourris l'espoir que vous ne manquerez pas tous de venir me
recontrer, au dit village de Finvate, afin de prendre part à cette
entrevue."
This adds all the words that are dashed, to give it a semblance of a
secret political meaning.

Richard and I and Charley Drake made another pleasant journey

exploring the Anti-Libanus. Everybody thinks, even professional
geographers, if you speak of the Anti-Libanus, that you are going over
trodden ground, filling up details upon the broad outlines traced by
other people; but it is very far from being the case. Now the best maps
only show a long conventional caterpillar, flanked by acidulated drops,
and seamed with a cobweb of drainage. They never name a valley
north-east of Zebedáni, nor a summit, except Jebel el Halímah, which is
not its name. The northern half of the Anti-Lebanon is arid and barren,
the southern is very fertile, and it is far superior to the Lebanon. Weird,
savage, like parts of Moab, the colouring is richer, forms more
picturesque, contrasts of shape and hue are sharper, and the growth is
more like thin forest. "That ravines of singular wildness and grandeur
furrow the whole mountain side, looking in many places like huge
rents," is true of Anti-Lebanon, but not of Lebanon. The views are
superior; it is richer and more remarkable.
Some of our followers will not forget some of our day's work, for we
ascend successively every height, taking angles, laying down altitudes,
and building up kakús to serve for a theodolite survey. Charley Drake
mapped and sketched whilst we wrote.
The Convent of Nabi Baruh is ruinous in the extreme, but it gave us the
idea of being the most ancient which we had seen throughout Syria and
Palestine. The reception in these wild places is always the same, if they
are not Christians, who—why, it is impossible to say—generally receive
one badly, except of course the Maronites in their stronghold, and more
especially the splendid Christians of Jezzín, Sadád, and B'sherri, who are
marked exceptions to the generality of Christians, and who are equal, if
not better than the rest.
The Manner All the Chiefs and notables meet the stranger at a
in which we distance beyond the houses. As the two parties meet, he
are received
in Villages.
reins in his horse and touches hands, snatching away his
with a jerk if they attempt to kiss it, reproachfully
ejaculating "Astaghfir 'Ullah!" (I beg pardon of Allah, i.e. God forbid
that such a thing should happen). If you permit it they kiss your
hand, and ridicule you in their minds as a fool, who delights in such
homage as a priest, whose right it is. Guided by the Shaykhs, each
in a strict precedence as at a London dinner-party, he rides leisurely,
not hastening the pace, lest he cause his host to run; he dismounts
at the door, and the Chiefs and notables rush to hold his horse, his
stirrup, and his back under the shoulders. He must be sure to ride
into the courtyard, no matter how broken be the gate threshold, nor
how slippery the pavement, or up the steps, or they will suspect him
of not knowing how to ride. He is led to the salamlik, but he will not
enter till the women who have been sprinkling the floor have made
themselves scarce. He sits down, doubling his legs a little if he
cannot cross them, whilst the others form a semicircle upon humbler
rugs before him. Each salaams, and is salaamed to, as he takes his
place, squatting ceremoniously on his shins, till his visitor says,
"Khuz ráhatak" (Take your ease), suggesting a more pleasant
posture. If he fails to do this they will watch an opportunity to
change seat, but if disposed to be impertinent they will stretch out
their shanks and require a reproof. Water pipes, sherbet, lemonade,
and coffee are brought, after which the Shaykh will retire and beg
you to repose.
A breakfast is served about noon of cheese, soured milk, grape
syrup, raw green onions, boiled rice, wheaten scones, and eggs fried
in clarified butter. It is vulgar for the stranger to produce his own
wine and cold meat from the saddle-bags. At sunset meat is served.
A whole kid is a prime sign of honour. During meals one of the family
stands up, holding a metal pot full of drinking water. Pipes and
coffee conclude. The correct thing is to compel the Shaykh and the
Chiefs to eat with you; the followers and retainers will eat
afterwards, the trays being removed to another part. At night there
will be a samrah, or palaver, in which the state of the country in
general, and the village in particular, is discussed, grievances are
quoted, the usurer and creditor complained of, the Government and
Governor abused. Local legends are told, and the traveller can gain
any amount of information if he can speak the language. They press
him to stay next day, and his excuses are received with a respectful
and regretful unwillingness.
Before leaving next morning he will find out privately what he has
cost them, he will find out that his animals have been well fed, and
he will manage to slip it and something more into the hands of one
of the women or children. Before the departure the women of the
family will offer excuses for their poor fare, saying, "La tawák-hizná"
(Don't be offended with us), and he will hasten with many "Astaghfir
'Ullahs" to express his supreme satisfaction. He mounts as
ceremoniously as he dismounted, preceded by his escort, but every
now and then he reins in, dismissing them—"Arja'ú ya Masháikh"
(Return, O Shaykhs). They persist in walking to the last house, and
often much farther; they again try to kiss his hand, which he pulls
away as before, and the visit ends. The visited then retire and
debate what has caused the visit, and what will be the best way to
utilize it.
We divided and visited every section of the northernmost line of
Anti-Libanus from the Halímat el Kabú, 8257 feet above sea-level.
We enjoyed an extensive and picturesque view far superior to
anything seen in the Libanus, especially southwards. From here we
might write a chapter on what we could see. The weather being
clear, we could even see the long-balled chine of the Cedar Block of
the Libanus, and its large spots of snow, which glowed like
amethysts in evening light. We could see the apex of the Libanus,
which falls into the Jurd of Tripoli. We could see the Jebel el Huleh,
which defines the haunts of the mysterious Nusayri; the glance falls
upon the Orontes Lake, upon the rich cultivation of Hums and
Hamáh, one of the gardens of Syria upon the ridge of Salámiyyah,
that outpost of ancient Tadmor, and upon the unknown Steppe el
Huleh, and the Bedawi-haunted tracts which sweep up to the Jebel
el Abyaz, whilst the castle of Aleppo bounds the septentrional
horizon. The end of this day was a remarkable one. "It was the only
occasion," said Richard, "during my travels in Syria and Palestine
that I felt thoroughly tired. My rahwán, though a Kurd nag, trembled
with weakness, and my wife jogged along sobbing in her saddle, and
if it had not been for the advice of Charley Drake we should have
spent the night on the mountain-side; but we did arrive. Habíb had
built a glowing fire, beds were spread, tea was brewed, and
presently a whole roast kid appeared, and restored us all in the best
of humours; and our horses, after plenty to eat and drink, and being
well rubbed down, lay down. We had had fifteen hours very hard
work, not counting the before and after the march."
We next determined to prospect the third part of the east-west
section of Anti-Libanus, including the Ba'albak crest, and then to ride
up the Cœle-Syrian valley so as to fill in the bearings of the western
wady mouths. We had forage for our beasts, water the whole way,
and we were excited by the account of inscriptions and ruins. The
Wady el Biyáras was splendid in scenery, and though our road was
horrible, we congratulated each other in not missing it, and we
descended into the Wady Atnayn.
Remarks on It is very curious to observe the goats and sheep; they
the Journey.don't mix much, though in the same flock. The goats
prefer difficult and venturesome places, the sheep
browse in the lower lands. The goat is curious and impudent—he
goes out of the way to stare and sneeze at you; the sheep is staid
and respectable, like the "good young man." Here Richard did
nothing but quote a piece of poetry which amused him intensely—
"In Teneriffe, for a time brief,
I wandered all around,
Where shady bowers and lively flowers
Spontaneously abound.

"Where posies rare perfume the air

In festoons o'er your head,
 Brave sheep and cows in pastures browse
Without remorse or dread."[9]
Kurdish Dogs.Some of the goatherds are rather bullying. The Kurdish
dog is shaggy, with cropped ears, large head, brindle
coat, rough hair, bushy tail, as big as a St. Bernard, and looks like a
bear; but if he is a soldier's dog, he is always civil. I took one from a
Bedawi tent as a pup; he was christened "Kasrawán," which soon
became "Cuss." From his earliest puppyhood he played watchman,
and led our horses by the halter. As he grew up he would hardly
allow a native to pass along the road at night. He wrangled with and
made love to our English bull-terriers, he appeared to be sorely
oppressed with the seriousness of life, and could never get fighting
enough. A Fellah threw him some meat with a needle in it, a
favourite style of revenge of one who has been once bitten, and
does not care to be bitten again; we were obliged to put him out of
his misery, and he was honourably buried in the garden of Bludán.
We carried out all our prospected journey, gathering information,
inscriptions, and ruins everywhere, till we reached Yabrud, where
the Shaykhs gave us a picnic, to show us the Arz el Jauzah.
There is a temple known as Kasr Namrúd; the water flows through a
conduit of masonry, and is said to pass into a large underground
cistern below, round the ample stone troughs and scattered
fragments of columns. All through Syria Nimrod represents the Devil,
and 'Antar the Julius Cæsar of Western Europe. The picnic, under
the shade of this venerable building, passed off happily enough. The
kabábs of kid, secured instantly after sudden death, were excellent;
the sour milk and the goat's cheese were perfection; and the Zahlah
wine had only one fault—there was only half a bottle, and we could
have drank a demijohn. We were very much struck by the similarity
of plan which connects the heathen temple with the Christian
church. It was late in the afternoon when we shook hands with our
good host. It is pleasant to think upon happy partings—we never
saw them again.
On our way home we passed ruins, arched caves, and sarcophagi,
whilst a wall displays a large rude crucifix. We were received later at
Talfíta with all honours by the Shaykh el Balad Mahfúz, whose
pauper homes had been destroyed and the rest threatened by the
villainous usurers under British protection, and next day we rode into
Damascus. During this excursion, we had seen in a range of
mountains, supposed to be impracticable, four temples, of which
three had been hitherto unvisited; we had prepared for the map of
Syria the names of five great mountains; we had traced out the
principal gorges, all before absolutely unknown to geography; we
had determined the disputed altitudes of the Anti-Libanus, and we
proved that it is much more worthy of inspection than the much-
vaunted Libanus.

Another Trip, described by Charley Drake.[10]

Excursions "It is curious to see even what discrepancies there

to Unknown are in the heights of the Lebanon, which have been
Tracts.
visited by scientific men. It shows that it must have
been guess-work. There is one height which the goatherds
know by the name of Tizmarún; but the aneroids, uncorrected
for temperature, gave a reading of barely nine thousand feet,
and this is the highest, though not generally acknowledged so.
"We wonder whether England will ever look upon Syria as
anything else than a land for tourists to amuse themselves in;
whether she will ever see that a pied à terre there, would
secure her not only an uninterrupted passage to India, but
wealth incalculable in mineral and agricultural produce; that
both may yet be drawn from this fertile land, whose soil needs
no manure, and whose mountains teem with ores.
"The prettiest scenery we had seen in the Lebanon was at the
head of a large wady, called El Nakrah; wild deep gorges,
overhung by fantastic rocks, and in some places thickly wooded,
are alternated by open grassy Alps, contrasting well with the
deep rich purple of the basalt, and the yellow sandstone which
was never far from it. When we got to the head of the Wady
Mimnah overlooking the entrance to Hamath, the comparatively
level tract that stretches from Tripoli to Hums, and divides the
Lebanon from the Jebel Nusayri, we got to Akkar, to Kala'at el
Husn and to Hums, crossing the river Orontes. When we were in
the 'Aláh, all the Arabs agreed that it contained three hundred
and sixty-five ruins, and that if a man travelled for a year, he
might never sleep twice in the same village; and we quite
believed it. The number of Bedawi who infest this region, the
want of water, the loose basaltic soil, so tiring to horses, and
want of reliable information, is, doubtless, the reason why this
district has never been explored.
"The Pasha of Hamáh worried us with a large escort, which
meant piastres. The troop would have made the fortune of any
theatre as a gang of bandits in a burlesque. There were horses
of all sizes and colours—some had bridles, some had none—
half-starved beasts, not able to keep up with ours; pistols that
would not go off, swords that would not come out of the
scabbards; but one of them, a short-bodied, long-legged fellow,
was mounted, without stirrups, on a year-old colt, his only arm
a lance sixteen feet long. He looked like a monkey, armed with a
broomstick, riding a small dog. On the road we found several
ruined, deserted, fortified camps. The Circassians are come into
this part of the country, and have taken a village from the
Nusayri, and ousted the rightful owners, and we think there will
be mischief later on. We reached the edge of the plain, in which
stands Salamíyyeh, whose chief, Amir Ismail, is a patriarchal old
gentleman. Holo Pasha sent us a large escort without our asking
him; but when we explained to them our intention of striking
across the desert to Shakún, they declined to go, which
delighted us. Going along, we found the Haddidín Arabs
encamped all along the desert.
"It is a curious thing to say, but there are sheep and goats
where there is apparently nothing to eat, yet they are always
 fat. The soil is rich, but very tiring to horses, because it gives
way beneath their weight, letting them sink in to the hock. At
Shakún we found a quarantine for travellers from Baghdad. We
were now on the ordinary travelling road from Hamáh to
Aleppo. In these deserts the Haddidín go to the wells, which are
a great depth, a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet. A horse is
attached to the end of a rope, and trots away, bringing the
leathern bucket to the surface. If the well be not very deep,
they sometimes harness two women in it. El Háthir is in a marsh
which has been dry for two years, and abounds in a large and
troublesome horse-fly, whose bite is so severe that the horses
were streaming with blood.
"We passed through a salt-pan which becomes a lake in the
winter months, and is a source of considerable revenue to the
Government. Soldiers are placed here to prevent contraband
trade in salt.
"The refraction induces mirage. It seems impossible that one is
not looking upon a pellucid and unruffled lake, in which both the
houses of Jabúl and the outlines of an insular Tell are clearly
reflected by the mirage.
"Akrabeh must have been a place of importance from the extent
of ground over which the ruins are spread. The resemblance
borne by the mounds on which the castles are built in Hums,
Hamáh, and Aleppo is very striking; they are quite identical,
Aleppo being the largest. At Hamáh particularly we find
monuments of greatest possible value. History is silent about
the construction of these three sister castles, but we thought
that the five blocks of basalt at Hamáh, covered with
hieroglyphics in excellent preservation, may be the opening
page of a new chapter in history."

Richard took copies and Charley Drake took squeezes of them.

At Aleppo, in the south wall of the Jam'ia el Kahan, is a block of
basalt with an inscription similar to those of Hamáh. Though much
defaced, Charley Drake made out nineteen characters identical with
the above-mentioned, and a doorstep bore the same. Charley Drake
thought that the key to these characters must be looked for in beth
(house), kaf (hand), gimel (camel), ain (eye), etc., of the Semitic
alphabet. Hands, flowers, and teeth, and other unmistakable signs
occur. If Richard was right, the well-known Moabite Stone would be
modern in comparison, and we shall see these remarkable
monuments deposited in the Louvre or the St. Petersburg Museum;
and, as Charley Drake said, "there will be the usual gnashing and
weeping of teeth after it is too late." But for my own part, in 1892, I
begin to doubt that England is sufficiently interested in anything,
except money, to have the energy to gnash its teeth at all.

"The ironwork of the gates of the castle of Aleppo is very good.

The upper gate bears the name of Melek el Dhaher and the
date 645 A.H. Having been officially informed that the mosques
of Aleppo might not be visited by any Christian, we thought that
something interesting might be found; but we managed to see
them, and we did not find much, and the Shaykhs were only
anxious to give all the information they could. We crossed the
Nahr el Kowwáyyik, which does not run thirty miles to the south
of Aleppo, as said in maps, but loses itself at a distance of two
and a half hours from the City. On our road a row was going on
between the Kurdish shepherds and the Fellahín of this place.
The shepherds bring sheep down from Mesopotamia and
Diarbekr by easy stages, and sell them at Aleppo and
Damascus. The Fellahín envy and dislike these itinerant pastors.
We rode seven and a half miles from Aleppo, arriving at Serákib.
"If you listen, the Fellahín are always talking about money, and
prices, and transactions. The Bedawi only delights in listening to
or telling stories of travelling and adventure, or smokes his pipe
in placid enjoyment, while another of them sings an endless
romance to the stirring tones of a one-stringed fiddle. We rode
on to Mo'arrat el No'aman, where we visited some very
interesting ruins in Jebel el Zowi. We then went to Jirjinnáz, as
we found we could make it a head-quarter, and visit all the
ruined cities within reach and then move on to Temányeh. The
natural features and ruins of the 'Aláh are nearly all alike—a
rolling plateau varying from thirteen hundred feet at the north-
eastern, to sixteen hundred feet at the south-western above
sea-level.
"From Damascus to Aleppo, one only meets with a few favoured
villages whose supply of water is just sufficient to irrigate a
patch of land and a few trees. The first ruin in the 'Aláh was Abu
Mekkeh, and it was exactly like the uninhabited cities of the
Haurán and the Lej. The ruins of Surr 'Aman are a mere
collection of rude shelters piled up with old materials. The ruins
of Tarútín el Tujjar are the most important in the 'Aláh. The
village of Harráken was repeopled by Fellahín four years ago.
Happily they have not the organ of destructiveness, as have
their brethren in Palestine, and what was broken was accidental,
and not wilful damage, like in the Haurán. At Burj el Abiadh
ruins of considerable extent surround the white tower after
which it is named. At Kufayr we found a ruined tower two
stories high. The tower and ruins at El Fárajeh are of the usual
type, but more solid. Nearly all the ruins bear crosses, Greek or
Latin. At El Ikhwayn there is good water, but at Temányeh the
villagers have to go a mile distant, to a hill with a well at the
top. We then went to Atshán, passing the mounds and pillars
which mark the site of S'kayk el Rubyíet. We next visited El
Ma'an, which has the largest guard-house in the 'Aláh, built by
Justinian. Of the ruins of Duwaylíb little has been left; the
stones have been carried off for building purposes. We got
water for our thirsty horses at the shallow well of Arúneh,
beside which and around were encamped the Bedawi
Mowáyleh. We rode through the ruins of Kefr-Ráa, and then
descended into the valley of Orontes to Hamáh.
"There is a pyramidal-roofed tomb at El Barah. The roofs of
these curious sepulchral monuments are built of massive stones,
open inside up to the apex. One rock-hewn cave contains six
loculi, five and a quarter feet long, by three and a quarter feet
deep, and two and a quarter feet wide, with semicircular arches
above them. On one of the rounded pillars we remarked that
two crosses had been obliterated. A round-about road took us
to Kefr Omar, where we saw a ruined monumental column built
with circular stones upon a square base. We then went to Hass,
where there was every kind of style of tomb—a square tower
supporting a pyramidal roof, and all kinds of other shapes. The
number of ruined villages in this district is surprising. During the
day's ride you could count from six to eight with not a mile
between them. Near Mo'arrat el No'aman is a castle similar to
that near Salamíyyeh. At Danah there are very extensive ruins,
and one building called the 'Church' resembles that near Hass.
The stones used in these buildings are commonly six feet long,
by two wide, and two deep. Here the Shaykh told us that
twenty years ago a tomb had been opened, and a small gold
image, a sword, a dagger, and some glass and pottery vessels
had been found. There were one or two tombs in imitation of
rock-hewn sepulchres. We felt certain that the ruined cities of
Jebel el Zowi would amply repay any one with time and
opportunity to make excavations. We then went to examine the
Hums Lake, whose position, considering the rapid fall of the
Orontes Valley, had always been a puzzle.
"We eventually came to a dam of masonry five hundred yards in
length, and twenty feet high in the centre, built across the
northern end of the lake. A small square tower stands at the
west of it, and the water leaks through it in several places, but
the dam looks as if it would last many centuries. The lake is
now four or five feet lower than in winter, yet the surface of the
water is about twelve feet higher than the river at the base of
the dam, and many feet higher than the housetops of Saddi.
Were the barrage ever to give way the destruction to life and
property down the valley of the Orontes would be terrible. The
ruins of Wajh el Haja afforded little of interest. We passed
through many villages till we came to Tell Nebi Mand, a
 conspicuous mound. The native Moslems think that this prophet
was related to the patriarch Joseph, but the Shaykh assured
Richard that the tomb was that of Benjamin. The place marks
the site of the ancient Laodicea and Libanum. At the south-east
end of the lake is a large building standing at the water's edge,
called Kasr Sitt Belkis ('Queen Belkis' Castle'), and near (i.e.
about two miles distance) is an old entrenched camp some four
hundred yards square, called Tell S'finet Núh, or 'the Mound of
Noah's Ark.' It was probably a Roman post of observation to
guard the entrance of the Buká'a. From Tell Nebi Mand we rode
back to Damascus."

"Fais ce que dois, advienne que pourra."

"Caused by the moon's veering orb, what tumult and strife I

see!
Wherever I view the earth, iniquity rife I see.
Daughters of turbulent mind, awaking their mother's ire,
And sons who of froward mood wish ill of their sire, I see.
Sherbets of sugar and rose the world to the fool supplies;
But nought save his heart's blood the food of the wise I see.
Galled by the pack-saddle's weight, the Arab's proud steed
grows old;
Yet always the ass's neck encircled with gold I see.
Master, go forth and do good;
The counsel of Háfiz prize;
Far better than treasured pearl
This counsel so wise—
I see."
——Ode composed when Persia was invaded by
Taimur.
Unofficially speaking of official things, we had rather a lively time, in
an unpleasant sense, during these summer months. I always say
"we," because I enter so much into my husband's pursuits, and am
so very proud of being allowed to help him, that I sometimes forget
that I am only as the bellows-blower to the organist. However, I do
not think that anybody will owe me a grudge for it.

No. 1.

Troubles fromThe first shadow upon our happy life was in 1870-71. An
a Self- amateur missionary, residing at Beyrout, came up to
appointed
Zealot.
Damascus, visited the prisons, and distributed tracts to
the Mohammedans. It was the intention of the Governor
to collect these prints, and to make a bonfire of them in the market-
place. Damascus was in a bad temper for such proselytizing. It was
an excitable year, and it was necessary to put a stop to proceedings
which, though well meant, could not fail to endanger the safety of
the Christian population. The tract-distributor was a kind, humane,
sincere, and charitable man, and we were both very sorry that he
had to be cautioned. He had an enthusiasm in his religious views
which made him dangerous outside a Christian town. At Beyrout he
was well known, but at Damascus he was not, and the people would
have resented his standing on bales in the street haranguing the
Turks against Mohammed. I believe this gentleman would have
gloried in martyrdom; but some of us, not so good as he is, did not
aspire to it. His entourage, also, was not so humble or so kind as
himself.
Richard was obliged to give the caution, to do his duty to his large
district, thereby incurring at Beyrout most un-Christian hatreds,
unscrupulously gratified. Richard, with the high, chivalrous sense of
honour which guided all his actions, redoubled his unceasing
endeavours to promote the interest and business of these persons,
amidst the hailstorm of petty spites and insults—which justice and
greatness of mind on his part they themselves were obliged
eventually to acknowledge, however reluctantly. We were decidedly
destined to stumble upon unfortunate circumstances. Since that, a
gentleman told off to convert the Jews in one of Richard's
jurisdictions, insisted on getting a ladder and a hammer, and
demolishing a large statue of St. Joseph in a public place of a
Catholic country, because he said it was "a graven image." Why are
the English so careless in their choice? and why have other foreign
Consuls no désagrémens on this head?
Richard writes—

No. 2.

"The Druzes applied early in 1870 for an English school. They

are our allies, and we were on friendly terms with them. As two
missionaries wished to travel amongst them, I gave them the
necessary introductions. They were cordially received and
hospitably entertained by the Shaykhs, but on their road home
they were treacherously followed by two mauvais sujets and
attacked; they were thrown off their horses, their lives were
threatened, and their property was plundered.
"Such a breach of hospitality and violation of good faith required
prompt notice: firstly, to secure safety to future travellers; and,
secondly, to maintain the good feelings which have ever
subsisted between the Druzes and the English. To pass over
such an act of treachery would be courting their contempt. I at
once demanded that the offenders might be punished by the
Druze chiefs themselves, and twenty napoleons, the worth of
the stolen goods, were claimed by me for the missionaries. The
Druzes went down to Beyrout to try to pit Consulate-General
against Consulate, and refused to pay the claim. I then applied
for their punishment to the Turkish authorities, knowing that the
Druzes would at once accede to my first demand—a proceeding
approved of by her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople.
After three months the Shaykh el Akkál, head religious chief,
brought down the offenders, who were recognized by the
missionaries. They confessed their guilt, and the Shaykh, who
was staying as a guest in our house, assured me [Richard] that
I was perfectly right in acting as I had done, and that every
Druze was heartily ashamed of the conduct of these two men."
 No. 3.

"In June, 1870, I prepared a despatch for our

Usurers very
Ambassador at Constantinople, on the system of
troublesome
.
defrauding the poor and of 'running' villages by the
Damascus Jewish money-lenders.
"I will now try to explain how these matters stood.
"In former days, when not a few Europeans were open to
certain arrangements which made them take the highest
interest in the business transactions of their clients, a radically
bad system, happily now almost extinct, was introduced into
Syria. The European subject, or protégé, instead of engaging in
honest commerce, was thus encouraged to seek inordinate and
usurious profits by sales of the Government and by loans to the
villagers. In such cases he, of course, relied entirely upon the
protection of a foreign Power, on account of the sums to be
expended in feeing native functionaries before repayment could
be expected. Thus the Consuls became, as it were, huissiers, or
bailiffs, whose principal duties were to collect the bad debts of
those who had foreign passports.
"Damascus contained a total of forty-eight adult males
protected by H.B.M.'s Consulate, and of these there were a
triumvirate of Shylocks. Most of them are Jews who were
admitted to, or whose fathers acquired, a foreign nationality,
given with the benevolent object of saving them from Moslem
cruelty and oppression in days gone by. These protégés have
extended what was granted for the preservation of their lives,
liberties, and property, to transactions which rest entirely for
success upon British protection. The case of No. 1, whom we
will call Judas, is a fair example. He has few dealings in the city,
the licit field of action. But since the death of his highly
respectable father, in 1854, he had been allowing bills signed by
the ignorant peasantry of the province to accumulate at simple
and compound interest, till the liabilities of the villagers have
become greater than the value of the whole village. A——, for
instance, on the eastern skirt of Mount Hermon, owed him
106,000 piastres, which were originally 42,000. He claims 5000
purses from the B—— family, upon a total debt of 242,000½
piastres, in 1857. We have not yet passed through a single
settlement where his debtors did not complain loudly of his
proceedings; and to A—- may be added C——, ——, and D——
el X——, a stronghold of the Druzes. Some villages have been
partly depopulated by his vexations, and the injury done to the
Druzes by thus driving them from the Anti-Lebanon to the
Haurán, may presently be severely visited upon the Ottoman
authorities.
"The British protégé is compelled every year, in his quality of
shúbasi (farmer of revenue), to summon the village Shaykhs
and peasantry, to imprison them, and to leave them lying in jail
till he can squeeze from them as much as possible, and to injure
them by quartering hawali, or policemen, who plunder whatever
they can. He long occupied the whole attention, though it had
other and more important duties, of the Village Commission
(Kumision Mahasibat el Kura), established in A.H. 1280 (1863).
For about a year a special commission (Kumision Makhsus) had
at that time, 1870, been sitting on his case, whose intricacies,
complicated by his unwillingness to settle anything, wearied out
all the members. At different times he quarrelled with every
person in the Court—from the defterdar, who is its President, to
the Consular Dragomans, who composed it. Even felony was
freely imputed to him by various persons. He was accused of
bribing the Government khatibs (secretaries) to introduce into
documents sentences of doubtful import, upon which he can
found claims for increased and exorbitant interest, of adding
lines to receipts and other instruments after they have been
signed, and of using false seals, made at home by his own
servants. One of the latter publicly denounced him, but was, as
usual, paid to keep silence. He is reported again and again to
have refused, in order that the peasants might remain upon his
books, the ready moneys offered to him for the final settlement
of village liabilities. His good management had baffled all efforts
at detection, whilst every one was morally certain that the
charges were founded on fact. He corrupts, or attempts to
corrupt, all those with whom he has dealings.
"I wanted to inform them that British protection extends to
preserving their persons and property from all injustice and
violence, but that it would not assist them to recover debts from
the Ottoman Government, or from the villages of the province,
and that it would not abet them in imprisoning or in distraining
the latter. To such general rule, of course, exceptions would be
admissible, at the discretion of the officer in charge of H.B.M.'s
Consulate; in cases, for instance, when just and honest claims
might be rejected, or their payment unduly delayed. The sole
inconvenience which would arise to such creditors from their
altered positions would be the necessity of feeing the Serai
more heavily; and even they openly communicated with the
local authorities, reserving the Consulate as a forlorn hope. The
change might possibly have directed their attention to a more
legitimate commercial career. Such a measure would have been
exceedingly popular throughout the country, and would have
relieved us from the suspicion of interested motives—a
suspicion which must exist where honesty and honour, in an
English understanding of these words, are almost unknown; and
from the odium which attaches to the official instruments of
oppression. Finally, the corruption of Damascus rendered me
the more jealous of the good name of the Consulate, and the
more desirous of personal immunity from certain reports which,
at different times, have been spread about others in office. I
therefore posted on the door of H.M.'s Consulate, Damascus,
the following notice:—
"'Her Britannic Majesty's Consul hereby warns British subjects
and protégés that he will not assist them to recover debts from
the Government or from the people of Syria, unless the debts
are such as between British subjects could be recovered
 through H.M.'s Consular Courts. Before purchasing the claims,
public or private, of an Ottoman subject—and especially where
Government paper is in question—the protégé should, if official
interference be likely to be required, at once report the whole
transaction to this Consulate. British subjects and protected
persons are hereby duly warned that protection extends to life,
liberty, and property, in cases where these are threatened by
violence or by injustice; but that it will not interfere in
speculations which, if undertaken by Syrian subjects of the
Porte, could not be expected to prove remunerative. British
subjects and protected persons must not expect the official
interference of the Consulate in cases where they prefer (as of
late has often happened at Damascus) to urge their claims upon
the local authorities without referring to this Consulate, and
altogether ignoring the jurisdiction of H.B.M.'s Consul. Finally,
H.B.M.'s Consul feels himself bound to protest strongly against
the system adopted by British subjects and protected persons at
Damascus, who habitually induce the Ottoman authorities to
imprison peasants and pauper debtors, either for simple debt,
or upon charges which have not been previously produced for
examination at this Consulate. The prisons will be visited once a
week. An official application will be made for the delivery of all
such persons.
"'(Signed) R. F. Burton,
"'H.B.M.'s Consul, Damascus.
"'Damascus, June 20th, 1870.'"

A Jehád I have already related how, on August 26th, Richard

threatened. received a letter from the Rev. W. Wright, and likewise
one from the Chief Consular Dragoman, Mr. Nasif
Meshaka, which induced him to ride at once to Damascus (from
Bludán, the summer quarter); how he found that half the Christians
had fled, and everything was ripe for a new massacre; how he
sought the authorities, and informed them of their danger; induced
them to have night patrols, to put guards in the streets, to prevent
Jews or Christians leaving their houses, and to take all measures
needful to convince the conspirators that they would not find every
one sleeping as they did in 1860. The Wali and all the Chief
responsible Authorities were absent. The excitement subsided under
the measures recommended by him, and in three days all was quiet,
and the Christians returned to their homes.
I affirm that, living in safety upon the sea-coast, no man can be a
judge of the other side of the Lebanon, nor, if he does not know
some Eastern language, can he be a judge of Orientals and their
proceedings. Certain Jewish usurers had been accused of exciting
these massacres, because their lives were perfectly safe, and they
profited of the horrors to buy up property at a nominal price. It was
brought to Richard's notice that two Jewish boys, servants to British-
protected subjects, were giving the well-understood signal by
drawing crosses on the walls. Its meaning to him was clear. He
promptly investigated it, and took away the British protection of the
masters temporarily, merely reproving the boys, who had acted
under orders. He did not take upon himself to punish them. Certain
ill-advised Israelitish money-lenders fancied it was a good
opportunity to overthrow him, and with him his plan of seeing fair
proceedings on the part of the British protégés; so they reported to
Sir Moses Montefiore and Sir Francis Goldsmid that he had tortured
the boys. His proceedings were once, more proved just. The
correspondence on the subject was marvellously interesting, but
being official I cannot use it.

Jews. "The Jews," he writes, "from all times held a certain

position in Syria, on account of their being the
financiers of the country; and even in pre-Egyptian days Haim
Farhi was able to degrade and ruin Abdullah Pasha, of St. Jean
d'Acre. In the time of Ibrahim Pasha, about forty-four years ago,
[11] when the first Consuls went there, a few were taken under
British protection, and this increased their influence. Then came
the well-known history of the murder of Padre Tomaso. After
 this had blown over, all the richest people of the community
tried to become British-protected subjects, or protégés of some
foreign Consulate. In the time of Mr. Consul (Richard) Wood,
(1840), they were humble enough. In the massacre of 1860
they enriched themselves greatly, and men possessing £3000
rose suddenly to £30,000. Then they had at their backs in
England Sir Moses Montefiore, Sir F. Goldsmid, and the
Rothschilds[12] and others, who doubtless do not know the true
state of the Jewish usurers in this part of the world. The British
Consul became the Jews' bailiff, and when we went to Syria we
found them rough-riding all the land. I speak only of the few
money-lenders. When I arrived in 1869, Shylock No. 1 came to
me, and patting me patronizingly on the back, told me he had
three hundred cases for me, relative to collecting £60,000 of
debts. I replied, 'I think, sir, you had better hire and pay a
Consul for yourself alone; I was not sent here as a bailiff, to tap
the peasant on the shoulder in such cases as yours.' He then
threatened me with the British Government. I replied, 'It is by
far the best thing you can do; I have no power to alter a plain
line of duty.' Shylock then tried my wife's influence, but she
replied that she was never allowed to interfere in business
matters. Then Sir Francis Goldsmid, to our great surprise, wrote
to Head-quarters—a rather unusual measure—as follows: 'I hear
that the lady to whom Captain Burton is married is believed to
be a bigoted Roman Catholic, and to be likely to influence him
against the Jews.' In spite of 'woman's rights' she was not
allowed the privilege of answering Sir Francis Goldsmid
officially; but I hope to convince him, even after years, that he
was misinformed."

I think that religion certainly is, and ought to be, the first and
highest sentiment of our hearts, and I consider it my highest
prerogative to be a staunch and loyal Catholic. But I also claim to be
free from prejudice, and to be untrammelled in my sentiments about
other religions. Our great Master and His Apostles showed no
bigotry, and it is to them that I look for my rule of life, not to the
clique I was born in. Many amongst us Old Catholics, who live
amongst our own people, and are educated men and women, go
forth into the world and are quite unbiased against other faiths; we
take to our hearts friends, without inquiring into their religion or
politics. And if sometimes we sigh because they are not of our way
of thinking, it is not from any bigotry or party feeling; it is because
we love them, and we wish that we could give them some of our
happiness and security. I appeal to my enemies—if I have any—to
say whether I have any prejudice against race or creed.[13] At all
events, I have an honest admiration and respect for the Jewish
religion. They were the chosen people of God. They are more akin to
us than any other faith.
Jesus Christ was a Jew, the Apostles were Jews. He came not to
destroy the Law, but to change the prescriptions necessary for the
times. The Great Reformer was the connecting link between us. He
made Christianity, or Judaism, for the multitude, a Syro-Arabian
creed. He parted the creation into two divisions—those who
accepted the new school, and those who clung to the old. We are of
the former, and the Jews of the latter fold. It would be madness to
despise those who once ruled the ancient world, and who will rule
again—do we not see signs of their return to power every day? It
would be more than folly not to honour the old tribes of the chosen
people of God. In Syria only the Jews, Druzes, and Bedawi can boast
of their origin. In the Syrian world we know, only the Jews and
Catholics can boast of antiquity of religion. An Eastern Jew cannot
but be proud of his religion and his descent. As I turn over my old
Damascus journal, my heart warms to think that some of our
dearest native friends at Damascus were of the Jewish religion. We
were on good terms with them all, and received sincere hospitality
from them. At Trieste, again, the enlightened and hospitable
Hebrews were our best friends. It is the Jews who lead society here,
the charities and the fashion; they are the life of the town. When I
call to mind how many Jews I know, and like, and have exchanged
hospitality with, here and in the East, I do not know how to speak
strongly enough on the subject.
But now let us turn to the dark side of the picture. Even those who
are the proudest of their Semitic origin speak contemptuously of
their usurers. And, let me ask, do we pet and admire our own
money-lenders? Let a Damascus Jew once become a usurer, back
him up with political influence, and see what he will become. He
forgets race and creed; that touching, dignified, graceful humility
changes into fawning servility, or to brutal insolence and cruelty,
where he is not afraid. He thirsts only for money. The villanies
practised by the usurers, especially the Shylocks in Damascus, excite
every right-minded person to indignation; and if I had no other
esteem for my husband, I should owe it to him for the brave manner
in which he made a stand against these wrongs at every risk. He
knew that no other Consul had ever dared—nor would ever dare—to
oppose it; but he said simply, "I must do right; I cannot sit still and
see what I see, and not speak the truth. I must protect the poor,
and save the British good name, advienne que pourra, though
perhaps in so doing I shall fall myself." And he did—but not for this.
He is not what is called a religious man, but he acts like one; and if
he did nothing to win respect and admiration, that alone should give
people an insight into his character, whilst I, like Job's wife,
incessantly said, "Leave all this alone, as your predecessor did, as
your Consul-General does, and as your successor will do, and keep
your place, and look forward to a better." If the usurers had been
Catholics instead of Jews, I should like them to have lost their
"protection," to have been banished from Damascus, and
excommunicated as long as they plied their trade. More I cannot say.
Nay, I prefer the Jew to the Christian usurer. The former will take my
flesh and blood, but the Christian will want my bones too.
Richard writes—

"One man alone had ruined and sucked dry forty-one villages.
He used to go to a distressed village and offer them money,
 keep all the papers, and allow them nothing to show; adding
interest and compound interest, which the poor wretches could
not understand. Then he gave them no receipts for money
received, so as to be paid over and over again. The uneducated
peasants had nothing to show against the clever Jew at the
Diwán, till body and soul, wives and children, village, flocks, and
land, became his property and slaves for the sake of the small
sum originally borrowed. These men, who a few years ago were
not worth much, are now rolling in wealth. We found villages in
ruins, and houses empty, because the men were cast into jail,
the children starving, and women weeping at our feet; because
these things were done in the name of England, by the powerful
arm of the British Consulate."

My husband once actually found an old man of ninety,

Usurers try to
remove who had endured all the horrors of the Damascus jail
Richard.
during the whole of a biting winter, for owing one of
these men a napoleon (sixteen shillings). He set him free, and ever
after visited the prisons once a week, to see whether the British-
protected subjects had immured pauper Christians and Moslems on
their own responsibility. One of the usurers told him to beware, for
that he knew a Royal Highness of England, and that he could have
any Consular officer recalled at his pleasure; and my husband replied
that he and his clique could know very little of English Royalty if they
thought that it would protect such traffic as theirs. The result of this
was that they put their heads together, and certain letters were sent
to the Chief Rabbi of London, Sir Francis Goldsmid, and Sir Moses
Montefiore. They sent telegrams and petitions, purporting to be from
"all the Jews in Damascus." We believe, however, that "all the Jews
in Damascus" knew nothing whatever about the step. Richard said,
"They are mostly a body of respectable men—hard-working,
inoffensive, and of commercial integrity, with a fair sprinkling of
pious, charitable, and innocent people." These despatches, backed
by letters from the influential persons who received them, were duly
forwarded to the Foreign Office. The correspondence was sent in full
to Richard to answer, which he did at great length, and to the
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