Hajji Baba finds that fraud does not remain unpunished, even in this
world--He makes fresh plans.
The dervishes having finished their narratives, I thanked them for
the entertainment and instruction which they had afforded me, and I
forthwith resolved to learn as much from them as possible, in order
to become a dervish myself, in case I should be obliged to abandon my
present business. Dervish Sefer instructed me in the numerous tricks
which he practised, to impose himself upon the world as a person of
great sanctity; I learned the art of writing talismans from the second;
and the story-teller taught me some of the tales with which his head was
stored, lent me his books, and gave me general rules how to lead on the
curiosity of an audience, until their money should insensibly be enticed
from their pockets.
In the meanwhile, I continued to sell my tobacco and my pipes; but owing
to my intimacy with the dervishes, who smoked away all my profits, I
was obliged to adulterate the tobacco of my other customers considerably
more than usual; so that in fact they enjoyed little else than the fumes
of dung, straw, and decayed leaves.
One evening, when it was dusk, and about the time of closing the
bazaars, an old woman in rags, apparently bent double with age, stopped
me, and requested me to dress a pipe for her to smoke. She was closely
veiled, and scarcely uttered a word beyond her want. I filled her one
of my very worst mixtures: she put it to her mouth; and at her spitting,
coughing, and exclamations, half a dozen stout fellows, with long twigs
in their hands, immediately came up, seized me, and threw me on my
back. The supposed old woman then cast off her veil, and I beheld the
_Mohtesib_ in person.[26]
At length, wretch of an Ispahani! said he, I have caught you--you,
that have so long been poisoning the people of Meshed with your
abominable mixtures. You shall receive as many strokes on your feet as
you have received _shahies_[27] for your pipes. Bring the _felek_,[28]
said he to his officers, and lay on till his nails drop off.
[Illustration: Hajji receives the ferosles. 10.jpg]
My feet were instantly inserted into the dreaded noose, and the blows
fell upon them so thick, that I soon saw the images of ten thousand
Mohtesibs, intermixed with ten thousand old women, dancing before my
eyes, apparently enjoying my torture, and laughing at my writhing and
contortions. I implored the mercy of my tormentor by the souls of
his father, mother, and grandfather--by his own head--by that of his
child--and by that of his prince; by the Prophet--by Ali--and by all the
Imâms. I cursed tobacco, I renounced smoking. I appealed to the feelings
of the surrounding spectators, to my friends the three dervishes, who
stood there stirring neither limb nor muscle for me; in short, I
bawled, cried, entreated, until I entirely lost all sensation and all
recollection.
At length, when I came to myself, I found myself seated with my head
against the wall on the side of the road, surrounded by a crowd gaping
at my miserable situation. No one seemed to pity me. My pipes, my jug,
and everything that I possessed, had been taken from me, and I was left
to crawl to my home as well as I was able. Luckily it was not far off,
and I reached it on my hands and knees, making the most piteous moans
imaginable.
After I had remained a day in horrid torment, with my feet swelled into
a misshapen mass of flesh and gore, I received a visit from one of the
dervishes, who ventured to approach me, fearful, as he told me, of being
taken up as my accomplice, in case he had come sooner to my help. He
had, in his early career, undergone a similar beating himself, and,
therefore, knew what remedies to apply to my limbs which, in a short
time, restored them to their former state.
During my confinement, I had time to reflect upon my situation. I
determined to leave Meshed, for I felt that I had entered it at an
unlucky hour. Once my back had been sprained, and once I had been
bastinadoed. I had managed to collect a small sum of money, which I kept
carefully buried in a corner near my room; and with this I intended to
make my way to Tehran by the very first caravan that should be on its
departure. I communicated my plan to the dervishes, who applauded it;
and, moreover, the Dervish Sefer offered to accompany me; for, said
he, I have been warned that the priesthood of Meshed are jealous of my
increasing influence, and that they are laying a plot for my ruin; and,
as it is impossible to withstand their power, I will try my fortunes
elsewhere.
It was agreed that I should put on the dress of a dervish; and having
made my purchases, in the bazaar, of a cap, some beads, and a goats
skin, which I slung across my shoulder, I was ready to begin my journey
at a moments warning.
We became so impatient to depart, that we bad almost made up our minds
to set off without any other companions, and trust to our good fortune
to find our road, and escape the dangers of it; but we determined to
take a _fall_ out of Saadi,[29] before we came to a resolution. Dervish
Sefer, after making the usual prayer, opened the book, and read: It
is contrary to reason, and to the advice of the wise, to take medicine
without confidence, or to travel an unknown road without accompanying
the caravan. This extraordinary warning settled our minds, and we
determined to be guided by it.
On making inquiries about the departure of caravans for Tehran, I
was delighted to meet my friend Ali Kâtir, the muleteer, who had just
arrived at Meshed, and was then making a bargain with a merchant, to
convey merchandise, consisting of the lambs skins of Bokhara, to the
capital. As soon as he saw me, he uttered an exclamation of delight, and
immediately lighted his _nargil_, or water pipe, which he invited me to
smoke with him. I related all my adventures since we last parted, and
he gave me an account of his. Having left Meshed with a caravan for
Ispahan, with his mules loaded partly with bars of silver, and partly
with lambs skins; and having undergone great fears on account of the
Turcomans--he reached his destination in safety. That city was still
agitated with the recollections of the late attack of the caravanserai,
of which I have given an account; and the general belief was, that the
invaders had made their approach in a body, consisting of more than a
thousand men; that they had been received with great bravery, and that
one Kerbelai Hassan, a barber, had, with his own hand, wounded one
of the chiefs so severely, that he had escaped with the greatest
difficulty.
I had always kept this part of my adventures secret from everybody; so
I hid any emotion that might appear on my face from the muleteer, by
puffing out a sufficient volume of smoke in his face.
From Ispahan he carried cotton stuffs, tobacco, and copper ware to Yezd,
where he remained some time, until a caravan was collected for Meshed,
when he loaded his mules with the manufactures of the former city. Ali
Kâtir agreed that Dervish Sefer and I should return with him to Tehran,
and that whenever we were tired with walking, he would willingly assist
us, by permitting us to mount his mules.
[Illustration: The shaving of the ass. 11.jpg]