Muscat.
"Land from the mast-head!" "What does it look like?" "High land, sir,
on the larboard bow, stretching away to the north-west." "Can you see
land to starboard?" "No." "Then," says the captain, with some little
swell, "we have just hit it; the watch is a good one; and three or
four hours of this will bring us into Muscat." The prediction proved
correct. Now, if I understood perspective and retrospective, how I
would delight my readers by contrasting the barren rocky hills of
Arabia, where not a trace of vegetable nature is to be found, with the
shaded shores of Ceylon, and the dark forests that clothe the lofty
mountains of Malabar! But I am not a picturesque traveller; suffice it
therefore to say, the arid hills we were now contemplating protect,
by almost encircling it, a cove, at the extremity of which is a small
plain, crowded with high houses, which form the city of Muscat. This
emporium to the trade of the Persian Gulf is defended by batteries
which command its narrow entrance, as well as by fortifications that
cover every part of the uneven and mis-shapen hills and crags around it.
Muscat is governed by a prince whose title is Imâm, and whose
authority, like that of many chiefs in Arabia, is more of a patriarchal
than despotic character. Though he has large fleets, including some
fine frigates, and a considerable army to garrison his possessions
on the coast of Africa, the shores of Arabia, and the islands of
the Persian Gulf, he must attend to the summons of any inhabitant
of Muscat who calls him to a court of justice. Your sceptics who
deny the existence of any just administration of power, except in
the commonwealth of Europe, may call this a mere form. Be it so: yet
the knowledge that such a form was observed went far, in my mind, to
mark the character of this petty government. But it is the eye, the
disposition, and the judgment of the observer, more than what is
actually seen, that stamps the condition of distant nations with those
who have to form their opinions at second-hand; and the generality of
readers, who have their happiness grounded on a natural prejudice in
favour of their own ways and usages, lean toward such as minister to
their pride and patriotism, by throwing a dark shade on all they meet
different from Old England, or some of those countries in its vicinity,
for which their good climate, cheap viands, and well flavoured wines
have created a predilection.
The eastern hemisphere continues to have a certain venerable air with
old men from a belief that the star of knowledge first enlightened its
horizon: children delight in it from its containing the enchanting
tales of the "Thousand and one Nights;" ladies admire its flowered
muslins, rich shawls, pure pearls, and brilliant diamonds; merchants
view it as a source of commercial wealth; the naturalist, the botanist,
and the geologist, search its plains, its forests, and its mountains,
for unicorns, spikenard, splendid specimens of zeolite, and grand
basaltic formations; the English soldier looks to its fields for a
harvest of reputation; while pious missionaries sally forth with more
than military zeal, to reclaim the millions of the East from their
errors, and direct them in the path of life.
Almost all these, however different their objects, concur in one
sentiment, that the rulers of the East are despots, and their subjects
slaves; that the former are cruel, the latter degraded and miserable,
and both equally ignorant.
I had seen the father of the present Imâm of Muscat when I accompanied
a former mission to Persia; we had been introduced to him on board the
Ganjava, his flag ship, of a thousand tons burthen, and carrying forty
guns. We found him, though surrounded with some state, very simply
attired; he had a shawl rolled round his head as a turban, and the Arab
cloak, which hung over his plain robes, was of white broadcloth, no
way ornamented; he wore no jewels, and had no arms, not even a dagger,
about his person; his manner was plain and manly, and marked his
active enterprising character. The eyes of his crew (Arabs, Nubians,
and Abyssinians), who were upon or near the quarter-deck, though they
wandered now and then among his visitors, were usually fixed on their
prince; but their countenance indicated affection, not fear; and I
could not but observe that he never looked at or spoke to any of them
but with kindness.
During this visit, while we were sitting under the awning spread over
the deck, several captains of his largest vessels, who had just arrived
from Bussorah, came on board. The Imâm was in the cabin with the
Envoy, and before he came out, I was pleased to see the hearty manner
in which these commanders saluted and were received by almost all on
board. "Salâm alicum!" (Peace be with you!) was heard from all, while
every one who met a friend took his right hand, and, after shaking
it, raised it as high as his breast. What appeared singular, was the
extent of this cordial and familiar greeting; it was not limited by
those rules which are found necessary in more civilised societies.
The Arab sailor, however low his occupation, exhibited an ease and
independence in addressing the commanders, which showed that, as far as
the intercourse between man and man was concerned, he deemed himself
his equal. I asked a person sitting near me, if this familiarity did
not now and then interfere with discipline? "No," he answered; "the
line is well understood, and in cases of deviation there is a severe
punishment; for with us, Arabs, the right of addressing our superiors,
as you have now seen, is our proudest privilege, and its loss, which
would be the consequence of the abuse of it, would be deeply felt, both
as a privation and a disgrace."
The above scene was interrupted by the opening of the cabin door, and
every one fell into his place as the Imâm came upon deck. He stood
while the commanders, who had returned from their voyage, advanced in
their turns, according to their rank, and, taking his extended right
hand in both theirs, pressed it, at the same time bending their bodies
in a low bow, after which they raised their right hand in salutation
to their head, then placing it on their heart, retired backwards. The
Imâm, after this ceremony was ended, seated himself, desiring us and
all his principal officers to do the same.
We had a dinner prepared on board, of which the whole party partook;
and when we came away, I was struck, as we passed under the stern of
the vessel, by seeing some of the Imâm's ladies, among whom was his
favourite wife, unveiled, looking at us with eager curiosity. They
appeared much pleased, which we imputed to the notice the Envoy had
taken of the Imâm's sons, two fine boys, each of whom was gratified
with appropriate presents.
The view I had taken of the Imâm's court--the intercourse we had with
him, his sons, and chief officers--the security which I observed
merchants and other inhabitants, both Mahomedan and Hindu, enjoying
at Muscat, gave me a very pleasing impression of that place, and I
had made a sketch of the manners and customs of the people, no way
unfavourable. This I showed one day to a friend, who was a captain in
the navy, who, rather to my surprise, burst into a fit of laughter,
and said, he could show me a very opposite picture of the same scene.
"There is an order from the Admiralty," said he, "that the officers
of a man-of-war, when they visit a port little known, should describe
the manners and customs of the inhabitants. I have a blunt fellow of a
master, an excellent seaman, but who troubles himself very little with
matters on shore. Curious to have his observations, and knowing that
he had two or three times visited the town of Muscat, I insisted on
his complying with orders, and filling up the column of his journal.
He evaded this duty as long as he could: at last, in despair, he went
to his cabin, and returning with his book, said, 'There, sir, I have
obeyed orders, and you will find all I could write about these black
fellows, and all they deserve.' I took the journal and read,
'Inhabitants of Muscat.
'As to manners they have none; and their customs are very beastly.'"
This picture of the good master will no doubt be deemed by many truer
than mine; and travellers who limit their observations to the busy
beach, crowded with slaves, covered with packages of dates, blackened
with flies, and scented with putrid salt fish, will be certain to
prefer this laconic description of this rude and dirty people; or,
supposing them to enter the vile narrow streets of the town, and
see (as they may) strings of slaves walking, with a man following
and calling out their prices as he exhibits them in this ambulatory
auction:--"Number one--handsome young man, five hundred piastres;
number two--a little older, but very healthy and strong, four hundred
piastres;" and so on till he describes his whole string of unhappy
bipeds:--who would not turn with indignation and disgust from such
filth and abomination!
If, however, we have nerve enough to look a little farther into
the scene which has been described, we shall find that the reason
why houses are crowded upon each other, till cleanliness becomes
impossible, is because men and their property are protected at this
port against injustice and oppression; and our disgust at the effect
will in a great degree be removed by contemplating the cause. Even
with regard to the sale of slaves, of which Muscat is the great mart,
though the mode of disposing of them appears to justify the master's
designation of the inhabitants as "beastly in their customs," yet when
we take a comparative view of the fate of the victims of this commerce,
from the stain of which our own country is hardly yet purified, and
which is still carried on, openly or clandestinely, by almost every
power of civilised Europe, we shall be compelled to acknowledge the
superior humanity of Asiatic nations.
The slave in eastern countries, after he is trained to service, attains
the condition of a favoured domestic; his adoption of the religion of
his master is usually the first step which conciliates the latter.
Except at a few sea-ports, he is seldom put to hard labour. In Asia
there are no fields tilled by slaves, no manufactories in which they
are doomed to toil; their occupations are all of a domestic nature, and
good behaviour is rewarded by kindness and confidence, which raises
them in the community to which they belong. The term gholam, or slave,
in Mahomedan countries, is not one of opprobrium, nor does it even
convey the idea of a degraded condition. The Georgians, Nubians, and
Abyssinians, and even the Seedee, or Caffree, as the woolly-headed
Africans are called, are usually married, and their children, who are
termed house-born,[4] become, in a manner, part of their master's
family. They are deemed the most attached of his adherents: they often
inherit a considerable portion of his wealth; and not unfrequently
(with the exception of the woolly-headed Caffree) lose, by a marriage
in his family, or by some other equally respectable connexion, all
trace of their origin.
According to the Mahomedan law, the state of slavery is divided into
two conditions--the perfect and absolute, or imperfect and privileged.
Those who belong to the first class are, with all their property, at
the disposal of their masters. The second, though they cannot, before
emancipation, inherit or acquire property, have many privileges, and
cannot be sold or transferred. A female, who has a child to her master,
belongs to the privileged class; as does a slave to whom his master has
promised his liberty, on the payment of a certain sum, or on his death.
The greatest encouragement is given in the Koran,[5] and by all
commentaries on that volume, to the manumission of slaves. Mahomed
has said, "Unto such of your slaves as desire a written instrument,
allowing them to redeem themselves, on paying a certain sum, write one,
if ye know good in them, and give them of the riches of God, which he
hath given you."
It is in obedience to this precept that pious Mahomedans often grant
small pieces of land to a slave, or teach him a profession, that he
may, through industry and frugality, attain the means of paying for
his freedom, at the same time that he acquires habits which render him
worthy of the great gift. Mahomedans are also encouraged to manumit
their slaves by the law, which gives them a title, as residuary heir,
to any property which the person to whom they may have granted freedom
dies possessed.
On one point the slaves in Mahomedan countries are on a footing with
free females: they are only liable, for any crimes they commit, to
suffer half the punishment to which a free man would be subject. This
law proceeds on the ground of their not being supposed on a par, as
to knowledge or social ties, with other parts of the community. The
application, however, of this principle of justice to cases where the
law awards death or amputation, has puzzled the wise Moullahs, or
doctors, who have resorted to the usual remedy, of writing ponderous
volumes upon the subject; but I do not learn that they have yet
discovered a plan by which an offending woman or slave can be punished
with the loss of half a life; or an operation be performed, which will
leave them with a half-amputated limb.
To return to Muscat: I had visited it at all seasons; it was now
winter, and the climate was pleasant; in summer, the heat is
intolerable. Shut out by the hills from every breeze, except that which
blows directly into the narrow entrance of the cove, there is seldom
a breath of air; and the reflection of the sun, from the bare rocks
and white fortifications which overhang the town and harbour, produces
a temperature, which is described by a Persian poet as giving to a
panting sinner a lively anticipation of his future destiny!
The young Imâm, Syed Sayed, was absent on an expedition; but I
regretted this the less as I had seen his father, who was, in
simplicity of manners, good sense, and courage, the equal of his
deserving son.
Among the first who came on board, I was pleased to see my old friend,
Mahomed Gholoum. Being a good seaman, he had, on the former mission,
in the year 1800, acted as our pilot from Muscat to Ormus. He was
now advanced to be a pilot of the state, being one of the principal
ministers of the young Imâm, of whose character he spoke in high
praise. "His father," said he, "was a brave man; he was killed in
battle; and if his son goes on exposing himself everywhere, he will
be killed also. He will regret much not seeing the Envoy, of whose
kindness to him when a boy he retains a grateful recollection; for he
preserves with great care the model of a seventy-four gun ship, with
which he was presented by him."
Mahomed Gholoum was not changed by his prosperity, but retained all the
frankness and manliness of an Arab sailor. We had many old stories, and
at one, in which he was a prominent actor, he laughed very heartily. He
had wished to take our vessel, the Bombay frigate, to the southward of
Ormus; but as we neared that island, the wind headed us, as the sailors
call it, at the same time that it increased to a gale, and our pilot
told the captain we had nothing left but to run for the harbour we
desired to make, by steering between the island and the Persian shore.
We did so; the weather became worse--it blew a hurricane; the channel,
which is narrow, was missed, and we touched on a mud-bank, where the
ship settled for a moment, and the waves dashed over her. The captain
ordered more sail, to try and force her through the mud, exclaiming
at the same time, "I would rather give a lac of rupees than lose the
Company's ship." "Never mind the Company's ship," said a passenger, "so
you land us safe." The seaman in the chains kept heaving the lead, and
calling "Quarter less three." "What is the use of your quarter less
three," said an impatient landsman, "when the ship is aground?" "That's
the captain's business, not mine," said the unconcerned Jack, and again
he hove, and again he called "Quarter less three." At this moment my
attention was drawn to my friend Mahomed Gholoum, who was appalled by
an Irish officer's exclaiming, "I do not understand your vile lingo;
but I will cut your throat, (and he sawed with his finger across his
windpipe to make him comprehend what he meant,) I will cut your throat,
you ignoramus, for drowning of gentlemen in this rascally sea."
As these scenes were passing, the press of sail which had been put upon
our vessel forced her over the bank: a few minutes more saw us safe in
the harbour of Ormus, and all our danger forgotten. Mahomed Gholoum,
quite exhausted, had, soon after we anchored, fallen asleep on a couch
in the captain's cabin; but he was dreaming of past events, and when I
shook him, to make him rise to partake of supper, he started up, and
with a wild look called out, "How many fathom have you?" We told him to
take his seat, and we would teach him, Mahomedan as he was, to fathom
a bowl.
Soon after our arrival at Muscat, we were visited by men of all nations
and colours. I was principally attracted by the appearance and manners
of some Arabs from the interior, who were brought on board by their
countrymen to see an English ship of war. Their figures were light
and elastic, their countenances expressed quickness and energy. The
most remarkable of their features were their dark rolling eyes, which
perhaps struck me more from their wandering rapidly from one object
to another, glistening with wonder at all they saw. A good telescope
happened to be placed so as to give a complete view of one of the
farthest fortifications. I called an Arab to look through it, and he
did so for about a minute, then gazed with the most eager attention
at me, and, without saying a word, dashed over the ship's side. When
the boat he was in got to a little distance, he exclaimed, "You are
magicians, and I now see how you take towns; that thing (pointing to
the telescope), be they ever so far off, brings them as near as you
like." We were much amused with his simplicity, but no arguments could
prevail on him to return and receive such a lesson on optics as might
dispel his delusion in supposing us to be adepts in the black art.
The Arabs at Muscat gave a luxuriant description of some beautiful
valleys about twenty miles from that town; but the result of minute
inquiry forced us to conclude that the green meadows and clear streams
they described owed much of their value to their rarity, and that the
title of Arabia the Happy is rather founded on the barrenness of the
far greater part of this renowned land, than on anything wonderful
either in the climate or productions of the tract to which it is
applied.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] Khâna-zâdeh.
[5] Vide Sale's Koran, vol. ii, p. 186.