Residence at Latakia--Remains of
Antiquity--Port--Gardens--Sycamore--Birdlime tree--Vegetables
and fruit--Tobacco--Salt tanks--Sponge fishery--Hanah
Kûby--Fanaticism of the Turks of Latakia--A Barbary Shaykh--The
Plague--Habits of the Mahometans accordant with common
sense--Epidemic illness--Impalement of a Malefactor--Ravages of
the Plague--Mr. Barker, British Consul at Aleppo, comes to spend
some time near Latakia--Hard fate of a Christian--Experiment
on a fruit diet--Imprudence of smoking in the streets during
Ramazán--Amusements--Sporting--Departure of Mr. B. for
England--Civility of the Greek Patriarch--Illness of Lady
Hester, and of the Author--She supposes her disease to be the
Plague--Illness of servants--Scarcity of provisions--Departure
for Sayda--Turkish Lugger--Tripoli--Aspect of Mount
Lebanon--Arrival at Sayda--Seamanship of the Turks.
There was a spacious mansion in Latakia, which, from its size and the
expense required to keep it up, had been for some time empty. This was
hired, unfurnished, for three months, at the rate of 500 piasters per
month; whereas it would have been well paid for at 150. Here Lady
Hester and Mr. B. took up their residence, whilst, with the view of
seeing patients, I hired a house for myself, which I occupied, with two
servants, Tanûs, whom I engaged on my arrival at Latakia, and my groom,
Ibrahim. In the courtyard were tethered my two horses, night and day in
the open air, but, as the yard was small, and they could almost snuff
each other’s breath, they were constantly breaking loose and fighting.
Lady Hester was hardly well housed when she wrote a long letter to
the Marquis of Sligo, a great portion of which, as descriptive of her
journey into the Desert, I shall be excused for inserting.
_Extract of a Letter from Lady Hester Stanhope to the
Marquis of Sligo._
Latakia, 1813.
* * * * *
**** I must first mention my entry at Damascus, which was one
of the most singular and not one of my least exploits, as it
was reckoned so dangerous, from the fanaticism of the Turks in
that town. However, we made a triumphal entry, and were lodged
in what was reckoned a very fine house in the Christian quarter,
which I did not at all approve of. I said to the doctor, I
must “take the bull by the horns,” and stick myself under the
minaret of the great mosque. This was accomplished, and we
found ourselves, for three months, in the most distinguished
part of the Turkish quarter. I went out in a variety of dresses
every day, to the great astonishment of the Turks, but no harm
happened. A visit to the pasha on the night of the Ramazán
was magnificent indeed: 2,000 attendants and guards lined the
staircase, antechambers, &c. The streets were all illuminated,
and there were festivities at all the coffee-houses. The message
of invitation was accompanied by two fine Arab horses, one of
which I mounted, and I am sorry to say they are both since dead
of the glanders. But this is enough for Damascus. I must now go
to the Arabs, only just mentioning that constant dinners and
fêtes were given to the great Turks and their harýms during my
long stay.
I did not delay long in making my arrangement with an Arab
chief to go to Palmyra, which the pasha, hearing of, greatly
disapproved, and said he should send me there himself in
security. But, when this business was examined into, I found
that at a place about three days’ journey from Damascus we
were to be joined by nearly 1000 men to escort us. The expense
and trouble of such an escort and the difficulty of managing
such a body of troops put it entirely out of the question: so
I affected to give up the plan entirely, and set off to Hamah,
not to do anything palpably rude towards the pasha. I cannot
enter into the detail of the second negociation with the Arabs,
nor of the dreadful stories that were told us of the danger
we were running into: but all that did not deter me from my
purpose. In March, we set off with the two sons of the King of
the Desert, forty camels loaded with provisions, and water, and
presents, twenty horsemen, the Doctor, Mr. B., myself, and an
Arab dragoman, a second dragoman, and a mameluke, two cooks, a
caffagi, four Cairo säyses, the Emir el akoar, or stud-groom,
Mr. B.’s valet, and Madame Fry, two sakas or water-carriers, my
slave, two ferráses or tent-pitchers, with an escort of Arabs.
On the second day we arrived at the tents of the King of the
Arabs, who had advanced to the borders, on purpose to meet us.
We remained there a day, and were very much entertained with
Arab stories and civility. I then requested the emir to move his
camp to the northward. We proceeded, and passed through some
other tribes, and encamped at night among the Beni Hez. The
next day we passed through the Beni Kaleds, and encamped in a
very desolate place, but sent for a guard from the tribe of the
Sebáh, who were not very far off.
Having visited the tribes of the Melhem, the Beni Hez, the Beni
something else, and the Sebáhs, we arrived on the eighth day at
Palmyra. We met 2000 of the Sebáhs upon their march, descending
into the plain where we were reposing from the Beláz, a mountain
pass, with all their fine mares, little colts, little camels,
little children, and hideous women, with the most extraordinary
head-dresses, and extraordinary rings at their noses, and
preposterously tatooed in flowers and frightful figures.
You must not understand Palmyra to be a desolate place, but
one in which there are 1500 inhabitants. The chief and about
300 people came out about two hours’ distance to meet us. He
and a few of the grandees were upon Arab mares, and dressed
rather more to imitate Turks than Arabs, with silk shawls and
large silk turbans. The men, at least many of them, had their
whole bodies naked, except a pestimal or petticoat studded
or ornamented with leather, blackamoor’s teeth, beads, and
strange sorts of things that you see on the stage. They were
armed with matchlocks, and guns, all surrounding me, and firing
in my face, with most dreadful shouts and savage music and
dances. They played all sorts of antics, till we arrived at the
triumphal arch at Palmyra. The inhabitants were arranged in the
most picturesque manner on the different columns leading to
the Temple of the Sun. The space before the arch was occupied
with dancing girls, most fancifully and elegantly dressed,
and beautiful children placed upon the projecting parts of
the pillars with garlands of flowers. One, suspended over the
arch, held a wreath over my head. After having stopped a few
minutes, the procession continued: the dancing girls immediately
surrounded me. The lancemen took the lead, followed by the
poets from the banks of the Euphrates, singing complimentary
odes, and playing upon various Arabian instruments. A tribe
of hale Palmyrenes brought up the rear, when we took up our
habitation in the Temple of the Sun, and remained there a week.
I must tell you that the difficulty of this enterprise was
that the King of the Desert was at war with some very powerful
Arabs, and it was from them we were in dread of being surprised,
particularly as it was known that they had said that they
could sell me for 25,000 piasters, or 300 purses, and which
they certainly thought they could get for my ransom at home.
This was the most alarming part of the business. Our people,
nevertheless, went out robbing every day, and came home with a
fine khanjár, and some visible spoil. We heard of nothing but
the advance of the enemy to the east of Palmyra, and we believed
it, as we had taken five of their scouts prisoners, which we
thought well secured at Palmyra; but, unfortunately, one night
one got out, and, fearing that he would give the intelligence
of what day we were to begin our journey back again, we set
off before our intended time. We were, nevertheless, pursued
by 300 horses a few hours off, which fell upon the tribe of
the Sebáhs, and killed a chief, and took some tents, and the
Sebáhs, on their side, carried off twenty-two mares. We returned
a different way, having made acquaintance with the tribe of the
Amoors, the Hadideens, the Wahabas, and another battalion of
Sebáhs, including Wahabees, and a party of hunting Arabs, that
are dressed in the skins of wild beasts. We arrived in safety
at the tents of the Grand Emir, Mahannah el Fadel, who gave us
a fine Arab feast, and killed a camel, of which we partook. At
two hours from Hamah, we were met by a corps of Delibashes, who
were sent as a complimentary escort by Moli Ismael, a man of
great note in Syria, who conducted us to his house, where dinner
was prepared for 300 people, and corn provided for all the Arab
mares. Within a mile of Hamah, full 10,000 people were assembled
out of curiosity, half of which were women, and many women of
distinction, with Nasif Pasha’s children carried by slaves.
_Mashallah_ echoed from every mouth. Selámet-ya meleky,
seláme, ya syt (welcome, queen--welcome, madam); El hamd Lillah
(thank God); Allah kerym (the Lord is gracious); and this very
interesting scene proved my ladyship’s popularity in Hamah.
Nothing in the world could have been so well managed, which
proves me an élève of Colonel Gordon’s, for I was at once
quarter-master, adjutant, and commissary-general. We were as
comfortable upon our road as if we were at home, and the Duke of
Kent could not have given out more minute orders, or have been
more particular in their being executed, which, in fact, is the
only way of performing a thing of that sort with any degree of
comfort.
We were excessively entertained with the different conversations
of these people, and the extravagant though elegant compliments
they paid me. They have got it into their heads that the only
power which can affect them is Russia. They were always thanking
God that I was not Empress of Russia, otherwise their freedom
would be lost. I am now getting translated into Arabic all the
real achievements of the Emperor Alexander, on purpose to send
to my friends in the Desert. They are the most singular and
wonderfully clever people I ever saw, but require a great deal
of management, for they are more desperate and more deep than
you can possibly have an idea of. It would have very much amused
you to see me riding like a Bedouin woman in a bird’s-nest made
of carpeting upon a camel, and upon one of the fleet dromedaries
like a Wahabee. I am enrolled as an Anisy Arab in the tribe of
the Melhem, and have now the rights of the Desert, particularly
that of recommending my friends who may wish to visit them.
After my return to Hamah, the immense number of Arabs that
waited on me from all quarters was quite surprising. You think
we have been losing our time in Syria, but certainly we have
seen in great perfection what nobody else has, not even your
friend Shaykh Ibrahim, who, going under consular protection, was
stripped stark naked in coming from Palmyra, and, after having
marched some days in this happy state, got a pair of shalwars
(trousers) at a village, and, in this figure, entered Damascus.
As for Mr. W****, he certainly crept there like a thief in the
dark, when the Arabs were several days’ journey to the eastward.
The Palmyrenes are the best mimics in the world; and, one day,
when I was looking over Zenobia’s pleasure house, a very clever
Palmyrene bubbled and blustered just like him, and he said Mr.
W**** complained bitterly of the cold. Then (rubbing the two
palms of his hands together to imitate him) he added, “He says
he is the son of a vizir.” “Oh! then,” rejoined one of the Arabs
who accompanied us, “it cannot be a vizir of the true race:
the man is a booby;” he spread out his hands too, and exposed
them to the cold, when he ought to have wrapped them up in his
abah. “Pooh!” added he, blowing his fingers, and making a sign
of contempt, “he is good for nothing.” I only saw one mare, a
Wahabee, that I thought perfection. The owner said he would not
part with her for less than one hundred purses. The generality
of their horses and mares is by no means so beautiful as you
would imagine, but beyond anything excellent for swiftness and
fatigue. I could write volumes upon different circumstances
that took place on this interesting journey, which I certainly
recommend to no traveller to undertake without being well aware
of the _carte du pays_, and having considerable abilities
to plan, and great energy to go through with it. When you are
once in the scrape, nobody can get you out of it, for no pasha
has sufficient authority over them to be the least depended
upon. They no sooner heard of our intention of going with the
pasha’s people than they said they should cut off all their
beards and send them naked about their business. For my part,
I believe they would have been as good as their word. The idea
of telling them cock-and-bull stories, and treating them like
fools, is perfectly incorrect: they are much more difficult to
manage than any Europeans I have ever seen.
I always went dressed like a Bedouin Arab, and rode with
provisions under a sort of red rug upon my horse, and a
water-bottle and a chief’s lance. Mr. B. and the doctor had
beards and were dressed in the same style, with sheepskin
pelisses, some tanned, some covered with Bagdad flowered
cottons, and over that abahs, which are a sort of woollen
cloaks, some white with great gold flourishes woven in upon
the back and shoulders, others with plain and large stripes of
black and white, a quarter of a yard wide. There was a chief
there that Lord Petersham would die of envy before, as he was as
_éveillé_ as a Frenchman, and presented himself with the
air of Lord Rivers or the Duke of Grafton. Respecting etiquette
and politeness, these people certainly far exceed even the
Turks; but for eloquence and beauty of ideas (though one can
hardly be a judge of it), they undoubtedly are beyond any other
people in the world.
To expect a frigate upon this coast till the plague is quite
gone is out of the question, and to pop into a nasty infected
ship would be folly. As far as country and a good house goes, we
are very comfortable; as well off now as ill off last winter.
Believe me,
Dear Lord Sligo,
Yours sincerely,
HESTER LUCY STANHOPE.
In these distant countries the arrival of strangers was in those times
an event of importance among the few Europeans of the place, and “Have
you seen the mylady who is just come from Hamah?” was the question of
the day.
By what I could learn from the mention of visits of this sort made by
former travellers, there was no one, however distinguished his rank,
who had not sought with avidity the society of these Europeans as
his only resource among barbarians: for so the Turks are called by
most persons who travel among them. Such was not the practice of Lady
Hester. Unless a European, from situation or talents, had some claim
to her acquaintance, she always refused to see him: and the wife of
a factor, in the town where we now were, in vain solicited, during
six months, the honour of being presented to her, although the only
European-born woman in the place. I however was soon acquainted with
them all: and, as there was an epidemic fever raging on our arrival, my
professional aid was called for on all sides; the more especially as I
gave it gratuitously.[70]
When we were settled, and time was allowed for examining the town and
environs, I observed several remains of ancient edifices, which once
adorned Laodicea, lying about in different directions, of some of which
I took sketches. Going from the town to the port, (which two places
are distant half a mile from each other) a single granite column was
to be seen upright, but buried half its length among the graves of a
cemetery. The soil was overgrown with flowers and weeds at this time.
Close to it were five palm trees of different heights.
Two hundred paces to the north and east of this was a singular remnant
of antiquity in an octagonal piece of marble, giving support to the
main beam of a Persian waterwheel, one end of which rested upon it, as
the other did upon the fluted shaft of a column. It was placed upside
down, and had, on three of the eight faces, a long inscription in Greek
capitals. The copying of it, from the unpleasant posture in which I was
obliged to do it, took me up two mornings. Large blocks of stone and
patches of a wall attested the former existence of some building on
this spot.
There are several granite pillars scattered in and about the town.
Thus, to the north of the citadel is one, and by the sea-side a piece
of another. In one of the streets are no fewer than ten granite
pillars, still upright, but without capitals. The intervals between
them have been blocked up with masonry, and the whole forms the wall
of a house. There are seven more incorporated in another wall; these
and the ten above mentioned are scarcely half their length out of the
ground, proving how great must be the heaps of ruins which now cover
their bases.
On the road from the town to the port there are four other granite
columns lying flat and half buried in the soil, the capitals and
pedestals of which are wanting.
In one of the streets of the city there were the remains of an ancient
edifice, supposed to have been a temple. Four pillars, parts of two
of the sides, were still upright, the shafts not being of a single
stone, as is most frequently the case, but of four pieces. They are
of the Corinthian order, and the blocks which form the architrave are
very large. Within the court where they stood was the tomb of a holy
Mahometan, named Shaykh Mohammed. Many devout persons visited the tomb,
and hence mats were spread on the ground for the convenience of praying.
But the most perfect specimen of antiquity yet to be seen in Latakia is
a square building, said to have been a triumphal arch. This supposed
triumphal arch is now converted into a mosque, called Jamâ el Mezyad.
It is in the street called Hart el Ashar, a small distance from the
foot of the elevated spot of ground which commands Latakia from the
east, and upon which once stood a castle or citadel. When the building
was entire, the arch between the two pillars was open, but has been
since blocked up with rude masonry. The pillars of the Corinthian order
and the materials of the building are of a hard stone, quarried in
the neighbourhood; on the entablature are figures in bas-relief. Among
them may be distinguished rams’ heads with a collar round their necks,
and bucklers: the second and fourth compartment (counting from the
left) seemed to bear something like robes: the seventh and tenth have
the appearance of helmets. But the troublesome curiosity of a crowd of
Turks, who collected round me whilst I was drawing, prevented me from
making such accurate observations as I could wish to have done.
Within, the dome is supported by eight pilasters, two at each angle of
the square; they are Corinthian. Those of the two opposite faces are
different, two sets being lower than the other two. The darkness of
the inside prevented me from making out the bas-reliefs: for the light
cannot enter except by the doorway. No inscription was found within or
without. In this mosque the howling dervises perform their religious
ceremonies.
I endeavoured to procure a ladder to mount up and examine the
bas-reliefs on the outside: but the bystanders, having talked the
matter over, said it could not be permitted, as I should thus
be enabled to overlook the terraces of several houses in the
neighbourhood, where possibly the harýms might be unsuspectingly
diverting themselves unveiled.
Numbers of tombs and sarcophagi are to be seen in the environs of
the city, but principally to the north of it. The tombs are square
chambers, with cells hewn in the sides. Some are cut out singly in the
rock. One yet remains where there are three figures sculptured in high
relief on the façade; but the figures are unfortunately much mutilated.
The entrance to one tomb (four minutes’ walk from the town) had two
Ionic pillars: some had pilasters. On the sarcophagi, which are to
be found hewn from single blocks of stone or marble, rams’ heads are
sculptured with wreaths of flowers; and these seem to have been the
most common ornaments. It is not clear whether, in such cases, the
block was not originally an altar, and had been subsequently hollowed
out, not for the reception of a corpse, but for the purposes of a
water-trough.
I observed, with respect to the sepulchres, that no rule is adhered to
as to the direction of the head and feet.
There are, likewise, on the seashore, some caves, or chambers, hewn out
of the solid rock, on a level with the sea, and which have openings to
give the waves a free passage in and out. These are shown as baths, and
are of the same construction with those which are to be seen in the
neighbourhood of Alexandria, and which are named Cleopatra’s baths.
The site of the ancient city appears to have extended much more to the
north-east than the modern town, running between the castle hill and
the promontory.
These are all the remains of what this city once was.[71] Its
revolutions may be comprehended in a few words. It is one of those
cities whose name is pure Greek; for the idiom of the Arabic tongue
has transformed the Greek name of Laodicea, which by Europeans is
generally called Latakia, into Ladkýah. The city contained 3,000 to
4,000 inhabitants, consisting of Mahometans, Christians, and a few
European families. The Greeks had five or six churches, eight curates,
and a bishop. There was a monastery for the Franciscans, a solid piece
of masonry;[72] but there were no friars: and it was then occupied by
the French consul, who let out the lower part as a caravansery. The few
catholics who lived here were French and Italian. There was an English
agent. Latakia is a dirty town. It was governed by a motsellem. There
was a wall round the city, but of no strength, said to have been built
by a Christian, one Hanah Kûby, who, in the time of the invasion of
Egypt by the French, as I was told, governed the place.
The harbour of Latakia is distinct from the town. It is about two
cables’ length in breadth and width, with a very narrow entrance,
formed by two jetties of stone-work in ruins. On the north jetty
stands an old fort or castle, which is suffered to go to decay: upon
it, on Fridays, a ragged Turkish flag was hoisted, scarcely visible
above the parapet. The port seemed to have been anciently walled round,
as there were patches of masonry still remaining on the south side:
now, it would not admit vessels of above one hundred tons burthen. It
was governed by the collector of the customs, who was at this time
named Hosayn Aga. He was one of the few surviving of those Mamelukes
bought and brought up by Gezzàr Pasha: and was said to retain something
of the ferocity of his old master. His power was almost as great as
that of the governor. There were several granite columns to be seen
just under water, near the wharf, indicating that some ancient edifice
had been thrown down by an earthquake.
Out of the town there were fine orchards and olive grounds. Of these
the two best cultivated were Bostán el Bende and Bostán el Frangy, or
the Franks’ garden, one mile and a quarter from the town. And it is
observable, in spite of all the lamentations that the European priests
living in the Levant make over their privations and sufferings, that
their houses and gardens are generally better than even those of the
rich natives. We saw here olive trees much larger than any where else
in our travels, and some of them that would have greatly pleased the
lovers of rural scenery by their grotesque and knotted trunks, and by
the strange windings which the grape vines planted at their roots made
among their branches. Nothing can be more beautiful than the face of
the country around the city, combining every requisite for agriculture,
for prospect, or for embellishment. Much oil is made here.
There were some sycamore-trees in the environs of the city, but their
leaves and appearance were unlike the tree to which we give that
name in England. The sycamore of the Levant and of Egypt somewhat
resembles a large walnut-tree, but with a smaller leaf. It is most
remarkable in its fruit, which is in shape like a fig, and in size as
big as a medlar. Instead of growing on the sides and extremities of
the minute or smaller branches, it springs upon little twigs which
surround the trunk and the lower and thick part of the stoutest
branches, where there are no leaves. It first ripens in August, and
this crop is succeeded by another in October. It is eaten by the poor
principally.[73]
The jujube-tree is common here. The henna plant is reared in pots.
The environs of Latakia produce a tree with a fruit the size of
a gooseberry, and, when ripe, of a straw-colour, containing a
viscid matter which serves for bird-lime. It is called in Arabic
_dubbuk_; it grows to the height of an apple-tree, and has a leaf
like a peach-tree. Birdlime is prepared from it in the following
manner by the gardeners of Latakia. Any number of ripe berries (say
200) being gathered, the person bites them in two, one by one, as fast
as he can, and lets fall the husk, keeping the viscid matter (which
adheres to a kernel) in his mouth, until he has extracted the produce
of about twenty. He then spits the clot into his hand, which has been
previously dipped in water, and throws it with a jerk, that it may not
stick, into a large earthenware platter. This process he repeats, until
he has bitten them all asunder; each time holding a little water in his
mouth, and wetting his hand. He now beats this quantity with his two
hands in a cross-fashion, like the shutting and opening of the blades
of a pair of shears; adding, by degrees, about a breakfast cupful of
water, a spoonful at a time. He then moves his hands round one another,
until the viscid pulp has assumed the colour and appearance of whipped
cream. About two table spoonfuls of honey are then added, and he beats
it again with a rotatory motion and with the flat part of his hand
downwards, until it becomes quite gluey, that is, for about a quarter
of an hour. Twigs are then limed with this, and put in the sun. The
same process is repeated the next day with fresh berries, and again a
third time: after which the twigs are fit for use.
Scammony is said to be brought from this neighbourhood. The plants
growing in the hedges hereabouts are however but few; as there was
much difficulty in finding even one.
Vegetables are very abundant and of great variety. Those of which the
names were familiar to us were spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes,
of a very large size, beet-root, and a kind of turnip which grows on
the summit of the stalk among the leaves just like a cauliflower. There
is also a vegetable with long leaves like lettuce, called beet: also
calabashes, gourds, cucumbers, Jews’ mallows, kusas, long kusas, and
some others to which we were unable to assign an English name: such as
crunb, curnabýt, &c.
The vicinity of Cyprus afforded us some things which are not always
attainable in Mahometan countries, such as lard, hams, &c.; but it is
never worth while for a traveller in Turkey to make a parade of eating
pork, so abominable in the eyes of the followers of Mahomet.
Fruits are numerous: figs, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, grapes,
pomegranates, quinces, myrtle-berries, dates (which do not ripen here),
sweet and water melons, olives which grow to a great size, sumág (a
subacid berry, used in sauces), and others.
The tobacco, which forms a great article of home trade and exportation
at Latakia, is not the growth of the immediate environs, but of the
mountainous district of the Ansárys. It is known in the Levant by the
name of Abu Ryah, and obtains its peculiar odour from the process of
smoke-drying not unlike that used in drying herrings in England.
Water was scanty, and the inhabitants were either obliged to drink from
wells or from springs at a distance. That of the village of Besnada was
considered the best.
To the south of the city, the river, which was seen on our last day’s
journey from Sekûn to Latakia, empties itself into the sea. About half
a mile from the sea it was crossed by a bridge, over which passes the
great coast road. The river, which here is almost navigable, goes by
the name of Nahr-el-Kebyr, or Great River.
There is a rock which projects into the sea south of the harbour, and
to which the natives of Latakia give the name of Seyd Lexis. It has
several marks of either having been quarried or else of having served
for baths, tanks, &c. There are still some salt tanks on it, which
are used for the evaporation of the sea-water. Two or three poor men
gain a livelihood by them, in conjunction with the occasional gains of
angling, in which they employ their hours of watching.
A great sponge trade is carried on by Greeks of the Archipelago, who
come annually, in smacks, about June, and remain until September. They
seek them in a north-west or westerly direction, nearly out of sight
of the shore. The time the divers remain under water is considerable,
and instances of the rupture of a blood-vessel, and of returning to the
surface in an expiring state, sometimes occur. They bear in their hands
a knife, to cut through the root of the sponge; in which, if they fail,
their strength is insufficient to tear it up.
We have said above that the walls of Latakia were built by a Christian
named Kûby, and that he governed the town. Some of his descendants
still live at Leghorn. Examples of power, ceded to Nazarenes to such
an extent as the magistracy, are very rare: nor was that of Mâlem Kûby
sufficiently happy in its close to present temptations to others to
imitate him. How Kûby obtained his elevated situation we did not learn:
but it was probably by farming the taxes of the town at a higher price
than any Moslem would give. He was assassinated by a Mahometan soldier,
one of his own men. His government was in nothing distinguished from
the ordinary routine of motsellems.
Kûby’s family were, whilst we were at Latakia, in absolute poverty.
Indeed such a thing as a Christian family of long standing scarcely
exists in Turkey: for the aggrandizement of an individual is generally
the prelude to his ruin. The secretaries of governors of towns,
appointed by letters patent from the Porte, are those only who can hope
to retain their situations for any number of years: for, as they do not
owe their appointment to the caprice of each succeeding governor, so
they are not removed with him.
The district of Latakia, as being a portion of the pashalik of Tripoli,
was now in the hands of Mustafa Aga Barbar, governor of Tripoli under
Ali Pasha. This man, raised by his conduct and valour from the very
dregs of the people, had, for the last three or four years, preserved
entire tranquillity.
The Mahometans of Latakia seemed to me to be more devout and more
religious, as far as external observances went, than those we had
met with in other cities. Every night several individuals might be
seen parading the streets, bawling in a dissonant tone,--“There is no
other God but the Lord.” Others, assembled together in rooms, formed
themselves into a ring, and imitated the cries and impassioned gestures
of the howling dervises, to the sound of the tabor. Whatever merit the
religion of Mahomet may have, it certainly has no attractions from its
liturgy: and, whether from the minaret or in the mosque, their chant
is far from pleasant to the ear. We were able afterwards to account
for this seemingly extraordinary devotion, which was owing to the late
arrival of a Moorish shaykh, who, being a missionary and zealot in the
cause of Islamism, had insinuated among the leading men of the place
how great their remissness was in the exercise of their religious
duties. His reproofs had operated so far upon them that they met to
celebrate the noisy ceremonies above mentioned.
This zealot was a robust and comely man. He occasionally used to ride
out on a handsome Arabian colt. He never would salute either a European
or a Levantine Christian, but entertained a still stronger hatred
against the sectaries of his own religion. Hence, it is said, he taught
that the goods and lives of the Ansárys need not be respected by the
followers of Abubekr. He lived in a costly way, and at other people’s
expense: for he was a stranger, and on his arrival had nothing. He was
given to abominations: and it was his eloquence, not his actions, that
obtained for him the reputation of sanctity. In the bath, one of his
disciples was accustomed to depilate for him his whole body.
The customary marks of attention and respect were shown by the
Motsellem and Kumrukgi[74] to Lady Hester on her arrival, by sending
officers to say that she had only to make known her wants in order to
their being immediately supplied.
The removal to the sea-coast had been considered as a measure
preparatory to our embarkation either for Malta or Russia. But there
was now much uncertainty as to the practicability of such an event, on
account of the general prevalence of plague along the coast, which made
it hazardous to employ vessels of the country, whilst European ships
kept aloof until the danger of infection should be over.
The existence of the plague at Latakia was not yet dearly established,
but strong suspicions were entertained that some recent deaths had
been owing to it. The difficulty of ascertaining its commencement in
Mahometan countries would seem to be, from what we experienced, very
great. The Mahometans, who esteem it impious to withdraw themselves
from the danger of infection, look with an evil eye on the precautions
which Christians take to that effect: nor will they readily tell, in
suspected cases, of what disease a person died, lest they should seem
accessory to such impiety. They take a pride in making comparisons
between their resignation to the will of Heaven and the want of it
manifested in the conduct of the infidel Christians. Christians, on the
other hand, are unwilling to assert of rich Turks that they died of the
plague, because they might give umbrage to families powerful enough
to do them harm. Again, as all medical practitioners in Turkey refuse
to visit the sick suspected of having the plague, no sure reports
can be obtained from that quarter. Still, an attentive watchfulness
from day to day over the diseases and deaths which occur, will leave
little doubt on a person’s mind, as may be judged from a perusal of the
journal of occurrences during our residence at Latakia.
It was some time before Lady Hester could arrange herself to her liking
in the house which she occupied; yet, had it been in thorough repair,
no residence that had hitherto been allotted to her, excepting the
palace at Dayr el Kamar, was so good. The whole of the ground-floor
consisted of vaulted apartments, which, for their warmth, are preferred
by the natives during the winter months, and for their coolness during
the summer. There was stabling for fifty horses: we at this time had
nineteen. These rooms and offices surrounded a large, oblong court,
two sides of which only were surmounted by a first story. On one of
these there was breadth and length sufficient for a stuccoed court,
surrounded by eight or ten rooms, with the doors and windows opening
upon it. This upper story was the dwelling intended for the women, or
the harým.
Mr. Barker had, at my request, hired me an Armenian servant at Aleppo,
who arrived at Latakia on the 28th of May; and, my little establishment
being now complete, I was careless whether we embarked for Europe or
remained some time longer in this pleasant climate. The Armenians who
live towards the Euphrates generally emigrate in their youth with a
view to serve in the large cities. There they earn and lay by a little
money, with which they return to their native villages. Carabit, the
man whom Mr. B. had sent, was past fifty, and had been less economical
or less lucky than his countrymen; for he was still, as he said, very
poor, but he was an honest and serviceable old man.
During the two summers which I had passed in Turkey, I had suffered
much from the heat during the night: for, yet new to the country, I
had listened to the advice of European residents, who described it
as dangerous to expose one’s-self to the night air. But I had found,
when I could converse with the natives, and more especially with the
Mahometans, that they were a people who lived more after the dictates
of common sense, and were less slaves to theories and doctrines than
Franks. Thus, for example, they take acid drinks and eat ripe fruits
in fevers, because they find them beneficial and agreeable; they sleep
in the open air, because, during great heats, the confinement of walls
and of a roof is intolerable; they reject the use of fermented liquors,
not only because their Koran forbids them, but because the refreshing
sensation arising from a draught of cold water is not to be equalled,
in hot climates, by the most delicious wines; they are slow in speech
and action, because haste is no argument of judgment; in fact, they
lead the lives of reasonable beings, and consequently appeared to me,
in many respects, not unworthy of imitation. I accordingly henceforward
suspended my musquito-net from four poles erected on the terrace of
the house, and, like the natives, slept beneath it, under the canopy
of heaven, the thermometer standing, at sunrise, at 71° F., and in
the morning I caused cold water to be poured upon my shaved head (for
all those who wear turbans are constrained to have the head shaved),
thereby procuring for myself a most refreshing coolness, and preserving
myself from catarrhal affections.
One evening, on opening the door of my chamber, I found a serpent
coiled up on the stone floor. I started back, and caught up a
walking-stick, which lay in my room, in time to give him, as he was
crawling up a perpendicular wall, a smart cut across the neck, which
brought him to the ground, and a few more blows rendered him harmless.
I took him up on the end of the stick, and, with a jerk, intended to
throw him from the terrace into the street; but, from applying too much
force, the serpent passed the street (not more than twelve feet wide)
and fell on my neighbour’s terrace, in the midst of a family party
sitting there smoking. Their fright was ludicrous, until the serpent
was observed to be nearly motionless, when, of course, tranquillity was
restored, and the groundless terror created much laughter.
The town was seized with some alarm by the arrival of a ship from
Tarsûs, which had thrown overboard seven bodies dead of the plague: she
was not permitted to enter, and again put to sea. The Christians here,
being tolerably rich, had influence enough to effect this, under the
hope of excluding the disease at least for this year: but it was soon
after known that the malady was now prevailing even within the walls;
for a man, supposed to be ill of a fever only, avowed, on his recovery,
that he had two plague-buboes actually suppurating; and, as he had been
visited and touched by several of his friends, their consternation was
very great.
It was not extraordinary that the plague should be in the town, but
only that its presence could have been for a moment doubted. Coasting
craft were every day entering the harbour of Latakia from infected
places, and fifteen persons had, at different times, been buried out of
them. Some warehousemen had also died where goods had been lodged from
them. Still the inhabitants flattered themselves that the infection
was confined to the port: and, as all the Christians had shut up their
counting-houses and suspended business, the little communication there
was with the port lulled them for some time into a dangerous security.
A Damietta merchant, settled in Latakia, died on the 4th of June of
the plague, having caught it, as it now was first ascertained, from
his partner, who had died a few days before. I had reason to reflect
with myself how much custom renders danger familiar. Two months before,
whilst we were at Hamah, the mere report that the plague was so close
to us as Damascus set all the house in a trepidation: but the subject,
constantly talked over, by degrees lost its horrors. We could now
hear of a neighbour’s death even with tolerable indifference; and, in
the evening of this day, the sudden attack of Mr. B.’s servant, with
symptoms like those of the plague, frightened nobody very much. I saw
him first at eight o’clock. His spirits were depressed, under the
persuasion that he had caught the infection at the governor’s house,
whither he had accompanied his master on a visit. He was removed to
an airy cottage. Active remedies so far restored him by the evening
of next day that I was not apprehensive for his safety, and he soon
recovered.
June 8.--For the last three days there had been no deaths in the town.
It was impossible to account for the continued sickness which prevailed
at Latakia during the greater part of the year, excepting on the
grounds of an influence depending on the particular constitution of
the atmosphere, unconnected with local circumstances; for Latakia has,
from its situation, a claim to be styled a healthy place. There are
no marshes, no stagnant pools, near; there is no extensive artificial
irrigation of the soil to beget damps; neither is the town, nor are the
environs, overhung by mountains or precipices to exclude the warmth of
the sun or the free access of the winds. On the contrary, to the north
and south is a dry and somewhat sandy wild, over which were scattered
myrtle bushes and odoriferous herbs; to the east sloping mountains; to
the west the sea. Yet, independent of all this, besides the deaths by
plague, well ascertained, there were others from malignant fevers; and
there were also many persons who fell sick and recovered. It will be
seen that, before we quitted this place, not one escaped illness of all
those with Lady Hester; and my inquiries led me to conclude, that there
was or had been, upon an average, one or two persons sick in every
house throughout the place.
On the 9th of June, Giorgio, the dragoman, was attacked with pleurisy,
which yielded to the common remedies.
Lady Hester was now becoming impatient to quit Latakia; and she was
somewhat puzzled how to dispose of the many horses she had with her.
As the first step towards my own preparations, I offered my two for
sale: but, when it was understood that we were making ready for our
departure, advantage was taken of that circumstance to bid a very
low price, which I was necessitated to accept. I likewise dismissed
Ibrahim, my groom, who, with Pierre, dismissed also, departed for
Dayr-el-Kamar, the place where they had been hired, not quite a year
before.
Although removed so far from the Bedouins, Lady Hester had not
altogether lost sight of them. Indeed, whilst openly declaring her
intention of going to Europe, she contradicted her assertion by
endeavouring to establish a correspondence with Saûd, the chief of
the Wahabys, to whom, she told me about this time, she had written.
Credulity, which seems ever to be the fault of lively imaginations, was
hers; and the account given of the Wahabite chief, with his dromedaries
that outstripped the fleetest horses, with his spacious palaces, his
eight hundred wives, and his superb vestments, had entirely possessed
her mind. Sometimes she would plan a journey across the Desert to
Deráyah, his capital; but what object her writing to him had I could
not clearly understand.
Her supposed influence at Constantinople caused frequent applications
to be made to her, to interfere on matters of dispute between the
agents of our government and the officers of the Porte in the provinces.
July 12th was a holiday in the Greek calendar, and was celebrated by
the inhabitants of that persuasion, according to annual custom, by
bathing in the sea. There was a particular efficacy attached to this
sea-bathing (at Latakia, at least) for the cure of sore eyes.
On the 19th of July, I was walking out of one of the gates of the town,
about eight in the morning, when I came suddenly on a man who had been
impaled an hour or two before, and was now dead, but still transfixed
by the stake, which, as I saw on approaching him, came out about the
sixth rib on the right side; but I was so shocked at this unexpected
sight, that it was some minutes before I could recover myself
sufficiently to go up to him. The stake was planted upright, seemed
to be scarcely sharp, and was somewhat thicker than a hop-pole. I was
told that it was forced up the body by repeated blows of a mallet, the
malefactor having been bound on his face to a heavy pack-saddle, and
an incision being made with a razor to facilitate the entrance of the
stake. The body, yet alive, was set upright in a rude manner; for the
Turks preserve no decorum in executions: from pity for his sufferings,
after being a short time in this position, he was shot. His shirt,
which was afterwards set on fire, in burning singed the whole of his
body black; and thus he was left for two days. His crime was said to
be the stealing of a bullock and the murder of one of his pursuers.
Jewish, Christian, Drûze, and Ansáry criminals are alone subjected to
this horrible punishment: Turks are beheaded.[75]
I will now detail the other accidents of the plague which occurred up
to this time, the beginning of August. On Thursday, June 9th, a lad
had died; on the 17th, two Turks at the strand or port, and a child
five years old. On the 21st, I was led to the house of a woman whose
daughter, nine years old, had died in the morning. The mother had been
ill six days. She was still on her legs, and came into the courtyard
for me to see her; but she appeared more like a corpse than a living
person, and her face was the picture of anxiety and despair. Among her
other feelings, she was exceedingly sensible to the wind. There was a
swelling under her left arm very visible. On the following day I saw
her again. The swelling was enlarged, but caused no discolourment. I
could have wished to administer some remedies to her, but her friends
opposed it. I do not know whether I have mentioned a prejudice which
the Christians of Syria have, that the linen which people have on when
they fall ill should be worn until their convalescence. There is a
still more pernicious custom prevalent among them, that of assembling
at the houses of their friends or relations who are sick; considering,
on these occasions, that condolence is more peculiarly a mark of
affection. But the complaisance of the Christians is only shown where
no danger is incurred; Turks exert it on all occasions; and, as at
these visits they are officious in little services around the sick-bed,
if the disorder be contagious, they cannot well escape it.
Before the 30th of the month, a Jew, two children, a black woman, and a
Turk, had died infected.
By the end of July, all appearances of plague had ceased in the town;
and the infection was supposed to be diminished in its force, because
the mother and sisters of a young man, who had died about the 20th, and
on whom they had attended, had not caught it.
The month of August was ushered in by quotidian and tertian agues,
which prevailed very generally. Ophthalmia was also very common, but
yielded to antiphlogistic treatment and common collyria.
It was on the 10th of August that news reached Lady Hester, by
letter from Tripoli, of the death of Mr. Cotter, one of two English
gentlemen, who, shortly after landing in Syria from the Archipelago,
had, with the other, Mr. Davison, been seized with a malignant fever
at the monastery of Dayr Natûr, near Tripoli, which city they had been
unable to enter, owing to the plague. Her ladyship hastened to offer an
asylum to Mr. Davison, should he be disposed to avail himself of it;
but it was said that he had departed for Jerusalem.
August 20.--Mr. Barker, the British consul at Aleppo, had resolved on
spending part of the autumn with his family at Latakia; they arrived
about this time, and their society was a great acquisition. There is a
village on the first rise of the mountains to the north-east, called
Besnáda, celebrated for the view which it affords, for its air, and for
its water; there Mr. Barker fitted up a cottage, and, with the addition
of a tent or two, found room enough for his large establishment.
A melancholy event occurred at the end of this month to a young
Christian, who fell a victim to his indiscretion. He was the brother
of Abdallah, katib of the Collector of the Customs, and ranking, from
his situation, as one of the most respectable of the Christians.
This gentleman, who was about twenty-five years old, and of a fair
complexion (forming a strong contrast with the browner faces of his
nation), was seen one morning to come out of the harým of a Turkish
Effendi, just before sunrise. A Mussulman, who suspected that he was
carrying on an intrigue with a Turkish lady, had watched him, and,
information being laid against him, he was seized and imprisoned.
His imprisonment made a great noise; and Abdallah, fearing that his
brother’s life might be in danger, despatched a courier to Acre, to
intercede for him with the pasha.
The Moslems will not easily pardon any man for an illicit intercourse
with their women, but a Christian never. As there existed much hatred
between the Motsellem and the Kumrukgi, the latter could obtain no
mitigation of punishment by his intercessions.
The next morning, the prisoner was reported to have been cruelly
bastinadoed: and the third morning he was said to have died. In fact,
he was despatched hastily, lest the return of the courier should
prevent the revenge which the Turks will ever take on Christians for an
affront not to be wiped out but with their blood.
Various are the opinions entertained as to the effects of fruit on
the human frame. The question is of too general a nature to make it
necessary to apologize for inserting in this place the results of
a fruit diet, persisted in from the 1st of July to the 20th, and
renewed from the 4th of August to the 27th. In Syria, there is not a
Christian or a Frank, who, in speaking of his own or his neighbour’s
maladies, does not ascribe them to fruit, either from its qualities,
or from the time of day, or the season of the year, in which it was
eaten. At Damascus, this notion was carried so far by the Christians,
as to attribute to fruit the numberless sore eyes that afflict the
inhabitants. Not so the Turks: they eat fruit abundantly at all times,
and give it unrestrictedly to their children and to their sick, as the
most palatable and cooling diet, especially in fever.
Pringle and Tissot, two authors who recommend fruit in health and in
sickness, had greatly weakened my belief in its supposed pernicious
effects: and I was resolved to ascertain, on my own person, what the
actual result might be in this hot climate. Accordingly, about the 1st
of July, I entered upon a diet, almost entirely composed of fruit. I
was enabled to adhere strictly to it; because, since our arrival at
Latakia, I kept my own table, and was not, therefore, compelled, from
the necessity of doing like others, and from deference to opinion and
custom, to violate the rules I had laid down for myself; and the little
communication which I had with the inhabitants of the place, owing to
the danger of plague, prevented all interruption from invitations to
the meals of other people.
It is to be premised that, although I consider the air of Latakia
excellent, yet the constitution of the atmosphere this year was by
no means healthy, and little favourable to dietetic experiments. The
thermometer stood, upon an average at noon, at 84° F. This degree of
heat rendered fruit highly agreeable. I slept during the night in the
open air, with a mosquito net. I breakfasted on coffee and milk, with
bread and honey. At noon, I generally ate an entire sweet melon, and
drank a pint of cold well-water, the place affording no other. My
dinner invariably consisted of about a dozen fresh figs, a portion of
a sweet, or water melon, and a pint of cold water. At ten o’clock at
night, I again ate part of a sweet or water-melon, drank another pint
of water, and retired to sleep.
This regimen was continued for twenty days. My digestion experienced
no alteration whatever; my sleep was delicious; and, during the whole
time, I knew not what it was to have a foul mouth in the morning,
dreams in the night, or the slightest symptom of disorder in my health.
The exercise that I took was, with the exception of swimming, a brisk
trot on horseback of a mile or two every day.
The same diet was renewed from the 4th of August to the 27th, and on
the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, I lived entirely on fruit and water, without
even bread; grapes being added to what I have above enumerated.
I was walking one morning during Ramazán, which began this year on the
27th of August, to Mr. Barker’s house, when I stopped in my way at the
bazàr to buy something, and lighted my pipe, as I sat dealing with
the merchant, to beguile the time. After making my purchase, I walked
on with my long pipe in my hand, smoking as I went, which is not very
genteel, even in Turkey, where few above the trading classes smoke,
except when seated. A Christian of the country, who was with me, told
me with great trepidation that the Turks would not suffer me to smoke
openly in the day time during Ramazán, and that I should get insulted
if I continued to do so. He had scarcely said it (I sillily declaring
that I would smoke if I chose) when I was addressed by several
shopkeepers and people standing about, who called on their prophet to
witness how the Ramazán was violated by a Nazarene. They told me to
extinguish my pipe, and that if I were seen another time insulting
their most sacred observances, they would break it about my head.[76]
After much altercation, I walked on without extinguishing it; but my
reflections afterwards told me I had done wrong, and I never, on any
future occasion, wilfully opposed the minutest prejudice of their law.
During Ramazán, the Turks do not discontinue working: and in no
religion with which I am acquainted are so many days in the year given
to labour as in the Mahometan; for, if I may judge from what I heard in
conversation, and from what I saw, they think that honest labour can
have nothing unholy in it at any time, and they hold the same opinion
as to innocent recreation. But, in the Greek church, the too frequent
recurrence of holydays, and the strong injunctions of the priests not
to work on those days, is destructive of industry, and serves to render
the mechanic and artisan drunken and idle.[77]
The month of September passed over without any material accident,
excepting the sickness of almost all the servants, which gave me
much anxiety: for no sooner did one or two get well than others fell
ill. The prevailing maladies were bilious remittent, terminating in
intermittent fevers.
Madame Lascaris, shut up in Damascus, in the midst of a raging plague,
lost her young companion. The Greek patriarch, a worthy prelate, known
to almost all English travellers in this country, likewise fell a
victim to it.
As Lady Hester had declared her intention of embarking here, I had
disposed of my horses, as I have already related. About this time, the
glanders appeared among hers, and carried off two in a short time:
a third was led to the seashore and shot, which action was greatly
blamed by the lower order of Turks: a fourth was made over to the town
farrier, and died; and the disease bade fair to exterminate the whole
stud.
In the mean time, amusements were not wanting to make the time pass
very agreeably. To the north of Latakia is a bay formed by the receding
of the land. Here vessels destined for Latakia can ride out severe
gales from the south-west, the point from which they generally blow.
Upon the shore of this bay stood a mosque and sanctuary, built over
the tomb of a santon. The place is called Ebn Hani,[78] and Mr. Barker
and his family used occasionally to go and spend three or four days
there, at which times a ride by land, or a trip by sea, to visit them,
was one source of recreation. In like manner, there was at all times
wild boar hunting: with francolins, partridges, gazelles, and hares,
to shoot at, as well as that delicious bird, the beccafico, when figs
were in season. I never saw a place where a sportsman might have more
diversion.
When we went to shoot beccaficos, the party separated in the gardens,
about a mile from the town, and met at a given place, at eleven or
twelve, to breakfast on what had been killed. It was on one of these
occasions that we were sitting after this breakfast, (or dinner, as it
is called there,) upon the brink of a garden-reservoir, into which,
by a creaking Persian wheel, water was thrown from a well beneath;
when, on observing a stramonium shrub close by, Mr. Barker remarked
how amusing were the effects produced by putting the seeds of it into
the pipe of a person smoking, whom it intoxicated, and caused to play
various antics. A French gentleman, M. Narsiat, was of the party, and
expressed a wish to observe these effects on some person: accordingly,
a peasant, who, among others, had been looking on at our repast in the
open air, was offered a sum of money if he would suffer himself to be
made intoxicated; but he was not to receive it until such an effect
had manifested itself. The fellow inquired what that effect would be,
and it was described to him. He then allowed the quantity of seeds
supposed necessary to be put, fresh from the plant, into his pipe, and
began to smoke. Whether it was his knavery which made him sham the
symptoms, or whether they were real, I cannot say; but he beat and
knocked about some of his comrades, and then leaped into the reservoir
of water: after which he came, in a perfectly sensible manner, up to
us, and demanded the money.
Some of these peasants kept falcons for hawking, and would, for a
trifle, go out and kill a partridge or two.
At the beginning of October, Mr. B. received letters which obliged him
to return immediately to England. He, therefore, reluctantly prepared
to quit a lady, in whose society he had so long travelled, and from
whose conversation and experience of the world so much useful knowledge
was to be acquired. He departed on the 7th of October for Aleppo,
accompanied by his dragoman, M. Beaudin, with a cook, valet, and groom.
I accompanied him a league or two on his road, and then returned to
Latakia.
Lady Hester had now abandoned the idea of going to Europe. Sometimes
she thought of taking a journey overland to Bussora, and to embark
there in an English ship for India, but finally determined on remaining
some months longer in Syria. She told me that she had bethought
herself of a small retired building, a short distance from Sayda,
which, as being only an occasional residence of the proprietor, the
patriarch of the Greek catholics, could, for a trifling sum, be hired
for her use. She had seen this when at Sayda the preceding year, and
she now wrote to M. Bertrand, desiring him to secure it for her.[79]
The patriarch Athanasius was at this time residing at the monastery
of Mar Elias, so his house was called; but, on learning Lady Hester’s
wishes, he sent a polite message to signify that she was welcome to
occupy it whenever and as long as she chose.
Soon after the arrival of the answer, all the luggage that could be
well spared was shipped off for Sayda under the care of Hanah, or as
he was usually called Giovanni, formerly Mr. B.’s servant, but now
returned from Aleppo and become mine. It was intended that we should
follow in the course of a few days: when a series of melancholy events
succeeded each other so rapidly, that the new year had begun before we
departed!
Two young children of Mr. Barker’s, named Harissa and Zabetta, were
taken ill of a malignant fever. I attended them, and, observing the
symptoms to be highly virulent, I insisted on separating the parents
from them. Mr. and Mrs. Barker in consequence left Besnáda for
Latakia, and the sole care of nursing the little patients devolved
on their grandmother, Mrs. Abbott. On the 31st both died within five
hours of each other. Shortly before this the janissary in attendance
on Lady Hester had been taken off very suddenly, and also the child
of a merchant, the partner of Mâlem Mûsa Elias, the British agent: so
that there was some doubt whether the plague had not again got footing
in the town. We were aware that it still raged with unabated violence
in Hems, Damascus, and at a village near Antioch, not very far from
Latakia, and through which places caravans were continually coming
to Latakia. The summer and autumn were considered by the natives as
peculiarly fine: for the weather had remained so settled that, for five
months, there had been only two showers of rain.
On the 15th of November, just as we were on the point of setting out
for Sayda, Lady Hester was attacked with a fever, and on the evening of
the same day I fell ill also.[80]
I continued to get out for an hour or two in the course of the day,
till the 18th; but my debility had then become so great, and the
symptoms of low fever so aggravated, that I took to my bed, where I
became occasionally delirious; and it was not until the twelfth day
that I was able to quit my chamber, when I was carried to attend on
Lady Hester, whose situation was so dangerous, that, in addition to
a French doctor, who happened to come to Latakia at this time, an
Italian surgeon, settled in the place, had also been called in. But Mr.
Barker urged the necessity of my seeing her, although I much feared
that my weak state would wholly incapacitate me from yet resuming my
professional duties. For fifteen days after this I did not quit her day
or night, never undressing the whole of that time: and, during this
period, for twelve hours, I despaired of her life, and a communication
was made to her by Mr. Barker to that effect. At last it pleased God,
by the aid of a constitution naturally vigorous, to relieve her so far
that I could pronounce her out of danger; nevertheless she was not able
to stand till the 1st of January, the day of our departure from Latakia.
It was Lady Hester’s firm persuasion that her disorder was the plague,
and some reasons induced me to believe so. For if there be (as the
native physicians say) a sporadic disease constantly remarked at the
beginning and close of the first year in which plague appears, but
which, alike in most of its symptoms, loses for a time its infectious
powers, and is not equally disposed to affect the glandular system,
then had Lady Hester indeed the plague. Besides, on the 15th of
November, four persons had died; on the 16th three: and there might
have been as many deaths on the subsequent days for aught I know:
which are so many proofs of the occasional reappearance of a modified
disease, dependent on the peculiar constitution of the year.
In consequence of this grievous sickness which befel Lady Hester and
myself, as well as of the many melancholy events that we had witnessed
here, we became so disgusted with Latakia as to feel very anxious to
leave the place. We had experienced great inconvenience from the want
of many articles of comfort which had been sent off to Sayda with the
luggage: and hence it was that our privations were of a rather serious
kind. The weather, which had remained tolerably warm up to December
10th, on a sudden became windy, boisterous, and exceedingly wet; so
that it was necessary to hire and borrow bed-coverings: and, as the
house happened not to be weather-proof, Lady Hester’s chamber was often
inundated, and a cope of felt was suspended beneath the ceiling to
carry off the water: nay, it will hardly be believed that, in mine, I
was occasionally obliged to rise two or three times to shift my bed
from place to place, in the ineffectual attempt to find a dry corner.
Captain Macdonald,[81] a gentleman in the service of the East India
Company, arrived at Latakia a day or two after the commencement of
Lady Hester’s illness. He remained in Mr. Barker’s house until the
departure of that gentleman and his family (December the 5th) for
Aleppo, and his presence was a pleasing addition to our small society.
Invited by M. Guys, the French consul, he afterwards took up his abode
with him for a few days; until, on the 10th of December, he sailed, on
a most tempestuous night, and, in an open boat, for Cyprus; but the
boat could not keep the sea, and returned on the 12th. A day or two
afterwards he finally succeeded in getting across; but not without
considerable risk.
To add to the serious inconveniencies under which Lady Hester laboured,
her maid, Mrs. Fry, fell ill of a nervous fever, brought on by
unremitting attendance on her mistress and excessive fatigue. There
were, it is true, at this period, as servants in the house, two women
of the place, both useful in their way, if Lady Hester had but been
able to speak to them: one an old woman, called Hadjy[82] (for she had
been to Jerusalem,) who proved an excellent nurse; and the other, named
Mariam, a young and handsome creature, who officiated as bathwoman
and laundress. Mariam was a widow, and had two daughters, twelve and
fourteen years old, who for loveliness might have vied with the two
beauties of Athens, so much spoken of by Lord Byron and travellers:
but all three had been attacked with bilious remittent fevers, and
required, rather than rendered, assistance in the family.
Mr. Pearce, of whom mention has been made in the former part of this
Journal, had now, after a complete ramble through Syria, reached
Aleppo. Hearing of Lady Hester’s illness, he politely wrote to offer
her whatever assistance he could render to her, requesting that she
would command his services, even at Latakia, if necessary.
December 15th, Lady Hester was seized with an ague, just at the time
that she had regained strength enough to meditate anew her departure
for Sayda, and when a vessel had been hired for the purpose. The voyage
was of course deferred for some time longer. To add to the sufferings
we had within doors, it was discovered, as winter advanced, that
provisions were very scanty at Latakia, and that there was by no means
the variety which is met with in the European markets. Beef and veal
were never on sale--mutton rarely: goats’ flesh, which the majority
of the inhabitants lived on, we could not fancy. Geese, turkeys, and
ducks, were only to be had by sending to Cyprus; fowls were poor. Game,
as has been observed, was plentiful; but to have it at table it was
necessary to be a sportsman, or to have a neighbour like Mr. Barker,
whose skill in shooting was remarkable: for the Turks seldom indulge in
the sports of the field, and the Christians dare not carry firearms.
Fresh butter was rare, and, when obtained, generally liquid, looking
like melted hogs’ lard; so that we were almost deprived of all the
dishes, and they are not a few, in which that article is introduced.
As our voyage was again deferred, M. Beaudin, the interpreter, who
had remained some time at Tripoli, in expectation of Lady Hester’s
arrival on her way to Sayda, was now recalled. He had joined us only
a few days, when, one morning, he was suddenly attacked with symptoms
of an inflammatory fever, and, in bleeding, he was seized with strong
convulsions, which threw the house anew into disorder. He shortly
afterwards recovered, but his convalescence was slow, and, when we
departed for Sayda, he was sent by land by short journeys.
At length, on the 6th of January, 1814, Lady Hester was with difficulty
placed on an ass, and, supported on either side by Stefano and Pierre,
who had been recalled, she was conveyed to the water-side. As she
had not been out of doors before for forty-eight days, a vast crowd
collected to see her, and we were much annoyed by a buffoon, who, to
gain money, played on a squeaking pipe, and danced before her on the
way to the harbour. When assured that he would not be rewarded for the
trouble he was giving himself, he went away. At the quay the secretary
of the governor waited to see us on board. Presents were distributed
to all such as had experienced trouble on Lady Hester’s account, or
rendered services to her, and we quitted the place with the good wishes
of the greater part of the inhabitants.
We embarked on board a shaktûr, a lateen-sailed, decked vessel like
a lugger, very roomy and commodious. The vessel had been previously
fitted up for our reception, and, by means of mats and boards, the
whole of the hold was set apart for the occupation of Lady Hester and
her three women. These vessels have but small cabins, where a person
can creep out of the wet and sleep. I preferred sleeping on deck; and
the weather was fortunately so mild, although it was the month of
January, that I experienced no inconvenience from it; nay, at noon the
sun was even troublesome.
We could observe, from the sea, that the mountains running from
Gebel-el-Akerah, the ancient Cassius,[83] behind Latakia, are
continued, in an even ridge, to where Mount Lebanon begins, at the back
of Tripoli. They were covered with snow at this season of the year.
We sailed along with a leading north wind, and passed, in our way,
Gebala, twelve miles from Latakia, and Tortûsa, a small town, with a
creek which serves to admit boats only. Opposite to it, at about the
distance of a league, is the island of Aradus, now called Arad, a rock
about a league in circumference, covered completely with houses. It
has a well and cisterns for rain water. Most of the inhabitants lived
by sailmaking, and there was no other place in Syria, we were told,
where sail-cloth was manufactured. Their insulated and barren situation
exempted them in a great measure from the visits of the Turks, a
circumstance that proved favourable to their prosperity.
We put into Tripoli (Tarablus), and passed one night there, but did not
go on shore. The road, for it is not a harbour, is formed by six or
eight rocks, just above the water, which break the impetuosity of the
sea: but it is by no means a safe haven.
Mount Lebanon begins a few miles to the north of Tripoli, to appearance
in a gradual ascent, and arrives to its greatest height behind the
town. It is there only, throughout its whole length, that the snow
remains all the year. Two small mountains, standing separate, are
interposed between the sea and the great chain. One is called Gebel
Tarbal, the other El Kûry: and this latter produces some of the best
tobacco in Syria. Handsome presents, in provisions, were sent off to
Lady Hester, by the governor of Tripoli, Mustafa Aga Berber, and also
by the English agent, Signor Catsiflitz, a Greek. Among them were
baskets of Tripoli oranges, which are deservedly held in high esteem.
But it is not too much to assert that the heaviest tax on travellers
of note in the East consists in the presents which they receive. It
appears at first sight extremely hospitable to welcome the arrival
of a stranger, by anticipating all his wants, and by sending him
provisions of immediate necessity; and so it would be, were it not
that those who deliver these presents beg for, or insinuate that they
expect in return, as much or more than their value; whilst the giver
can scarcely be forgotten on such occasions, if the stranger would not
appear ungrateful.
We arrived at Sayda on the 11th, just in time to escape a storm, which
came on in the evening of our landing; indeed, the swell of the sea
had announced it some time before: and as the vessel rolled greatly
in Sayda harbour, before we could prepare the things necessary for
Lady Hester’s landing, she began to grow fearful, sickness having bent
that courage which I had never yet seen yield to the commotions of the
elements or to anything else.
At length an ass was brought to the water-edge; her ladyship landed in
the same way that she had embarked. Signor Damiani, a person who had
been employed by the English during Sir Sydney Smith’s expedition to
Acre, let his house for our occupation, in consideration of a present
to be left at her discretion; for, although the same French consul
lived here that had lodged us in the year 1812, and this was the same
Damiani who had then in vain solicited that honour, still Lady Hester
considered she should enjoy more liberty in a hired house of her own
than in that of another, only lent to her.
Before dismissing the subject of this voyage, it will not be amiss to
note the remarks which we made concerning the crew. On their knowledge
of navigation I cannot decide, knowing little of the matter myself;
but they appear to be practical, although not theoretical, sailors.
Nothing can exceed their activity in going aloft; although they pay
little attention to nicety in trimming their sails and yards, and have
no discipline. As to the vessel, her rigging was defective, her decks
dirty. The crew lived well enough, on rice, cheese, onions, and good
biscuit; with sometimes the addition of figs, raisins, &c.
How far animal food is necessary for the support of seamen, persons
more experienced in these things must decide. But if an humble opinion
may be ventured, I profess I cannot see why salt meat, juiceless,
and saturated with brine even to loathing, should be made the main
nourishment of a crew on a long voyage, to the great injury of their
health, when farinaceous food of all sorts is so plentiful and so
salutary, which would form, with the addition of dry fruits, and the
many other articles now allowed in his Majesty’s navy, a species of
sustenance much better adapted to long voyages, and diminishing not a
jot the strength of a man, as is generally supposed. For whence is it
that the Egyptian, so lusty and muscular, derives his great strength,
but from rice and cold water; or the Irishman, but from potatoes and
buttermilk? Oh! that this truth could be forcibly impressed on those
persons who fancy that strength lies only in animal food, and in
spirits, wine, and beer; for let them be assured that all fermented
liquors are destructive of it.
In this trip I learned to box the compass in Arabic, which is less
difficult than in English. The card is divided into sixteen rhumbs,
not as with us into thirty-two; and the alternate rhumbs have no names,
but are indifferently called joze or halves, with the addition of the
point next adjoining. Thus it must necessarily be wanting in accuracy
to designate the wind and the course.