Bruce arrives at Cairo--Has very singular Interviews with the
Bey--Sails up the Nile--Gains a promise of Protection from the
Arabs Ababde--Visits the Sepulchres of Thebes--Reaches the Cataract
of Syene--Descends the Nile to Keffe.
It was in the beginning of July, in the year 1768, that Bruce arrived at
Cairo, recommended to the very hospitable house of Julian and Bertram,
to whom he imparted his resolution of pursuing his journey into
Abyssinia. The wildness of the intention seemed to strike them greatly,
and they did all in their power to dissuade him from it; but, seeing
that he was resolved, they kindly offered him every possible assistance.
As the government of Cairo had always been jealous of the enterprise
which Bruce had undertaken, and a formal prohibition of it had often
been made by the Porte, Bruce pretended that his destination was India.
He appeared in public as seldom as possible, unless disguised, and was
soon considered as a fakir or dervish moderately skilled in magic, and
who cared for nothing but books and study; a reputation which enabled
him privately to purchase many Arabic manuscripts, which his knowledge
of the language assisted him to select. Of the French residents Bruce
speaks in very high terms; but as to the government, he says, "a more
brutal, unjust, tyrannical, oppressive, avaricious set of miscreants
there is not on earth than are the members of the government of Cairo!"
This government had consisted of twenty-four beys; but there were only
seven when Bruce was at Cairo, one of whom commanded the whole. This
bey, the celebrated Ali, with all his good sense and understanding, was
still a Mameluke, and had the principles of a slave. Three men, of
different religions, possessed his confidence and governed his councils
all at one time. The first was a Greek, the second a Jew, and the third
an Egyptian Copt, his secretary. "It would have required," says Bruce,
"a great deal of discernment and penetration to have determined which of
these was the most worthless or most likely to betray him.
"The secretary, whose name was Risk, had the address to supplant the
other two at the time they thought themselves at the pinnacle of their
glory, overawing every Turk, and robbing every Christian. The Greek was
banished from Egypt, and the Jew bastinadoed to death. Such is the
tenure of Egyptian ministers! Risk professed astrology, and the bey,
like all other Turks, believed in it implicitly. To this folly he
sacrificed his own good understanding; and Risk, probably in pay to
Constantinople, led him from one wild scheme to another, till he undid
him--by the stars!"
When Bruce's cases of instruments were opened at the custom-house of
Alexandria, they naturally prepossessed Risk in favour of their owner's
superior knowledge in astrology. The Jew, who was master of the
custom-house, was ordered not to take them out of their places, nor even
touch them, and they were forwarded to Bruce without duty or fees. The
next day Risk waited upon him; and when the British traveller offered
him a small present for himself, and a very handsome one for his master,
he was most agreeably surprised to find it returned with a message "that
he was under the immediate protection of the bey." This mysterious
politeness was more than Bruce could comprehend. He had not even seen
the bey, and it could not have arisen from any prepossession in his
favour. He was an entire stranger in the land, and therefore resolved to
ask the advice of one of his friends, who instantly cautioned him
against either offending or trusting Risk, as he was a merciless man,
capable of the blackest designs.
In a short time this Copt came to Bruce's landlord to inquire about his
knowledge of the stars. The landlord, seeing the drift of the inquiry,
spoke highly of the stranger's superior science, which he described as
being sufficient to foretel the destinies of the bey. Accordingly, in a
few days, Bruce received a letter from Risk, desiring him to go to the
convent of St. George (about three miles from Cairo), where the Greek
patriarch would receive him, and where he would be furnished with the
bey's farther orders. On reaching the convent, he was accosted by the
venerable patriarch, Father Christopher, the identical person who had
lived under his roof at Algiers, and by whom he had been taught to speak
the modern Greek. From this worthy man he learned that there were many
Greeks then in Abyssinia, all of them in high power, and some holding
the first places in the empire; that they corresponded with the
patriarch whenever an opportunity offered; that at all times they held
him in great respect; that his will, when signified to them, was of the
greatest authority, and that obedience was paid to it as to holy writ.
Father Christopher offered, with the greatest kindness, to address
letters in favour of Bruce, and three copies were accordingly sent by
different ways, accompanied by an admonitory epistle-general to the
whole of the Greeks in Abyssinia, which, in form of a bull, was drawn up
by Bruce himself, assisted by his excellent and venerable friend. By
this the patriarch desired that, instead of pretending to put themselves
on a footing with the traveller, who was about to arrive at the court of
Abyssinia, they should unite in doing everything in their power to serve
him; that _he_ was the free citizen of a powerful nation; while _they_
were slaves, who were only fit to be his servants; and that, in fact,
one of their countrymen was actually living in that capacity with Bruce.
These sour observations were artfully mixed up with a very savoury
pardon for all their past sins, to be granted to them for the attentions
they were to pay the stranger.
One night, about nine o'clock, Risk sent to Bruce desiring him to come
to the bey; and he accordingly entered his presence. He was presented to
a young man, sitting upon a large sofa covered with crimson and cloth of
gold; his turban, his girdle, and the head of his dagger sparkling with
diamonds, one of which was of extraordinary size. He entered abruptly
into discourse about the war between Russia and the Turks, and asked
Bruce if he had calculated what would be the consequences of that war.
With becoming gravity, our astrologer replied, "That the Turks would be
beaten by sea and land wherever they presented themselves." Again the
bey asked, "Whether Constantinople would be burned or taken?" "Neither,"
replied Bruce, with great dignity; "but, after much bloodshed, peace
will be made with little advantage to either party."
The bey struck his hands together, swore an oath in Turkish, and,
turning aside to Risk, he said, with much emphasis, "That will be sad
indeed! ... but truth is truth, and God is merciful!" He then offered
Bruce coffee, sweetmeats, and protection; and, after desiring him to
inform Risk if any one should dare wrong him, dismissed him from his
presence.
A few nights afterward the bey again sent for Bruce. At the door he met
the janisary aga, who had absolute power of life and death, without
appeal, all over Cairo and its neighbourhood. Having learned that Bruce
was the "Hakim Englese" (the English physician), he politely asked him
to prescribe for him, as he was not very well. Bruce replied to him in
Arabic that he could not then stay, as the bey was waiting. "No! no! go!
for God's sake, go!" exclaimed the aga; "any time will do for me!"
The bey was sitting completely by himself, leaning forward with a wax
taper in one hand, and holding in the other a small slip of paper close
to his eyes, which were apparently weak. He did not perceive Bruce until
he was close to him, and started when he heard the word "Salam!" At
first he seemed hardly to know why he had sent for Bruce; but at length,
in a melancholy tone, complained that he had been sick immediately after
dinner, and was afraid something had been given to do him mischief.
Bruce felt his pulse, and, having inquired whether his meat had been
dressed in copper properly tinned, he ordered the bey to drink warm tea
and water until it should cause him to vomit. The great man looked
astonished, and asked Bruce if he knew that he was a Mussulman. "Sir,"
replied Bruce, "I am none; I tell you what is good for your body, and I
have nothing to do with your religion or your soul;" and with these
words he took his leave, the bey muttering to himself, "He speaks like a
man!"
Next morning Risk came from the convent to say that the bey was far from
well, upon which Bruce interrupted him by inquiring how the warm tea and
water had operated. Risk replied that the bey had not yet taken it, and
then confessed that, by desire of his master, he was come to see how it
was to be made. Bruce soon showed him this, by infusing a very little
green tea in a large quantity of warm water, on which Risk insinuated
that it would be farther necessary for Bruce to drink it, in order to
show what effect it would produce upon the bey. Bruce, with considerable
dignity, declined being patient and physician at the same time, but very
politely offered to make Risk sick, which, he said, would answer the
purpose of instruction equally well; this suggestion, however, was not
very readily assented to, and yet Risk was evidently at a loss how to
proceed. The poor old Greek priest, Father Christopher, happening
unluckily to intrude at this very moment, it was instantly agreed to
vomit the patriarch, who, finding himself in danger, and that the odds
were two to one against him, instantly sent for a caloyer, or young
monk, who was obliged to submit to the experiment before them.
Bruce now became anxious to quit his solitary mansion at the convent:
from Risk he procured peremptory letters of recommendation to Sheikh
Haman, to the Governor of Syene, Ibrim, and Upper Egypt; also letters
from Ali Bey to the Bey of Suez, to the Sherriffe of Mecca, to the Naybe
or Governor of Masuah (the port of Abyssinia), and to the King of
Sennaar. Anxious to reduce his baggage as much as possible, he tore from
his books those pages only which were likely to be of service to him,
and, having taken leave of the bey, and bidding adieu to his friends,
he embarked with his little party on the 12th of December, to proceed up
the Nile, which, partly flowing from the distant mountains of Abyssinia,
meanders through the lifeless desert of Nubia, and down the narrow
valley or ravine of Egypt, separated from sandy or rocky deserts by two
chains of mountains, which enclose this inconsiderable strip of
irrigated land.
Bruce's boat or canja, which was to carry him to Furshoot, the residence
of Haman, sheikh of Upper Egypt, was about one hundred feet in length,
with two masts, each bearing an enormous lateen sail, the mainsail yard
being one hundred and twenty feet in length. The cabin or dining-room
was about twenty feet square, with close latticed windows made to admit
the freshness of the air, and yet so as to be a defence against a set of
robbers on the Nile, who are in the habit of swimming under water, or in
the dark on goatskins, to pilfer from vessels everything they can lay
their hands on.
Previous to sailing, Bruce had taken the precaution of applying to his
useful friend, Mr. Secretary Risk, concerning the captain of the canja,
Haji Hassan Abou Cuffi, who was obliged to deliver up his son Mohammed
as security for his own good behaviour. The wind being contrary, the
canja was towed against the stream by a rope, and in this way it
advanced but a few miles to two convents of Copts, called Deireteen.
Here Bruce passed the night, having had a fine view of the pyramids of
Geeza and Saccara, and being still in sight of a prodigious number of
other pyramids, which, like beings of another world, seemed everywhere
to be haunting the desert. On the opposite bank of the Nile, an animated
and picturesque scene was displayed in the encampment of a large party
of the Howadat Arabs.
On the morning of the 13th the canja unfurled her enormous sails, and
slowly passed a considerable village called Turra, on the east side of
the river; and Sheikh Atman, a small village of about thirty houses, on
the west. The Nile is here about a quarter of a mile broad, the
distance between the foot of the mountain and the Libyan shore being
about half a mile; and Bruce agrees with Herodotus in thinking this the
narrowest part of the valley termed Egypt.
In order to search for the ancient city of Memphis, Bruce left his boat
at Sheikh Atman, and, entering an extensive and thick wood of
palm-trees, continued this course until he came to several large
villages called Metrahenni, all built among date-trees, so as scarcely
to be seen from the shore. The people in these villages were of a
yellow, sickly colour, with dejected, inanimate countenances. Towards
the south, in the desert, as far as the eye can reach, there are vast
numbers of pyramids, some appearing, like vessels at sea, just above the
horizon. "A man's heart," says Bruce, "fails him in looking to the south
and southwest of Metrahenni; he is lost in the immense expanse of desert
which he sees full of pyramids before him. Struck with terror from the
unusual scene of vastness opened all at once upon leaving the
palm-trees, he becomes dispirited from the effect of the sultry climate.
From habits of idleness contracted at Cairo; from the stories he has
heard of the bad government and ferocity of the people; from want of
language and want of plan, he shrinks from attempting any discovery in
the moving sands of Saccara, and embraces in safety and in quiet the
reports of others, who, he thinks, have been more inquisitive and more
adventurous than himself."
Various and conflicting are the opinions quoted by Bruce as to the
situation of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Dr. Pococke looked
for Memphis at Metrahenni and Mohannen, because Pliny[12] says the
pyramids were between Memphis and the Delta; and Mr. Niebuhr, the Danish
traveller, agreed with Dr. Pococke. Dr. Shaw quoted a contrary sentiment
from Pliny;[13] he cited also Diodorus Siculus,[14] who describes
Memphis as being at the point of the Delta; Pliny,[15] again, who says
it was fifteen miles from the Delta; and Herodotus,[16] who declares
that Memphis lay under the sandy mountains of Libya. Dr. Shaw,
therefore, warmly contended that Memphis was at Geeza.
In this literary controversy, Bruce, with his usual warmth of character,
vehemently opposes Dr. Shaw, and insists on placing Memphis at
Metrahenni. He denies that the point of the Delta itself is a fixed and
unalterable boundary; quotes Diodorus, who says that Memphis was placed
in the straits, or narrowest part of Egypt; and to prove that the ruins
of this city were not altogether destroyed in the time of the Ptolemies,
he cites Strabo, who says, that when he was in Egypt Memphis was still
called the capital[17] of that country; that there was entire a temple
of Osiris; that the apis or sacred ox was worshipped and kept there; and
that there was likewise "an apartment for the mother of that ox!"
After the particulars mentioned in the above argument, it is scarcely
necessary to remind the general reader that no vestige of Memphis
exists! Among the super-scientific, its ancient situation still remains
a subject of dispute; but considering how many real objects, points, and
situations there are in the world of which we are totally ignorant, it
might surely be said of Memphis, that "de non existantibus et de non
apparentibus eadem est ratio."[18]
It was about four o'clock, the sun was on the horizon, and the whole
country was waiting for that moment of placid enjoyment which, in a hot
climate, suddenly succeeds the painful heat of the day, when Bruce
returned from Metrahenni to the canja; and on the following morning with
a fair wind, and in high spirits, he continued for some days to stem the
strong current of the Nile. He passed Regnagie, Zaragara, and a series
of picturesque villages, which studded the highly cultivated and verdant
country that, both on the right and left, lay between the river and the
mountains. At Woodan the Nile was about a quarter of a mile wide; the
cultivated ground being about four miles in breadth on the east side of
the river, and about twice that distance to the foot of the opposite or
west side. The villages which gave life and animation to this "happy
valley" were mostly surrounded by palm-trees; and as Bruce, from the
deck of the canja, gazed on them with feelings of curiosity and delight,
he constantly inquired their names of his rais or captain; but the man
at last honestly told him that he did not know what they were called;
adding, that the boatmen on the Nile being in the habit of passing these
villages very rapidly, and being only anxious to get to the end of their
voyage, seldom troubled themselves to learn their names; and that, when
tiresome questions were put to them by inquisitive European travellers,
instead of confessing their ignorance, they were in the habit of
answering with any word that came uppermost; which, though sometimes of
a ridiculous meaning, and very often highly indecent, have nevertheless
gravely made their appearance in some of our books of travels.
After passing with great velocity Nizelet, Embarcak, Cubabac, Nizelet
Omar, Racca Kibeer, and Racco Sequier, they came in sight of Alfia, a
large village at some distance from the Nile, in the vicinity of which
they passed the night. "All the valley here," says Bruce, "is green, the
palm grows beautiful, and the Nile is deep: still it is not a prospect
that pleases, for the whole ground that is sown to the sandy ascent of
the mountains is but a narrow strip of three quarters of a mile broad;
and the mountains themselves, which here begin to have a moderate degree
of elevation, and which bound this narrow valley, are white, gritty,
sandy, and uneven, and perfectly destitute of all manner of verdure."
After having been detained a short time by foggy weather, the canja
sailed by a convent of Copts. The strip of green wheat which had
hitherto bounded both shores of the Nile, ceased for about half a mile
each side of this convent; for the poor wretches who inhabited it,
accustomed to the merciless violence of the Arabs, declined to sow,
knowing that they would not be permitted to reap. At the village of
Nizelet begin large plantations of sugarcanes, the first they had seen,
and the people were then loading boats with them for Cairo.
Proceeding onward, they came to large plantations of dates, and beyond
them the people were seen occupied in cutting the sugarcanes. The houses
here had on their roofs receptacles for pigeons, from which was derived
a considerable profit. The wind had now become so strong that the canja
could scarcely carry her sails; the current was rapid, and the velocity
with which she dashed against the water was terrifying. "We came," says
Bruce, "to a village called Rhoda, where we saw the magnificent ruins of
the ancient city of Antinous, built by Adrian. Unluckily, I knew nothing
of these ruins when I left Cairo, and had taken no pains to provide
myself with letters of recommendation, as I could easily have done. I
asked the rais what sort of people they were. He said that the town was
composed of very bad Turks, very bad Moors, and very bad Christians;
that several devils had been seen among them lately, who had been
discovered by being better and quieter than any of the rest. After the
character we had of the inhabitants, all our firearms were brought to
the door of the cabin. In the mean time, partly with my naked eye and
partly with my glass, I observed the ruins so attentively as to be
perfectly in love with them."
While Bruce was thus gazing at these ruins, the people or "devils" on
shore attacked some of the canja's boatmen: three shots were even fired
at the vessel, which Bruce returned by firing his blunderbuss. The crew
were very desirous to go on shore to attack the people; but Bruce, an
old traveller, with a very proper _esprit de corps_, says, "Besides that
I had no inclination of that kind, I was very loth to frustrate the
attempts of some future traveller, who may add this to the great remains
of architecture we have preserved already." He therefore continued his
course; and while his mind was secretly exulting in the reflection that
every hour was bringing him towards the ultimate object of his ambition,
his attention was most agreeably diverted by the various objects which
passed in succession before him. Village after village came in sight; at
times the shore was covered with date-trees, and occasionally with the
acacia, that solitary inhabitant of all deserts, from the most northern
part of Arabia to the extremity of Ethiopia. A considerable part of the
west shore was cultivated and sown from the very foot of the mountains
to the water's edge, the grain having been merely thrown upon the mud as
soon as the water had left it: the wheat was at this time about four
inches high, and the acacia-trees on the opposite side in full flower.
Every object, whether trifling or serious, seemed to claim Bruce's
attention, and to afford him some moral. "I was very well pleased," he
says, "to see here, for the first time, two shepherd-dogs lapping up the
water from the stream, then lying down in it with great seeming leisure
and satisfaction. It refuted the old fable that the dogs living on the
banks of the Nile run as they drink, for fear of the crocodile."
At Achnim there is a hospice or convent of Franciscans. "They received
us," says Bruce, "civilly, and that was just all. I think I never knew a
number of priests met together who differed so little in capacity and
knowledge, having barely a routine of scholastic disputation; on every
other subject inconceivably ignorant." These priests lived in ease and
safety, being protected by the Arab chieftain Haman; and their acting as
physicians reconciled them to the people.
Sailing from Achnim, Bruce passed Girge, the largest town he had seen
since he left Cairo. The Nile makes a turn or bend here. The next
morning Bruce and Balugani, impatient to visit the most extensive and
magnificent scene of ruins that are in Upper Egypt, set out for Beliani;
and at about ten o'clock in the morning they arrived at Dendera, with
letters from the Bey of Cairo to the two principal men there,
commanding them most peremptorily to take care of Bruce; and also a
letter of very strong recommendation to Sheikh Haman at Furshoot, in
whose territory they were. Bruce pitched his tent by the river side; and
from the persons to whom he was thus addressed he soon received a horse
and three asses to convey him to the ruins.
"Dendera," says Bruce, "is a considerable town at this day, all covered
with thick groves of palm-trees, the same that Juvenal describes it to
have been in his time.... This place is governed by a cashief, appointed
by Sheikh Haman. A mile south of the town are the ruins of two temples,
one of which is so much buried under ground that little of it is to be
seen; but the other, which is by far the most magnificent, is entire,
and accessible on every side. It is also covered with hieroglyphics,
both within and without, all in relief, and of every figure, simple and
compound, that ever has been published or called a hieroglyphic. Great
part of the colouring yet remains upon the stones; red in all its
shades, especially that dark, dusky colour called Tyrian purple; yellow
very fresh; sky-blue (that is, near the blue of an Eastern sky, several
shades lighter than ours); green of different shades: these are all the
colours preserved. It was no part of my plan or inclination to enter
into the detail of this extraordinary architecture; quantity and
solidity are two principal requisites, that are seen here with a
vengeance! It strikes and imposes on you at first sight; but the
impressions are like those made by the size of mountains, which the mind
does not retain for any considerable time after seeing them. I think a
very ready hand might spend six months, from morning to night, before he
could copy the hieroglyphics in the inside of the temple."
The next day the canja reached the convent of Italian friars at
Furshoot, who received Bruce much more kindly than the monks of Achnim.
Furshoot is situated in a large cultivated plain, and the population of
the town is very considerable. Bruce had only hired the canja to proceed
to this place; but, being on good terms with the rais or captain, he
prevailed upon him to take him on to Syene and bring him back to
Furshoot for four pounds, with a trifling premium if he behaved well.
"And if you behave ill," said Bruce, "what do you think you will
deserve?" "To be hanged!" replied the rais.
On the 7th of January, 1769, Bruce left Furshoot; and, sailing by How,
he came to El Gourni, which he thinks might have been part of ancient
Thebes. "About half a mile north of El Gourni," says Bruce, "are the
magnificent, stupendous sepulchres of Thebes: a hundred of these, it is
said, are excavated into sepulchral and a variety of other apartments. I
went through seven of them with a great deal of fatigue. It is a
solitary place; and my guides, either from a natural impatience and
distaste that these people have at such employments, or their fears of
the banditti that live in the caverns of the mountains were real,
importuned me to return to the boat even before I had begun my search,
or got into the mountain where are the many large apartments of which I
was in quest."
In one of these sepulchres Bruce and Balugani found three harps painted
in fresco upon the panels. "As the first harp," says Bruce, "seemed to
be the most perfect and least spoiled, I immediately attached myself to
this, and desired my clerk to take upon him the charge of the second. My
first drawing was that of a man playing upon a harp."
We must here observe, that when Bruce, on his return to England,
published his drawings of these sketches, his enemies declared very
positively that he had come by them unfairly. By much sophistry they
endeavoured to prove that Bruce had never been in the sepulchres at all;
and even Brown, who visited Thebes, has insinuated that Bruce must have
drawn them in England from memory. Now, in contradiction to this
illiberal accusation, it must be stated, that pencilled sketches of the
two harps are still preserved among Bruce's papers, and that one of
them, at least, is evidently the work of Luigi Balugani, who did not
live to return to Europe. Still Bruce was disbelieved; and it was
positively maintained that he had never been at the sepulchre at all;
but, sooner or later, truth always prevails. The following is an extract
(page 148) from "Travels in Egypt and Nubia, &c., by the Hon. Charles
Leonard Irby and James Mangles, Commanders in the Royal Navy; printed
for private distribution. London, 1823."
"We (captains Irby and Mangles, attended by Belzoni) now explored the
other tombs (at Thebes), but found nothing new to add to our former
observations. In the small chamber where Bruce copied the harp he gave
to Mr. Burney for his history of music, _we saw that traveller's name
scratched over the very harp_, which we think strong presumptive
evidence that he drew it himself, though he has been accused of drawing
it afterward from memory. He is erroneous in the number of strings which
he has given to it: the instrument itself is not unlike the original,
though the musician is very indifferently copied."
After roughly copying these ancient harps, which Bruce little thought
would ever be made to vibrate to the dishonour of his character, he made
preparations for proceeding farther in his researches; but his
conductors now lost all subordination. They were afraid that his
intention was to sit in this cave all night (and it really was), and to
visit the rest the next morning. With great clamour and marks of
discontent they dashed their torches against the largest harp, and,
scrambling out of the cave, left Bruce and Balugani in the dark. With
some difficulty they groped their way out of these ancient, gloomy
receptacles of the dead; and, as soon as they came to the sunshine and
freshness of the living world, they abandoned all farther researches and
rode to the boat. At midnight, a gentle breeze springing up, the canja
was wafted up to Luxor, where Bruce was well received by the governor,
who gave him a quantity of provisions: among these were some lemons and
sugar, with which he made for himself and his party a regular bowl of
punch, which they drank in "remembrance of Old England."
"Luxor," says Bruce, "and Carnac, a mile and a quarter below it, are by
far the largest and most magnificent scenes of ruins in Egypt, much more
extensive and stupendous than those of Thebes and Dendera put together."
Two days after the canja had sailed from Luxor, it reached Sheikh Amner,
the encampment of the Arabs Ababde; and as this tribe extends from
Cosseir on the Red Sea far into the desert which Bruce was to cross, he
thought it politic and highly important to cultivate their friendship.
Sheikh Amner is a collection of villages, composed of miserable huts,
which contained, in Bruce's estimation, about a thousand effective men,
who possessed few horses, being principally mounted on camels. They form
the barrier or bulwark against the prodigious number of Arabs,
principally the Bishareen, who are nominally the subjects of the kingdom
of Sennaar. Ibrahim, the son of the sheikh, who had known Bruce at
Furshoot, and had received from him medicines for his father, recognised
him the moment he arrived; and, after acquainting his father, he came,
with about a dozen naked attendants, armed with lances, to escort Bruce,
who had no sooner arrived at the tent of the sheikh than a bountiful
dinner was placed before him.
Bruce and his party were then introduced to the old sheikh, who was very
ill, and lying in the corner of the tent on a carpet, his head resting
on a cushion. This veteran chief of the Ababde, named Nimmer, which
means "the Tiger," was a man of about sixty years of age, suffering
dreadfully from a most painful disorder, which, though very common among
those who drink water from the draw-wells of the desert, is seldom met
with on the banks of the Nile. Bruce had sent to this man from Badjoura
a number of soap pills, which had afforded him very great relief; and he
now gave him lime-water, promising that on his return he would teach his
people how to make it. After a long conversation with this "Royal
Tiger," whose savage disposition seemed to have been softened by
feelings of pain and gratitude, Bruce asked him to tell him truly, on
the faith of an Arab (which he knew these wild people nobly prided
themselves in maintaining inviolate), whether his tribe, if they met him
in the desert, would forget that he had on that day eaten and drank with
their chieftain.
"The old man Nimmer," says Bruce, "on this rose from his carpet and sat
upright--a more ghastly and more horrid figure I never saw. 'No!' said
he, 'sheikh, cursed be those men of my people, or others, that ever
shall lift up their hand against you, either in the desert or the
tell.[19] As long as you are in this country, or between this and
Cosseir, my son shall serve you with heart and hand; ... one night of
pain that your medicines freed me from, would not be repaid if I were to
follow you on foot to Messir.'"[20]
Bruce now thought it a proper moment to declare, for the first time,
that his real object was to get into Abyssinia. The sheikh kindly and
calmly discussed the subject, and concluded by advising him to retrace
his steps to Kenne, or Cuft, on the Nile, from thence to cross the
desert to Cosseir, a port on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea; thence to
go over to Jidda, which is on the opposite side of the gulf, near Mecca,
and from that port to sail for Abyssinia; and he added that he himself
was sending a cargo of wheat to Cosseir, to be again shipped for Jidda.
"But," said Bruce (who thought it prudent once more to touch a string,
the very sound of which was most important to his safety), "all that is
right, sheikh; yet suppose your people meet me in the desert, in going
to Cosseir or otherwise, how should we fare in that case? Should we
fight?" "I have told you, sheikh, already," replied the Tiger, "cursed
be the man who lifts his hand against you!"
Encouraged by the repetition of this uncouth benediction, Bruce frankly
told the Nimmer that he would proceed to Cosseir--that he was
Yagoube--seeking to do good, and bound by a vow to wander through
deserts.
The old man, after some thought, muttered something to his sons in a
dialect which Bruce did not understand; and while, pretending to take no
notice, he was occupied in mixing some lime-water, the whole hut was
suddenly filled with priests, monks, and the heads of families. After
joining hands, and solemnly mumbling, for about two minutes, a kind of
wild prayer, in various attitudes, they declared themselves and their
children accursed if ever they lifted their hands against Yagoube in the
tell, in the desert, or on the river; and then, muttering curses between
their teeth on the name of Turk, the unearthly-looking crew vanished.
"Medicines and advice," says Bruce, "being given on my part, faith and
protection pledged on theirs, two bushels of wheat and seven sheep were
carried down to the boat; nor could we decline their kindness, as
refusing a present in that country, however it is understood in ours, is
just as great an affront as coming into the presence of a superior
without any present at all."
The tact with which Bruce makes his way through the various difficulties
that oppose him--softening the most rigid prejudices, and often managing
to convert a barbarous enmity into disinterested friendship, will appear
through the whole of his travels; and we cannot now refrain from
remarking how ill-advised poor Denham surely was, to attempt to
penetrate Africa by taking an opposite course, dressing himself in the
mean, detested garments of a European. Denham says, "We were the first
English travellers in Africa who had resisted the persuasion that a
disguise was necessary, and who had determined to travel in our real
character as Britons and Christians, and to wear on all occasions our
English dresses;" and what was the result? "'What do you do here?' said
some women who accosted him; 'you are a Kaffir, khaleel! It is you
Christians, with the blue eyes like the hyaena, that eat the blacks
whenever you can get them far enough away from their own country!' 'God
deliver me from his evil eye!' said a young girl. 'He is,' cried
another, 'an uncircumcised Kaffir; neither washes nor prays! eats pork!
and will go to hell.' 'Turn him out!' said the kadi; 'God forbid that
any one who has eaten with Christians should give evidence in the laws
of Mohammed!' 'Oh! oh! the Lord preserve us from the infernal devil!'
they all exclaimed; and screaming 'Y-hy-yo, y-hy-yo!' they all ran off
in the greatest alarm." (Denham, vol. ii., p. 40.)
Some years ago, the Bey of Tripoli, who gave permission to Captain
Smyth, R.N., and Mr. Warrington, to excavate, explore, and carry away
the ruins of ancient Leptis, made the following replies to Captain Smyth
and the British consul, who officially waited on him to ask his advice
as to the best mode of getting into the interior of Africa.
Q. Does your highness imagine it difficult for a party to reach the
Nile (Niger) through the dominions of your friend the King of
Bornou?
A. Not in the least: the road to Bornou is as beaten as that to
Bengazi.
Q. Will your highness grant protection to a party wishing to
proceed that way?
A. Any person wishing to go in that direction (it was the very same
route which Denham took), I will send an embassy to Bornou to
escort him thither, and from thence the king will protect him to
the Nile. _But I must first clothe him as a Turk._
Q. Will he not be subject to much troublesome inquiry on that head?
A. No; _but he must not say he is a Christian_: people in the
interior are very ignorant.
It is with painful reluctance that we have paused for a moment in
Bruce's history to make the above observations; but the advice which was
given to poor Denham and his gallant companions may be again given to
others; and as the proper mode of penetrating Africa is a most important
problem, in which the lives of future travellers are involved, we only
beg the reader henceforward to observe the effect which Bruce's plan of
getting along produces, and then to judge for himself whether the
traveller who wishes to penetrate Africa should publicly proclaim
himself "a Briton and a Christian," or not. That he should inwardly be
both, no one, we hope, will deny; yet religion, like loyalty, need not
be vauntingly displayed; and as we know that the African abhors and
despises both our religion and our dress, why should we irritate his
prejudices by wilfully unfurling these flags of defiance? Most
particularly as regards the useless fashion of our dress, which is so
very badly adapted to the climate, it may at least be maintained that
English breeches, stockings, and "coats cut to the quick," are far
better relished by the phlebotomizing moschetoes of Africa than by its
human inhabitants. Within the tropics, even the sheep wears hair instead
of wool. Why, then, should "a Briton" insist on carrying his fleecy
hosiery to the Line?
Bruce being within a day of the cataracts of Syene, called by the Arabs
Assuan, sailed on the 20th for that town, and had scarcely arrived when
an unarmed janisary, dressed in long Turkish clothes, and holding in his
hand a white wand, came to tell him that Syene was a garrison town, and
that the aga was at the castle ready to give him an audience, having
received a most particular letter from the Bey of Cairo. "I found the
aga," says Bruce, "sitting in a small kiosk or closet, upon a stone
bench with carpets. As I was in no fear of him, I was resolved to walk
according to my privileges. I sat down upon a cushion below him, after
laying my hand on my breast, and saying, in an audible voice, 'Salam
alicum!' (Peace be between us); to which he answered, without any of the
usual difficulty, 'Alicum salum!' (There _is_ peace between us). After
sitting down about two minutes, I again got up, and stood in the middle
of the room before him, saying, 'I am bearer of a hatesheriffe, or royal
mandate to you, Mohammed Aga!' and took the firman out of my bosom and
presented it to him. Upon this he stood upright, and all the rest of the
people, before sitting with him, likewise; he bowed his head upon the
carpet, then put the firman to his forehead, opened it, and pretended to
read it: but he knew well the contents, and, I believe, besides, he
could neither read nor write any language. I then gave him the other
letters from Cairo, which he ordered his secretary to read in his ear.
"All this ceremony being finished, he called for a pipe and coffee. I
refused the first, as never using it, but I drank a dish of coffee, and
told him that I was bearer of a confidential message from Ali Bey of
Cairo, and wished to deliver it to him without witnesses, whenever he
pleased. The room was accordingly cleared without delay, excepting his
secretary, who was also going away, when I pulled him back by the
clothes, saying, 'Stay, if you please, we shall need you to write the
answer.' We were no sooner left alone, than I told the aga that, being a
stranger, and not knowing the disposition of his people, or what footing
they were on together, and being desired to address myself only to him
by the bey and our mutual friends at Cairo, I wished to put it in his
power (as he pleased or not) to have witnesses of delivering the small
present I had brought him from Cairo. The aga seemed very sensible of
this delicacy; and particularly desired me to take no notice to my
landlord, the schourbatchie, of anything I had brought him.
"All this being over, and a confidence established with government, I
sent his present by his own servant that night, under the pretence of
desiring horses to go to the cataract next day. The message was
returned, that the horses were to be ready by six o'clock next morning.
On the 21st, the aga sent me his own horse, with mules and asses for my
servants, to go to the cataract."
Having thus judiciously cleared the way before him, Bruce proceeded to
the small villages of the cataract, which are about six miles from
Assuan; and on arriving at what is called the cataract, he was much
surprised to find that vessels could sail up it, the river being there
not half a mile broad, but divided into a number of small channels.
During the whole of the 22d, 23d, and 24th of January, he was occupied
with his instruments, besides which he made many other observations and
memoranda; and on the 25th of January, 1769, he prepared to descend the
river.
Fain would he have continued to stem the torrent, and it was with
secret pain and silent reluctance that Bruce turned his back upon the
sources of the Nile. Yet the advice he had received, and the course
which had been recommended to him, he had firmly resolved to pursue; and
accordingly, on the 26th of January, he embarked at Syene, from the very
spot where he again took boat more than three years afterward.
To his bold, enterprising mind, there was now a melancholy change in the
picture. The canja was no longer to be seen proudly striding over the
opposing element; but, with her prodigious mainsail lowered, and even
her masts unshipped, she was carried broadside down the stream in
helpless captivity. From her deck no longer resounded those exclamations
of eager delight and sudden surprise which had ushered each new object
into view: the scene had lost its freshness and its bloom--the magic
charm of novelty!
In passing Sheikh Amner, Bruce called upon his patient Nimmer (the
Tiger), Sheikh of the Ababde, who was better, and as thankful as ever.
Bruce renewed his prescriptions, and he his offers of service.
On the 2d of February he again took up his quarters at Badjoura, in the
house which had formerly been assigned to him. "As I was now," says
Bruce, "about to enter on that part of my expedition in which I was to
have no farther intercourse with Europe, I set myself to work to examine
all my observations, and put my journal in such forwardness by
explanations where needful, that the labour and pains I had hitherto
been at might not be totally lost to the public if I should perish in
the journey I had undertaken, which, from all information I could
procure, every day appeared to be more and more desperate. Having
finished these, at least so far as to make them intelligible to others,
I conveyed them to my friends Messrs. Julian and Rosa, at Cairo, to
remain in their custody till I should return, or news came that I was
otherwise disposed of."
FOOTNOTES:
[12] Plin., lib. v., cap. 9.
[13] Plin., lib. xxxvi., cap. 12.
[14] Diod. Sic., p. 45, Sec. 50.
[15] Shaw's Travels, chap. 4, p. 298.
[16] Lib. ii., p. 141, 168, 105, 103.
[17] Strabo, lib. vii., p. 944.
[18] _Things not existing and those not appearing to exist we may
account the same._
[19] The part of Egypt which is cultivated.
[20] Cairo.