History of Ascalon--Ruins--Encampments--Forced labour of
peasants--Excavations--Fragments of Columns--Discovery of a
mutilated statue--Apprehensions of Signor Damiani--Lady Hester
orders the statue to be destroyed--Excavations abandoned--Lady
Hester’s narrative of the motives and results of the
researches--Auditing accounts--Mohammed Aga a fatalist--Return
to Jaffa--Derwish Mustafa Aga and Lady Hester’s black
female slave--Patients--Mohammed Bey; his story--Return of
Lady Hester’s servant Ibrahim from England--Khurby, or the
Ruins--Remains near that spot--Return to Acre--Altercation with
muleteers--Excavations at Sayda--Reflexions on researches for
hidden treasures.
The antiquity of the city of Ascalon is clear from the sacred writings;
for we read of it in the book of Joshua,[50] the book of Kings,[51] and
elsewhere; so that as early as nineteen hundred years before Christ it
was known as one of the chief places of Palestine. It became afterwards
a part of the Assyrian, then of the Persian, monarchy; and was subdued,
together with all Syria, by Alexander the Great. After his death, it
fell to the lot of Ptolemy Lagus, king of Egypt; and by Antiochus the
Great it was incorporated with the empire of Syria. In Strabo[52] it
is said that “Ascalon is a city not spacious, and built in such a sunk
situation as to seem to be in a hole.” William of Tyre informs us that
“it resisted our arms for fifty years and more, after Jerusalem had
fallen; until, in the year of our Lord 1194, on the 12th of August,
after a bloody siege, it was surrendered to king Baldwin by its Saracen
inhabitants.”
Herod, king of the Jews, respected Ascalon as the native place of his
family; and, from this circumstance, and from the splendid baths and
peristyles which he built there, he obtained the appellation of Herod
the Ascalonite. William of Tyre informs us that “this city, from the
inaptitude of the sea-coast, neither has nor ever had a harbour or
safe anchorage for shipping.”[53] Abulfeda, quoting from El Azýz,
and speaking from his own knowledge, says: “Ascalon is a city on the
sea-shore, in which there are vestiges of antiquity:” and again,--“It
adjoins the sea on a bank; it is one of the most illustrious places
of the plain on the sea-shore, and has no port.” What was the fate of
the city from this time I have no documents to show, excepting that
it is probable it fell gradually to decay, until the time when it was
visited by d’Arvieux, a Frenchman, who gives us the following account
of these ruins in 1659. “We departed from Gaza, about eight in the
morning. We kept the shore as far as the ancient city of Ascalon.
It is situated on the sea, in a country level and very fertile. The
prodigious thickness of the walls and towers, which are all fallen, and
which have filled the ditches, show it to have been formerly one of the
strongest places in Palestine. It is at present as ruinous as Cæsarea
or St. Jean d’Acre. There are only a few spaces of wall still existing
towards the sea, in which are embedded (_endossés_) several
columns of granite, or, as the vulgar fancy, cast stone. This city has
no port, nor any houses sufficiently entire to be habitable, so that
it is wholly abandoned.... We found nothing remarkable in it but an
old well half filled up, and constructed in the style of Joseph’s well
in the castle at Cairo: and, towards the middle of the city, seven or
eight pillars of marble still standing upon their pedestals, which
appeared to be the remains of a temple. We quitted the sea-shore, in
leaving this desolated city, and took the road to Rama, over a most
beautiful and highly cultivated country.” I may add that, so late as
thirty years ago, there was enough of the great mosque standing to
afford a dwelling to a shaykh of Barbary.
The city of Ascalon, as we found it, differed little from the account
of d’Arvieux, excepting that no marble columns, or portions of an
edifice, were now standing; and those which formerly strewed the ground
had, for the most part, been carried away.
Palmyra is an instance how long structures will remain when left to the
slow effects of time and natural decay. It is to the hand of man that
they generally owe their greatest dismemberment: and, thus Ascalon was
stripped of all that was useful in it to rebuild Jaffa and Acre. Its
neighbourhood to the sea-shore afforded great facilities of conveyance:
and blocks ready cut, columns ready shaped, and slabs of marble that
required but to be laid, would not be spared when so near at hand.
Hence rose the seraglio of Gezzàr, the mosque, and the public baths;
where granite, prophyry, and marble, are huddled together in rich but
bungling confusion. When that which lay on the surface had been carried
off, they proceeded to dig, and their labour was rewarded by the
discovery of materials equally useful, although less easy to come at.
According to a rough calculation, from the time required to make the
circuit of the walls of Ascalon on horseback, its circumference is two
miles. The shape is somewhat triangular, and the side towards the sea
is a little longer than the others. The assertion of Strabo, that the
city is built as if in a hole, and Abulfeda’s account that it stands
on a bank, may be reconciled on an actual view of the spot. For, when
approaching it from the east, hillocks of drifted sand, accumulated
round the walls, have obtained an elevation almost equal to them,
so that the ground within the walls is lower than that without. But,
towards the sea, the plain closes abruptly in a precipice of some
height; so that, viewed from that quarter, Ascalon may even be said to
stand high. The coast runs nearly north-east and south-west. The wall
on the sea-side rises almost from the water’s edge, and is intended to
prop the crumbling precipice. It was probably raised on an emergency;
for it is composed of rude masonry, where shafts of granite columns are
stuck in, so as to represent at a distance the cannon of a ship or the
artillery of a fortress. At certain distances on the walls were towers,
which, by the parts that still remain, appear to have been of good
masonry. The walls themselves are five or six feet thick.[54]
Ascalon is mentioned by Strabo as famous for its onions, and it enjoys
at this day a reputation for the same root, which is considered by the
neighbouring peasants as a delicious article of food.
Within the ruins, all was desolation. Fragments of pillars lay
scattered about, and elevations here and there showed how many more
might lie concealed beneath the surface of the soil.
Early on the first of April,[55] Lady Hester, Derwish Mustafa Aga, and
Mohammed Aga, accompanied by the interpreters and myself, rode over
the ruins, seeking for the indications given in the Italian document.
The mosque was immediately recognized by the _mahreb_, or niche,
looking towards which the imám stands to direct, as fugleman, the
kneeling and prostrations of Mahometans in prayer. This was still
standing, but, in other respects, no more than a stone or two of the
foundations remained above ground. Although there was little doubt
that this was the spot meant, still it was difficult to know at which
side or end, in a building fifty-five paces long and forty-three in
breadth, to begin. At the north-west corner of the ruins was a santon’s
tomb, covered with a small building. Here dwelt a shaykh,[56] the only
inhabitant of the place; and, seeing his solitary reign thus molested
by horsemen, tents, soldiers, and _corvées_ of peasants, he very
soon became acquainted with the motive, and readily mixed with the
spectators. He was consulted as to what he knew of the building. He
said that formerly a Barbaresque had visited the shrine, and had lived
with him eleven months, always lurking about, doing he knew not what:
but that, in conversation, he had assigned to two different spots
hidden treasures, both within the circuit of the mosque. It was finally
resolved to begin on the south side.
The tents were then fixed in the following manner. On the east side,
close to the mosque, were planted Signor Catafago’s, Mâlem Musa’s, M.
Beaudin’s and my own, each as large as an English marquee: and, close
to them, a _sewán_, or open tent, for meals. The meals were to
be served three times a day, consisting of two services at noon and
sunset, and of a light breakfast at sunrise. No where in Syria did I
fare better than here. At the south side of the mosque, on an eminence
or mound, was fixed a large tent of observation, in which Mohammed
Aga, when present, sat. But the tents of Mohammed Aga and the Zäym
were without the city walls, close by the Eastern gate, in a sandy
bottom. And here, too, were the tents of the cavalry, the kitchens, the
water-carriers, the horses, &c.; presenting a scene of showy gaiety
almost as lively as a race-course. All the tents were either green or
blue: and the principal ones were conspicuous for flamings swords,
flowers, stars, and other ornaments, worked upon them. Couriers were
coming and going every day from and to Jaffa.
It has been said that to the north of the ruins there was a small
village, called El Jura, two hundred yards from the walls. Here two
cottages were swept out, matted, and carpeted for Lady Hester and her
female attendants: for to have encamped in the midst of the men would,
by Mahometans, so far as related to women, have been thought improper,
and her ladyship now required the strictest decorum of behaviour in her
women, and on all occasions consonant to Mahometan usages: so that,
not even Mrs. Fry, her English maid, was suffered to open the door of
the courtyard of the cottage without veiling her face. Between the
village and the ruins was fixed a tent, and here Lady Hester sat in the
day-time, and received visits from the agas, the mâlems, &c. At two
she generally mounted her ass, and rode to see the workmen. On these
occasions they would shout, and renew their digging with fresh activity.
I have mentioned that, for this purpose, the neighbouring peasantry had
been put in requisition. These poor men were pressed by government, and
received no pay, but they were treated well; for two meals were served
up to them in the day-time, and no severity was used towards them.
They generally came about one hundred a day, many, where they could,
alleging causes of exemption, and worked until about an hour before
sunset. Signor Catafago, Signor Damiani, M. Beaudin, Giorgio, the
governor, and myself, superintended them, with overseers immediately
among them: and it was no small exertion to sit or walk six or eight
hours, sometimes in the rain, and sometimes under a burning sun. The
peasants, who laboured and perspired, suffered less. It would seem
impossible to an Englishman that they could have worked hard, when told
that these men drank nothing but water.
The very day of our arrival, a gang was immediately set to work: and I
shall now proceed to detail, day by day, what the excavations brought
to light. As a beginning, nothing more was done than just to remove the
surface of the ground.
April 2nd. After digging down three or four feet, some foundations were
laid open, running east and west. On removing the earth between them
nothing was found but mould and loose stones, with two or three human
bones. Three fragments of marble shafts of pillars were bared and a
Corinthian capital. There were appearances showing that the ground had
been disturbed at some former period, particularly in the south-east
corner, where there was a ditch of a very recent date, which (it was
whispered by the peasants) had been made by Mohammed Aga himself. Two
small earthen phials, about three inches long, some fragments of vases,
and a bottle of lapis specularis, or talc, were dug up: shards of
pottery were found here and there, but none of them of fine workmanship.
On the 3rd day, the excavations were continued along the south wall.
The men worked with great animation. The idea of discovering immense
heaps of gold seemed to have an effect upon them, although they could
not hope for a share in it. On this day there was a great fall of rain
and hail, and the weather was so tempestuous as much to impede the
labourers. A pipe and tabor were therefore brought, to the tune of
which they worked, sung, and danced. Cross foundations were met with,
running east and west, seeming to have served for the support of rows
of pedestals. About fifteen feet from the centre of the south wall were
discovered several large fragments of granite columns, which lay one on
another in such a manner as to render it probable that they were placed
there.
On the 4th day the work was continued nearly in the same direction. At
three in the afternoon, the workmen struck upon a mutilated statue. I
was immediately called, and felt exultation at the sight of a relic of
antiquity, which I thought might give celebrity to our labours. The
soil around it being removed, it was drawn up by ropes, without damage.
There were at the same spot some imperfect remains of the pedestal on
which it had stood. The depth of the mould and rubbish which lay over
the statue was six or eight feet.
On examination, it proved to be a marble statue of colossal dimensions
and of good execution. It was headless, and had lost an arm and a leg;
but was not otherwise disfigured. It seemed to have represented a
deified king:[57] for the shoulders were ornamented with the insignia
of the thunderbolt, and the breast with the Medusa’s head. There was
every reason to believe that, in the changes of masters which Ascalon
had undergone, the place in which we were now digging had originally
been a heathen temple, afterwards a church, and then a mosque. The
statue probably belonged to the age of the successors of Alexander, or
it might be that of Herod himself. At the depth where the statue lay
was a marble pavement and also a tympanum of a porch of the Corinthian
order. To the East, close to the South wall, was found the trunk of
another statue. As the mould was cleared away, a modius was discovered,
which probably had surmounted the head of one of the two statues. It
was chipped off at the top, and evidently, at the bottom, had been
forcibly separated from the head to which it had belonged: it was nine
and a half inches long. The statue, from the acromion to the heel, was
six feet nine inches.
[Illustration: STATUE FOUND AT ASCALON.]
On the fifth day the outline of the foundations of the entire building
was made out. It was amusing at this time to find how many wise men,
some calling themselves astrologers, and some fortune-tellers, started
up on all sides to foretel Lady Hester’s success. This was fortunate:
for the workmen had begun to relax in their labours, and their
overseers sneered at the business. Mohammed Aga found his own purposes
answered in the number of marble slabs that were discovered. These he
shipped, in a coasting boat, for Jaffa. On the outside of the West
foundation, three subterraneous places were opened, which at first, it
was thought, would lead to the object we were in search of. But they
proved to be cisterns or reservoirs for rain water, with no appearance
of antiquity about them; and, both in the round mouth upwards, and
in the conduit which led the water into them, resembled those in use
throughout Syria at the present day.
In the mean time, Signor Catafago and myself were much amused by the
exceeding apprehension of Signor Damiani, lest he should be poisoned.
The governor generally dined with us: but Damiani would neither eat nor
drink in our tent. He affected an air of mystery in every thing, and
soberly advised her ladyship, if she wished to succeed, to sacrifice a
cock of a particular colour, and at a particular hour of the day, to
ensure success. Derwish Mustafa was too phlegmatic to be acted upon by
any hopes or fears. He expected the issue (in appearance at least)
with as much indifference, or, I might say with more, than he did the
uncovering of a dish at dinner: for here his philosophy sometimes
forsook him, and he occasionally showed undue joy. News of Ali Pasha’s
death reached us this day; but the Turks did not mourn outwardly; yet,
where they were not called upon to do so, there were sometimes touches
of feeling to be observed, rare in more formal exhibitions of sorrow.
This and the following day produced nothing new. In riding over to
Megdel, to visit Signor Damiani, who lived in a dirty cottage there, I
observed that the place had a market which was well attended.
On the following day, which was the eighth from the commencement of
our labours, the cisterns were emptied. Digging in the line of the
West wall, two stone troughs of considerable length were discovered
about four feet under the surface, and upon them lay, cross-wise,
four gray granite columns, closely packed to each other, as if done
methodically. This discovery revived the people’s hopes; for it was
supposed that huge masses of granite could not have fallen in such a
position accidentally, and would not be laboriously placed so, unless
to conceal something. The removing was deferred until the morrow, the
men requiring ropes to do it, because horses are never put into harness
in Syria. Near the North East angle was also found a marble pavement,
and by it seemed to have been another door. Under the pavement ran a
continuation of the same canal which conducted water to the cisterns.
I had by this time made a pen sketch of the statue, and had represented
to Lady Hester that her labours, if productive of no golden treasures,
had brought to light one more valuable in the eyes of the lovers of the
fine arts, and that future travellers would come to visit the ruins of
Ascalon, rendered memorable by the enterprise of a woman, who, though
digging for gold, yet rescued the remains of antiquity from oblivion.
What was my astonishment, when she answered--“This may be all true; but
it is my intention to break the statue, and have it thrown into the
sea, precisely in order that such a report may not get abroad, and I
lose with the Porte all the merit of my disinterestedness.”
When I heard what her intentions were, I made use of every argument
in my power to dissuade her from it; telling her that the apparent
vandalism of such an act could never be wiped away in the eyes of
virtuosi, and would be the less excusable, as I was not aware that the
Turks had either claimed the statue or had forbidden its preservation.
It was true, that, whilst sketching it, the people had expressed their
surmises at what I could find to admire in a broken image; and I heard
some of them conjecture that it might be a deity of the Franks, as it
had been of the Romans and Greeks. But no idle notions, I insisted,
ought to have weight on her mind; and I begged hard that, if she could
not with decency carry it away, she would at least leave it for others
to look at. She replied, “Malicious people may say I came to search
for antiquities for my country, and not for treasures for the Porte:
so, go this instant; take with you half a dozen stout fellows, and
break it in a thousand pieces!” Her resolution was not a thing of the
moment: she had reflected on it two days; and knowing her unalterable
determination on such occasions, I went and did as she desired. When
Mohammed Aga saw what had been done, he could not conceal his vexation:
for it is probable that Lady Hester had read what was passing in his
mind, and had thus prevented many an insinuation against her. Indeed,
reports were afterwards circulated that the chest of the statue was
found full of gold--half of which was given to the pasha, and the other
half kept by Lady Hester. In England, where her motives were unknown,
people naturally have decried her conduct, although it is plain that
her strict integrity ought to prove her justification.
On the 9th, when the granite pillars were removed, a work of no
trifling magnitude, considering the means by which it was effected,[58]
the troughs were found empty. The disappointment was very great: and,
the more so, as the excavation of the four following days produced
nothing but two granite columns at the North West angle, six or eight
feet below the surface, a white marble pedestal, some bones of animals,
and two earthenware lamps. A small excavation was likewise made in one
of the towers of the East wall of the city. With respect to the area of
the mosque, almost all of it had been turned up. The North foundation
wall had been traced throughout its whole length; and, in that
direction, the shafts of two small marble pillars, about six feet in
length, and with rude capitals, had been the only reward. Other masses
had been broken up, to see if they had concealed anything. But, when
every research was fruitless, the closing hand was, by Lady Hester’s
consent, put to our labours on the 14th of April, being a fortnight
from the commencement. The conclusion that her ladyship came to was,
that when Gezzàr Pasha embellished the city of Acre, by digging for
marble and other materials in the ruins of Ascalon, he was fortunate
enough to discover the treasure. That Gezzàr enriched his coffers by
wealth so got was generally affirmed: and it is probable that his
pretended mania for building was no more than a cloak to conceal
this real motive for excavating. Thus ended this most interesting
experiment; which failed in its primary object, but had the desirable
effect of establishing Lady Hester’s popularity throughout Syria, and
of confirming the belief, already grown up, that she was a person of
some consideration, even in the eyes of the Sublime Porte.
I am enabled to subjoin Lady Hester’s own account of these excavations,
which she sent to Lord Bathurst, then Secretary of State.
_Lady Hester Stanhope to the Right Hon. the
Earl Bathurst, &c._
My Lord,
A curious document, once in the hands of the church, fell
by accident into mine. It was an indication to considerable
treasures in Syria. Having made this known to the Porte, a
confidential person belonging to the sultan’s household was sent
from Constantinople to investigate the business. I proceeded
with him to Ascalon: but the mosque, in which the treasure
was said to be hidden, was no longer standing. One wall only
remained of a magnificent structure, which had been mosque,
church, and temple at different periods. After having traced out
the South West and North foundation walls, and after digging for
several days within them, we came to the under-ground fabric
we were looking for: but, alas! it had been rifled. It was,
as nearly as one could calculate, capable of containing three
millions of pieces of gold--the sum mentioned in the document.
Whilst excavating this once magnificent building--for such it
must have been by the number of fine columns and fine pavements
we discovered under ground--we found a superb colossal statue
without a head, which belonged to the heathens. It was eighteen
feet below the surface. Knowing how much it would be prized by
English travellers, I ordered it to be broken into a thousand
pieces, that malicious people might not say I came to look for
statues for my countrymen and not for treasures for the Porte.
This business has taken up a good deal of my time for these
three months past. I have had a thousand honours paid me, which
it is not worth while to enter upon. The authenticity of the
paper I do not doubt; but, as many centuries have elapsed since
the Christians hid treasure there, it is not very surprising
that it should have been removed. Had it escaped observation,
in the same way the statue did the eyes of the Turks, when this
spot was converted into a mosque, it would have been a fine
thing for the Turkish government.
I have the honour, &c.
H. L. STANHOPE.
* * * * *
During these fourteen days many circumstances took place which were
not mentioned, in order that no interruption should take place in the
narrative. It happened that the time of auditing the accounts of the
district over which Mohammed Aga was governor occurred during this
period; and the katibs, or under-secretaries, of the pasha were sent
for that purpose. They and the katib of Mohammed Aga were for two days
closely at work. When they had concluded, and all was found right,
the two secretaries were dismissed, with a present from Mohammed
Aga, between them, of 700 piasters, and their servants with 100. It
is certainly matter of surprise with how few books they manage very
extensive concerns; such as must be those of the civil and military
command of a district vested in the same person; and it is equally
a cause of astonishment to an Englishman to hear gentlemen put the
question one to another, at the close of a pecuniary arrangement, of
“Well, how much did the governor give you, and what did your servants
get?”
On the 12th, Signor Catafago left us, upon pretext of business at
Damascus.
It was said, in a former page, that Mohammed Aga was a fatalist: a
conversation, which took place in the presence of Mâlem Mûsa, the
dragoman, and myself, will prove it. I had attended professionally on
him and one or two of his people; and I observed to him, “One of your
Excellency’s servants has the itch; it would be well if you kept him
at a distance from your person.” “Oh, my good sir,” he replied, “I
take no precautions against this sort of thing; it were a matter of
indifference to me if I even wore the shirt just pulled off his back.
Who created that disorder, if you please?--was it not God? and, if so,
it is of very little consequence what precautions I take; for, if God
intends me to have it, &c., &c.” At this time, there were so many of
his people infected with it, that I avoided feeling any one’s pulse
until I had first closely inspected his fingers.
The race of peasants in the villages near Ascalon is ugly, with skins
of a dirty brown. I saw not one pretty nor even one engaging woman;
a rare occurrence in those parts, where the human form has generally
some one feature to boast of, and where all the females strove to be
pleasing in their manner of speaking.
Lady Hester lodged in a cottage in a village two or three hundred
yards from the ruins. To get to it there was a path, of course little
trodden until our coming: to return home from it after dark was always
at the hazard of broken shins.
There being nothing farther to detain us at Ascalon, on the 15th we
returned to Jaffa. An unlucky accident happened through the negligence
of Mbárak, who, being caffegi, or coffee-server, laid a complaint
against a peasant for stealing a silver coffee-cup stand, or zerf,
which was missing. The peasant was bastinadoed at Mejdel; when, on
our arrival at Ebna, the cup was found. I made Lady Hester acquainted
with the circumstance, and reprimanded Mbárak severely. A sum of money
was sent to the poor peasant to recompense him for the injustice that
had been done him; but the soles of his feet were not to be healed by
money. Oh! ye men in authority, be not too hasty in awarding stripes!
I bought a few coins at Mejdel, but of no value: none were found during
the excavations. Silver or gold coins of Ascalon are so rare that it
is said one of either of these two metals would be worth from ten to
fifteen guineas.
When we returned to Jaffa, Lady Hester wished to enjoy a little quiet;
and a cottage belonging to Signor Damiani, and situate in a garden half
a league from the town, was made comfortable for her as far as time and
its ruinous condition would allow. I lodged as before in the monastery.
One thing had troubled Lady Hester very much during the whole journey,
which may be mentioned as showing the system, pursued universally
throughout the Turkish empire, of making it impossible for Christians,
however favoured, to enjoy tranquilly the concession of any right or
immunity ordinarily belonging to Mahometans only. One of these was
to have black slaves, whom Christians are not allowed to buy, but
which Lady Hester had been privileged to do. Derwish Mustafa Aga had
not been many days acquainted with Lady Hester, when he heard of her
possessing a black slave, and her ladyship told him how much pains
she had bestowed in having her instructed in the principles of her
religion; adding, that he might question her, if he would, to see if
she had profited by the lessons she had received. The Zaym did so, and
expressed himself so satisfied with her progress, that he thought it a
pity (he said) she should be left among Christian servants, who would
contaminate her mind and expose her to the temptation of wine, &c. The
fact was, that the old man found her young and beautiful, though black,
and, according to the usages of his country, would have very willingly
made her his concubine. He, therefore, often renewed the subject: and,
half joking half seriously, would say to Lady Hester that she was aware
that the first duty of a Mussulman was to get a true believer out of
the hands of infidels; and that, when the business was over, he should
require her at her hands. Then he would say, “Tell me her price, that
you may not be a loser by her;” and would continually be making many
similar speeches. Lady Hester used to remark upon this subject: “This
man puts me in an awkward predicament:--what can I do? He will make me
give her to him at last, for, when he says that he will buy her of me,
that means nothing; I can’t take money of him. To give her to a man
like Mûly Ismael, who has wives and a harým, might be harmless; but to
this man, who I know will make use of her for his own purposes on the
road, it is a disgrace, and I cannot do it.” Nor did she; but it will
be seen how, to the last, he tenaciously persisted in demanding her;
and, in her stead, obtained one of less beauty and value indeed, but
still recommendable for both.
Among the merchants of Jaffa, I had a few patients, and in visiting
their houses I saw somewhat of the domestic society of the place. One
of these was a blind Turk, whose conversation I found very interesting.
He had been converted to Islamism from Christianity, and passed for a
learned man. Not thinking that his apostacy from the religion of Christ
ought to make me decline his visits, we often saw each other; although
some people in England, for whom I have a great respect, and to whom I
mentioned the subject, were of opinion that I ought to have done so.
One day, whilst I was sitting in my room at the convent, Mâlem Mûsa
and M. Beaudin being with me, a young man, about twenty-two years old,
entered, and, giving me the salutation, used between friends when
they meet, of a kiss on each cheek, set himself down in the highest
place, with the air of a man who knew that he had a right to it. He
was handsome and of a pleasing countenance. It is customary in the
East not to ask the business of a person who presents himself as a
stranger, until he has been welcomed by some refreshment. Conformable
to this usage, I bade the servant bring coffee and pipes, and stared
with some degree of inquisitiveness, trying to guess, in my own mind,
who he could be. Mâlem Mûsa, I have said, was a man acquainted with the
world, and he saw at once that the stranger was unfortunate: thinking,
therefore, to relieve the young man’s chagrin, he began a long story
on the fickleness of fortune. The youth, encouraged by his apparent
sympathy, by degrees took courage and told his tale. He said his name
was Mohammed Bey, son of Daher Tabû, and nephew of a pasha; that he had
been motsellem of Killes, near Aleppo, but had been driven from his
home by the persecution of Gelal-ed-Dyn, pasha of Aleppo. The account
he gave us of his misfortunes was as follows.
This Gelal-ed-dyn had been sent on a mission from the Porte,
commissioned to punish the rebels at Aleppo. He passed the night,
on his way thither, at Killes, and was magnificently entertained by
Mohammed Bey, whom in return he honoured with great apparent civility;
and professed so much satisfaction with his treatment that he invited
the bey to accompany him on his expedition. The bey went. During
the whole of the siege of Geser Shogr, which preceded the attack on
Aleppo, he manifested an unusual liking to him. Topal Ali and Sayd Aga
having fled from Geser Shogr, Gelal-ed-dyn marched for Aleppo, where
by artifice he succeeded in prevailing on the chiefs of the rebels to
trust their persons within his camp, and then massacred them. The bey
told us he was witness to the massacre, and that he stood by, his knees
trembling and his teeth chattering, in an indescribable way, whilst the
pasha’s only remark was: “Well, now it’s over, what do you think of all
this?”
In the evening of the same day, the kekhyah sent for him, and he
immediately repaired to his tent. “I want,” said the kekhyah,
“thirty-three purses of you.” The youth was astounded, and cried “where
am I to find such a sum?”--“You best know,” replied the kekhyah; and he
was led from the tent to prison, where he was chained. Here he found
himself in company with several others in a similar situation. The
prison doors were opened in the night, and, soon after, two or three
reports of guns gave the signal of the death of more victims of the
pasha’s sanguinary cruelty. This uncomfortable scene was renewed for
several nights. At last the bey’s turn came. He was conducted by some
Albanian soldiers into a room, where he was again told he must find
the sum of money demanded of him. Upon declaring it to be impossible,
he was put to the torture by means of a rope, twisted tight round his
head, and pressing on two phalangeal bones placed on his temples.
Overcome by extreme pain, he promised to do all they asked, though
he knew not how. He returned again to prison, and time was given him
to raise among his friends what he could. Half the sum required was
finally paid, and he was set at liberty.
He fled from Aleppo to Antioch, from Antioch to Hamah; thence to
Damascus, Acre, and Jaffa. “Here, gentlemen,” he continued, “I am come
to throw myself at the feet of the English lady, and ask succour at her
hand.” He then exhibited his sherwals, (brogues) and the other parts of
his dress torn and dirty, as proofs of his situation. He said that Mûly
Ismael had given him 200 piasters; Bekyr Aga of Antioch 500; and that
Kengy Ahmed Aga had, since his arrival at Jaffa, taken care that he
should not want for a meal.
By this little history, it will be seen that the pride, which forbids
an Englishman well-born to demand charity, however great his distress,
is unknown to the Turks; but what we wondered at was that he could
submit to beg from a Christian. Lady Hester gave him ten guineas, which
sum enabled him to embark for Egypt, where he hoped, at the court of
Mohammed Ali Pasha, to find some honourable employment. Throughout his
story there was occasionally an appearance of falsehood. But, whether
true or false, it serves as a picture of the measures of arbitrary
governments; since no man who wishes to be believed invents occurrences
that have not a similitude to truth, and to the usages of the people of
whom he is speaking.
Lady Hester was much surprised one day to find that a man, who had
sent in to say he wished to be admitted to her presence, should prove
to be that same Ibrahim who went from Egypt to England with two horses
as a present from her to H.R.H. the Duke of York. He had saved a
considerable sum of money whilst there, arising from the generosity
of the Duke and of several other distinguished persons. This money
he had converted into cutlery previous to his return to Egypt; but,
arriving at Malta when the plague was raging, he got into difficulties,
was detained a long time in Sicily, where he lost his merchandize,
and was reduced, by the time he reached Jaffa, to a penniless state.
He related many amusing stories of what he had seen in England, by
which it appeared that he had been much caressed by the great; but
his astonishment at the novel and wonderful sight which a metropolis
like London would be supposed to excite in the eyes of an untutored
Mahometan did not appear to have been remarkable. Two things, however,
had struck him as scarcely credible; he never saw a flea, and very few
people told lies.
Whilst Lady Hester sojourned in the gardens of Jaffa, Mâlem Musa could
not resist the temptation of performing the pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
now that his vicinity to that place afforded him the opportunity. We
do not in Europe feel the same ardour with those in the Levant to pay
this meritorious debt. I believe that Mâlem Musa would have wept like a
child, could he not have gone. As my servant, Giovanni, had never been
there, he was allowed to accompany him.
There was another place mentioned in the MS. given to Lady Hester,
where a second great treasure was said to be concealed, viz. in the
ruins of Awgy, and it was resolved that I should go alone, and examine
it. Upon the edge of a river, still known by the name of Awgy, and at
the distance of an hour and a half from Jaffa, bearing north-east and
by east, once stood this city. Its site is called El Khurby or _The
Ruins_; and, when I visited it, a peasant was ploughing over it.
Loose stones, thickly scattered on the surface, marked the spot: an
indication the more certain, as the surrounding country was of a fine
mould, and stoneless. To the right of the ruin was a hillock called
Tel Abu Zytûn. The river Awgy empties itself into the sea three miles
north of Jaffa. Its source is about a mile and a half from the foot of
the mountains in ten or a dozen springs: these, uniting, form at once
a river from twenty-five to thirty feet broad. It is augmented on the
left side by the river Messalelah, (which is much swollen in the rainy
season), and perhaps on the right bank by other streams. There was a
village just above the Messalelah on the right bank, called Shaykh
Gemás. Over the Awgy, distant one hour from Jaffa, were the remains
of a long bridge with the centre arch broken down, which arch seemed
to have been built subsequent to the two ends. At the extremity of
the bridge were several ruined buildings that appeared either to have
been water-mills, or portions of a castle, they being surrounded by a
moat. Close by was a hamlet of wretched cottages. Ascending the stream,
three quarters of an hour higher up, was the village of Mlebbes; and
three quarters of an hour farther, Kalât Ras el ayn, (or the Fountain
Head Castle) close to the sources of the river. The castle was in
tolerable preservation, and worthy of being visited: it appeared to
be of Saracen construction, from having a mosque in the centre: it
was of a square form, with a tower at each angle, and had two rows of
long narrow apertures for bow-shots and musketry: it was now used for
folding cattle. The mosque was so full of fleas, that above a hundred
leaped upon me the first step I set in it. I was consequently unable
to look for inscriptions, commemorative of its date. The country,
hereabouts, is of a red soil, and very rich. Near the Awgy, I saw
abundance of colocynth plants, and of what I thought to be stramonium.
The Messalelah had also the ruins of a bridge, making a line from the
bridge of the Awgy to Jaffa. There were many proofs that this district
was once highly populous; but, with respect to Lady Hester’s particular
object, no one indication was left, and I ventured to assure her that
her attempts at a search on these ruins would necessarily be fruitless.
Under these circumstances, she had nothing to do but to return to
Acre. Before quitting Jaffa, the governor attempted to effect a
reconciliation with her; but she always treated his advances with
neglect. How justly Lady Hester appreciated this man’s character will
be seen from what took place shortly after.
Sulymán Pasha and Mohammed Aga Abu Nabûd had been bred up together,
and, no sooner was Sulymán raised to the pashalik of Acre, than he
advanced his friend by degrees to power, until he made him governor
of Jaffa, a post of considerable importance, and which at some former
period had been designated as a separate pashalik, although latterly
merged in that of Acre and Sayda. Sulymán Pasha was desirous that
Abu Nabûd should attain yet greater honours, and it was thought by
many, now that Ali Pasha was no more, that he looked to him as his
successor. Accordingly, as a preparatory step, he wrote to the Porte
to ask for him the dignity of _Two Tails_. At this very time Abu
Nabûd had secretly written to the Grand Vizir, and, after pointing
out the incapacity of Sulymán Pasha on account of his advanced age
and bad health, had offered to raise a much more considerable revenue
than Sulymán Pasha now remitted, if he were made pasha in his place.
The Porte had known from many years’ experience the fidelity of the
old pasha, and, feeling satisfied that a person so treacherous towards
his benefactor was little to be relied on, enclosed Abu Nabûd’s
communication under cover to him, with the simple observation of--“This
is the man for whom you ask the title of pasha of two tails.”
Sulymán Pasha, enraged at such duplicity, despatched Abdallah Bey with
a body of troops to Jaffa. Abu Nabûd happened just then to be absent
on a circuit, and the news soon reached him that he was shut out from
the city. Suspecting, probably, that his machinations were discovered,
he had the sagacity not to trust himself to require an explanation or
attempt to recover the place, and fled to Egypt. It was surmised that
this traitor was the first who suggested to Mahomet Ali the feasibility
of conquering Syria, afterwards effected through the intrigues of the
Emir Beshýr, a greater Machiavelian than either.
It may be supposed that Lady Hester felt some disappointment in the
unsuccessful results of her researches, which tended to vex her. The
tone of one of her letters, written whilst here, sufficiently indicates
a feeling of fallen greatness, and a sense of her loneliness, which
fresh schemes from time to time made her forget.
_Lady Hester Stanhope to_ ----.
Jaffa, April 25th, 1815.
My dear ----
You must not think that I am ungrateful, or that the interest
I felt in your concerns is in the least diminished, although I
am less anxious about you, knowing you to be in the midst of
friends who love you. I received your kind letter written at
different periods, just as I was about to leave Mount Lebanon
for Balbeck. I returned to my convent the end of January, having
made a long tour. Upon the very night of my arrival there, the
great person mentioned in the enclosed paper paid me a visit,
indeed took up his abode in my comfortable mansion for some
time. Then I proceeded to Acre, to pay my respects to the pasha,
and my guest from the Porte accompanied me to Ascalon. Therefore
you see that from last October I have never had a quiet moment
I could call my own; and besides, occasions either by sea or
land are scarce and unsafe in the winter season, and, intending
to send a person to England when all my business was over, I
have deferred answering most of my letters to profit by this
conveyance.
I have at last decided upon sending for James to take me away
from this country; for I know so little of the state of the
Continent, and feel in my own mind so doubtful of its remaining
quiet, or, if it does, that I shall like it as formerly, that,
before I break up a comfortable establishment to form another at
random, I wish to have the opinion of one who knows my taste,
and whom I can depend upon.
If Lord Mulgrave ever mentions me, pray remember me kindly to
him: for I really believe he had a friendship for Mr. Pitt,
though artful Canning formerly used to take great pains to make
me believe it was all affected; but, since he has turned out
himself a perfect political chameleon, one may be permitted to
mistrust a few of his opinions. How unhappy it makes me to hear
that the dear duke of ---- is over head and ears in debt. With
such a fine family just coming into the world, it must hurt
him very much, not to be in a situation to give them all those
advantages which they are born to.
The Pasha of Acre and all the leading people in this country
continue to be vastly kind to me, even more so than before,
if possible; and I am upon the whole as comfortable as a
_hermit_ can be.
Believe me,
Yours sincerely and affectionately,
H. L. S.
On or about the 1st of May, we reached Acre, having, on our route back,
enjoyed very fine weather. The same honours were paid Lady Hester on
her return as when going.
The night we arrived at Um Khaled I had well nigh embroiled myself
with Derwish Mustafa Aga in the following manner. A servant happening
to be very impertinent, I had recourse to the usual remedy for this
in Turkey, which was laying my stick about his shoulders. The man was
one Ayd, a muleteer, who, it will be recollected, was dismissed from
Lady Hester’s service on a former occasion, and who had been afterwards
taken back for the purpose of this journey. Upon being beaten, he flew
to the tent of the Zaym, claiming protection. I desired the Zaym’s
servants to send him out, which they refused to do, saying that no gäûr
(or infidel) should touch those whom Moslems protected. The Zaym took
the part of his servants, and kept Ayd in his tent the whole evening;
which assumption of so extraordinary a right led to a warm discussion
between him and Lady Hester, who took my side in the dispute.
From Acre, Mâlem Musa was allowed to depart for Hamah, with a present
from Lady Hester of 1000 piasters. His way home was through the
district of Suffad to Damascus. Hadj Mohammed, the Akám Bashi, was
handsomely rewarded for his extreme care and attention with 300
piasters. The captain of the Hawárys and the officers divided about
1000 more among them.
When the time came to quit Acre, I was curious to observe whether the
subtraction of the numerous suite and the loss of tents, palanquins,
and other emblems of greatness, would affect Lady Hester’s looks
or spirits. But neither was there to be observed mortification nor
melancholy, and she rode out of the city gates with as much serenity
as any human countenance could put on. Being now reduced to eight or
ten persons, we encamped in a field close by the Nakûra; and, on the
following morning, resumed our march for Tyre. From Tyre we departed
the next day for Abra. Wishing to arrive somewhat early at Abra, I rode
on alone, and overtook the baggage mules, stopping at a place short of
that where our people had been desired to unload, and I commanded them
to go onwards. Some expressions, which escaped one of the muleteers,
of the great hardship of loading and unloading so frequently, led me
to think that they would stop here if I left them. I therefore desired
them to proceed before me, when one of them refused, and, letting his
cords slip, threw down his load. Upon this, wishing to punish him in a
way not uncommon there, I drew a sort of small yatagan from my girdle,
and in stooping from my horse, to cut the breast-band of the mule’s
harness, so that his saddle might for the time become useless, and he
be left alone on the road until a saddler should repair it, I drew the
knife with such force, that it came home, and ran into my own horse’s
neck to a great depth just under the vertebræ, by the mane. The horse
shook his ears--the other muleteers were frightened--and at last went
on. Farther on I halted them, and, leaving them there, rode on to
Abra. The wound of my horse bled freely, but he showed no symptoms of
weakness; it was, however, some weeks before it healed entirely.
Lady Hester arrived on the following day. When she was refreshed
from the fatigue of so long a journey, the Zaym proceeded, under
her direction, to excavate near the river Ewely, close to Sayda.
Two hundred yards above the present modern bridge are the remains
of an ancient one, which, as hid from the view of travellers, who
pass the usual road, is never mentioned by them. Hereabouts, the
manuscript signified that there were treasures, and here, by corvées
of peasants, the digging was renewed, but with much less alacrity
than at Ascalon, and with no better success. After a few days it was
therefore abandoned; and, Lady Hester having written the despatches
which occupied her a short time, and having presented the Zaym with
a black slave and a Cashmere shawl, which, added to the presents, he
had received at Jaffa and at Acre, made up something considerable, he
departed with his suite for Constantinople.
Thus ended this very extraordinary affair, which, however, I should
not have ventured to introduce into my narrative at such length, or
accompanied with so many comments, had I not thought that it related
closely to a subject always treated much too lightly by travellers.
There is every reason to suppose that hidden treasures in plate, coins,
or jewels, are frequently found under old buildings, in gardens, and in
the open country. But, whether they are or are not, this is certain,
that no European traveller in Turkey is seen wandering among ancient
ruins, without being suspected by the natives to be in search of such
deposits; for it is imagined that he bears with him private marks or
indications written at the time of concealment, and which have been
since handed down from generation to generation as family papers,
until a fit moment presented itself for going in search of them. It is
therefore necessary he should be apprised that, although he may one
day be angry and another laugh at this unjust suspicion of the motives
of his researches, still he will never alter their belief; and a true
relation of the manner in which the Turks of all ranks lent a willing
hand to such researches in our case puts this past doubt. In a word, it
is the part of a prudent traveller to take this notion into account in
all his dealings with the natives, that he may understand much of their
conduct, which will otherwise be seemingly mysterious.
Lady Hester, in providing for the expenses which the Ascalon affair
brought on her, had, as we have seen, recourse to Mr. Barker for a
loan of money. As she had throughout proposed to herself no advantage
but the celebrity which it would bring on her own and, as she thought,
the English name, and had acted with the cognizance of our minister
at Constantinople, she fancied that she had a claim on the English
government for her expenses: she accordingly sent to our Ambassador at
Constantinople a succinct account of her proceedings, and, in showing
that all which had been done was for the credit of her country, she
asserted her right to be reimbursed.
She, however, was unsuccessful in her application, and the expenses
weighed heavily on her means. Yet hitherto she never had been in debt,
and by great care and economy contrived still to keep out of it.